Today’s song is “Pieces” by ECKOES. British born Nigerian ECKOES is both a sharp-sighted futurist and a nostalgic sentimentalist. In her music and her listening habits (she’s an avowed fan of both James Blake and Maxwell) she straddles the line between cutting edge textures and soulful pop hooks. A prolific songwriter outside of her solo project, she’s penned tracks for Tara Sutaria (The Disney Channel) and co-written and performed on releases with Danny Darko, Space Jump Salute and Le Visiteur. Her debut single ‘Valentine’ garnered support from the MOBO Awards, AFROPUNK and Fame Magazine, shooting up the digital Hype Machine charts, and she even played to Kevin Spacey at the 24 Hour Play after party along the way. As a writer and singer ECKOES constantly tests the water, fusing styles she likes with effortless grace. By turns alternative R&B, swelling soul, urban electronica, and ambient, ECKOES’ project finds itself in the hinterlands of pop. Like FKA Twigs, ECKOES isn’t beholden to reliving the past by simply repackaging it. Atop her distinctive sound are her vocals, unique, inimitable, but with a sharp ear for classic hooks. Inside those vocals she pours her feelings and her experiences. ECKOES is one of the most intriguing and emotive new outpourings to emerge from the London circuit. At the helm of her project she stands, a six foot weaver of hypnotic sounds ever refining her craft. On the one hand familiar, relatable, on the other, a statuesque artist with an aura that’s all her own.
About ‘Pieces’
“In such a frenetic city, we crave intimacy but have to steel ourselves for protection. So when our bodies come together with carnal force, they shatter to pieces; and in this one moment of utter fragmentation, we to try to forget reality.”
On ‘Pieces’ ECKOES’ craft as a storyteller is laid bare in all its authenticity, revealing an artist whose sensitivity and lived experience informs her work. It’s a sensual number about what happens when the emotional fortifications we build around ourselves in a city teeming with life shatter after meaningful human encounters. ‘I am the hunter now / I won’t lay my armour down’ go the lyrics atop a minimal verse beat that’s both warm and dark. ‘Hiding from the thunder / I’m not ready for you’ ECKOES sings before the song’s expansive chorus drops which, together with the lyrics, capture the glorious musical tempests that brew when two lives become entangled and disarmed in love. In ‘Pieces’ ECKOES adds to an already impressive body of work that explores through music what it means to be human and to feel alive in a world that often feels disconnected.
This is the follow up to her “Human” track released earlier this year. This songstress has been getting rave reviews and has been heralded by various music outlets and she even got a nod from The Oprah Winfrey Network. The BB6 Music said she is “a gifted new artist,” and was called “stunning” by Wonderland Magazine
I really digged this track when I popped it on to my computer this morning. She has a sound that reminds me of Tracy Chapman meets The Weekend. It is really a cool, echooy vibe.
Listen below and for more information check out her official website, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter pages.