“Echo”, the first album for DFA from acclaimed Norwegian avant garde pop vocalist Nils Bech. It is set for release on October 14th.
A busy stage actor and singer already well known in his native Norway for three albums released on Oslo’s Fysisk Format, “Echo” marks a pivotal turning point for Bech, and something of a radical sonic departure too. The keys to the seachange lie with Bech’s new collaborator, the young underground DJ, producer and beat maker Drippin’, known for his work with American rap artists such as LE1F and Cakes Da Killa. As a result, where his previous work was strange, ethereal and otherworldly – completely and utterly unique - “Echo” throbs with a renewed sense of vigour and urgency, without losing any of the idiosyncratic beauty which marked Bech’s work out before.
The sound created here is strange and immediate. Stuttering sharp bass kicks combine with clanging 5-alarm snare drums made of glass, orchestra stabs and melancholy piano lines jump in and out of the arrangements. These new elements and ideas are married to the already singular voice of Nils Bech, with “Echo” becoming something new, exciting and 100% Norwegian - homegrown and ready for the world. Just listen to new track “Waiting” for evidence of his truly inimitable vision, as martial drums anchor Bech’s floating, weightless vocals, to create something swoonsome, beguiling and defiantly its own creature.
The music comes to full fruition when performed live, as proven at two packed performances at the 2016 By Larm Festival where Nils was joined onstage by both Drippin’ & Øyvind Mathisen, who also produced, arranged and played on the album alongside Bech. Make sure not to miss the completely original and striking sound of Nils Bech.
Tracklist:
Waiting
Too Little Too Late
Glimpse Of Hope
Please Stay
Drip, Drip
Let Go
Echo
Jealousy
A Sudden Sickness
black vinyl edition and CD feature a full color art inner sleeve.
PRE-ORDER: LCD Soundsystem - Home (Tom Sharkett Edit) 12"
$15.98
It wasn’t really hiding, just sitting quietly online. But Tom Sharkett’s edit of “Home” was too good to ignore. Originally a bootleg we first heard played on Flo Dill’s Breakfast Show on NTS, it wormed its way into our hearts and never left. So we made it official. Sometimes the internet actually makes your life better.
“No Cigar” is a track that didn’t make it onto 2023’s 5 Songs, which was, technically, five songs, so there wasn’t room. It’s a pokey, plonky bit of dance music from Shit Robot (aka Marcus Lambkin), made with Joe Goddard and Al Doyle at their RAE Studios in London.
It sounded… dubby. Like “what if Adrian Sherwood got his hands on this?” dubby. So we asked. And he said yes!
The b-side is classic Sherwood at the controls—a version that’s not fully exploded, but submerged, warped, a little demented. We’re honored and still hearing crazy new sounds every time we play it.
The “No Cigar” 12-inch is out July 25. Pre-order it now before you can’t.
*
Written and produced by Marcus lambkin, Al Doyle, and Joe Goddard An RAE production recorded at Relax And Enjoy (London) Engineered by James Crump Mixed by Korey Richey at DFA (NYC) Mastered by Bob Weston at Chicago Mastering Service
View product
