Still doing Great Things!
■ I’m pumped to hear you are coming back to Stoke-on-trent and playing at The Sugarmill on Wednesday, May 22.
Yes it’s the first leg of our tour, we’re doing another one in November in order to cover places we’re not visiting this time.
■ You have such an army of fans in Stoke-on-trent, will you be playing all your hits and songs off the last album?
This time around we will be playing quite a lot from our early catalogue and, of course, some newer stuff as well but we are focusing on the earlier songs that people know. There will also be a short acoustic part in the middle of the set.
■ What song are you most proud of and why?
That’s a tough one! We are very proud of what we have done but if we had to choose one song, it will have to be Dark Therapy because it’s so simple, just three chords throughout the whole song, always liked simplicity.
■ Do you have a favourite lyric or line in one of your songs?
Currently ‘We’ve ridden the darkest horses’ (Worms And Angels).
■ Which song do you love playing live?
Anarchy And Alchemy, the title song from our last album, it’s just one of those songs that are varied and fun to play. It has a kind of a jazzy feel to the verses and it really kicks in and rocks in the choruses.
■ Do you feel your songwriting has changed over the years?
It has changed a lot. In the early days, the songs were written on acoustic or electric guitar, then we brought them in to the rest of the band. We then arranged them together. These days we tend to have more of a production approach to it. It can start out as a simple riff and then we build the song up so a song can be half finished, then we start recording it at home and experiment with ideas until we’re happy with it. When we started out, the songs were generally finished before we brought them in to rehearsals. Now we build them up in a recording environment but of course not always.
■ Are you working on any new material for this year?
We have actually recorded a new album. It was finished in early January this year. We worked with a producer called Danton Supple, (Coldplay, Morrissey, Depeche Mode, Elbow, Suede, Patti Smith among others). We were in RAK Studios during November and December last year. But the album is in limbo at the moment due to some legal difficulties with the label, can’t really say any more at the moment but we’re hoping to resolve everything and get it out as soon as possible. It’s a great album if we may say so ourselves!
■ I understand Morrissey is a fan and showed up at one of your gigs in Manchester last year?
Ha ha, yes he did but we had no idea he would show up. We didn’t ask him or anything but I hope he enjoyed the gig! Ironically it was the same night that Rick Astley and The Blossoms did a gig around the corner from our show playing a set of Smiths songs!
■ Any advice for new bands starting up in Stoke-on-trent?
To sort out all the financial stuff between yourselves early on so there won’t be any problems in the future and above all, don’t give up!
■ It must be a lot of fun playing festivals. Any in particular that have been a standout moment for you both?
Reading was always a great festival to play, especially in the 1990s. It was also really exciting to play Glastonbury for the first time. I remember coming out on this huge stage to a sea of people and the sound was pretty awful, but it was such an experience to be playing there. Benicassim in Spain and Roskilde in Denmark were also very special.
■ Back in the 1990s you obviously played alongside and supported a few bands! Who did you love hanging out with the most?
To to be honest we didn’t hang out with a lot with other bands. The only one was REM, they used to call us when they were in London or when we were touring the U.S. We did tour with them as well as with Oasis, Blur and of course, David Bowie and we got on well with those guys and had a lot of fun on those tours, hedonistic days!
■ Have you any exciting plans for 2024 you can tell us about?
We will be touring for most of the year, starting this May, then on to festivals and another tour in November. We also need to release the new record somehow so it looks like it’s going to be a pretty busy year!
■ How can people keep track of Echobelly on social media?
https://twitter.com/realechobelly https://www.facebook.com/ echobellyofficial https://www.instagram.com/ echobelly_official/ https://www.echobelly.com
■ Any message to all your loyal fans in Stoke-on-trent?
We’re really looking forward to be playing Stoke-on-trent again and we hope to see you all there!