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Hamilton, Ontario, Canada’s Mass Echo is a new breed of band. Prog rock tendencies and electronic sounds/effects make for exciting listen as Mass Echo weaves their way through unbroken musical ground with the history and classical forms of progressive rock. School chums Michael David Stricker and Sebastian John Jurowski team with the tomato loving Caleb Cromb to create inspired moments of musical madness on Oblivion, the band’s debut album. Mass Echo are touring in support of Oblivion and already planning for albums number two and three.
Mass Echo explodes out of your speakers with Doorajar, a musical fracas incorporating Eastern sounds with electronic effects and a Drum N Bass floor. The song practically does a slow implosion rather than end. (Oops) Into Wonder is a pensively vibrant composition focused primarily on keyboard/synth permutations of rhythm. This song of seeking rides its own waves of inquiry through rough musical waters that wash up into frenzied rock guitar runs and then into reticent alt-rock poses before burning out into a Pink Floyd-style neural/aural tease.
What becomes abundantly clear very quickly is that Mass Echo is given to fits of musical metamorphosis that are wonderfully jarring and disturbingly beautiful to witness. In much the same way that later Beatles material simply broke down barriers between music styles (and compositional rules), Mass Echo goes where they wilt, without rhyme or reason or any external sign of why. The results tend to be chaotic, exasperating and ultimately fulfilling. Songs like Overseer confine barely controlled rage into dark and shifting sonic elements that range from the forebear to hard rock to electronic smudgery.
You'll want to check out The Bell, a sonic water color with alarming tendencies toward electronic and vocal bombast. The chanting and arrhythmic pulsation of the synth heart bespeak of a dance on the edge of lunacy. Be sure to also check out Augmented, played in part on a ghostly piano and an arrangement that expresses disturbance beyond the usual human capacity. Other highlights include Cobwebs, By The Horns, Pole Shift and Lounge.
Mass Echo might properly be dubbed (pun not intended) the first of what I am certain will be many Progtronic bands (those who compose and perform electronic music but with the sort of compositional tendencies found in hard-core Progressive Rock). Mass Echo can change direction with the wind (or in spite of it), leaving the listener to either be lost at sea or grab on for dear life. The choices made on Oblivion are surprising, disturbing and deeply informative of the musical mind of Mass Echo. Mass Echo follows their muse wherever it takes them, without fits or filters. The results are glorious. Mass Echo obviously mixes ambient and electronic here, but they may be the most exciting and vibrant electronic artist in a decade. Oblivion is highly recommended. - Wildy Haskell
Lord Litter, one of the biggest names in internet radio and the independent music scene had this to say:
“MANY THANKS for two GREAT releases!!
You’re kinda *Goth-Space-Tribal-Delic* is EXACTLY the unique update music
I'm looking for!!
.. *noone* sounds like MASSECHO these days .. and THAT makes THE modern
music!!
... airplay guaranteed!!
Yet another fan of Mass Echo....the world awaits us... - LordLitter
Discography
Oblivion
Musings in Between
Photos
Bio
Mass Echo is a post modern visionary rock band which resides in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. In the current, it is the creative expression between Michael David Stricker, Sebastian John Jurowski and Caleb Cromb.
Mass Echo began as an idea sometime in 2006 between Mike and Sebastian. The two first met in the mid 80’s on a school playground, five years after Sebastian had sailed in from Poland. Literally. Though musically linked since 1996, the definitive inception began in 2006. FastForward. In early ’06 Mike had set up a studio in his dining room. Using Pro Tools LE and other acquired musical gear and instruments, they immersed themselves in the art of writing and recording. All of 07/08 was spent in the studio.
In a span of two years Mass Echo ended up tracking 30 plus songs. For the direction and vision of “O b l i v i o n” (79 min.), they would choose 15 of those soundscapes. Michael (vocals/guitars) would also end up playing all the drums, bass, and keys on the album. Sebastian (guitars) would pitch in on organs and pianos. Both are vision and idea men. Along with the standard instruments used to record a rock record, they would end up using things found around the house to add extraordinary textures to their sculpture.
After six months of mixing their near 80 minute opus, they brought the 15 songs to the Joao Carvalho Mastering Studio in Toronto, Ontario. The final engineering/mastering would be done by Joao Carvalho himself.
The result of their first offering is musical, somewhere between old and new. Think of a gypsy caravan visiting a space carnival. Multi-instruments wind you through compositions of rhythms, moods, emotions, twists & turns, colours, and a nod to the subconcious.
Insert Caleb Cromb (bass). A long time friend of the two, Caleb decided he would jump on board in September of 2008, after posting a weird e-mail on the bands MySpace page. It read “I like tomatoes”. The band responded by saying “We’re more into Bruschetta”, a more complex variety of tomatoes. This inspired a long awaited reunion between the three Renaissance men. Everything clicked with Caleb from day one. He brought an element that Mass Echo needed to push the vision forward. Creativity, amazing bass playing, technical wizardry, like mindedness and an overall good soul.
By the time you read this, Mass Echo will already be preparing to support
“O b l i v i o n” live, and tracking for the second and third albums. There is a wealth of material that the world needs to hear. Does anyone need a breath of fresh air?
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