As Echoes celebrates its tenth year on the air, we thought we would take a look back at the musicians and groups that shaped the sound you hear on the show. It was hard to narrow it down to ten, but here are the artists that we thought best defined the first decade of Echoes.
1 - BRIAN ENOARCHITECT OF AMBIENCE |
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Brian Eno is not the most poplar figure in modern music. He isn't even the most popular on Echoes. But his music and influence pervades virtually every artist you hear on the show.
His codification of Ambient Music in the 1970s alone would probably get him on this list. He lit the flame of ambient music and the New Age at the same time. But he's done so much more, collaborating with artists as diverse as David Bowie, Phillip Glass and Geoffrey Oryema, creating new musical aesthetics with each album he makes, and launching the careers of Harold Budd, John Adams, Michael Nyman and many more. It was Eno who created the gritty sonic aesthetic that informs every production of Daniel Lanois, Mitchell Froom and Tchad Blake. Just last year, Eno's "Music for Airports" was reborn when performed by Bang On A Can. There is hardly a creative, modern musician, (emphasis on modern) who doesn't publicly acknowledge a debt to Brian Eno. And so do we with a rare two hour Echoes dedicated solely to Brian Eno's music and life.
Essential Albums:
Another Green World
Music for Airports
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DEAD CAN DANCE/LISA GERRARDVOICES OF ECSTACY |
Ecstatic vocals have been a major part of Echoes for the last 13 years, and no one has brought us more ecstacy than Lisa Gerrard and Dead Can Dance. Lisa Gerrard and her Dead Can Dance partner, Brendan Perry, filtered sounds and spirits from the ancient past and merged them into a ritualistic music. They sound like they could have emerged from the crossroads of the crusades, but with the help of modern technology. Lisa Gerrard's immaculate voice intones words of a language of the imagination while Perry surrounds her with atmospheres and rhythms that propel the music forward. Dead Can Dance recently broke up, but both Perry and Gerrard have already established solo careers that will take them into the next decade of Echoes.
Essential Albums:
Dead Can Dance "Within the Realm of the Dying Sun"
Lisa Gerrard & Pieter Bourke "Duality"
3 - STEVE ROACHSONIC ARCHEOLOGY |
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Steve Roach wrote the first and only Echoes theme song. We abandoned that many years ago, but we haven't abandoned Steve Roach who has had an album in Echoes rotation without break since the beginning of the show. Steve has traveled from an acolyte of German space music to virtually creating the techno-tribal genre.
His soundscapes defy tradition, working on a level of pure sound, but he often uses the most primitive instruments, including stones and didgeridoos to create his music. We go inside the Timeroom, Roach's studio to discover the artifacts and relics of a timeless sound.
Essential Albums:
Steve Roach "Dreamtime Return"
Suspended Memories "Earth Island"
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4 - R. CARLOS NAKAINATIVE FLUTE MAGICIAN |
One of the first living room concerts we recorded was in R. Carlos Nakai's home in Tucson. He's played live on the show three times since then and been featured four times. R. Carlos Nakai single-handedly launched the Native American Music scene with just a simple cedar flute. He's expanded his traditions to embrace pianist Peter Kater, guitarist William Eaton and the Japanese Wind Travelin' Band. His solo flute albums are staples for anywone seeking a contemplative, spiritual sound. We talk with R. Carlos and many of his collaborators to reveal Native music with universal resonance.
Essential Albums:
R Carlos Nakai & William Eaton "Feather, Stone & Light"
R Carlos Nakai "Sundance Season"
5 - LOREENA MCKENNITTANCIENT PATHWAYS |
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Loreena McKennitt is a musician looking for connections between music, culture and the spirit. Her journeys have taken her from Canada to Ireland, Morocco to Siberia. She started out as a street musician, releasing albums on her own Quinlan Road label and then became world renowned after the release of "The Visit" on Warner Bros. We take you to McKennitt's belfry studio in Stratford, Ontario where she unveils the secrets of her music, from her Celtic roots playing the harp to her Middle Eastern journeys.
Essential Albums:
"The Visit"
"The Book of Secrets"
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6 - MICHAEL HEDGESAERIAL GUITAR BALLET |
Put simply, without Michael Hedges, a lot of guitarists would simply be playing folk songs and classical transcriptions. He brought a vision of the acoustic guitar that expanded it to almost orchestral dimensions with techniques including tapping the strings and beating on his instrument like a drum. "Breakfast in the Fields" is on every acoustic guitarist's Top Ten list. Michael wrote beautiful songs to go along with his formidable technique, as heard on albums like "Taproot" and "Oracle." A mystic and a musician with a joker in his pocket, we lost Michael Hedges in 1997 to a car accident. We'll explore his music and influence.
Essential Albums:
"Aerial Boundaries"
"Oracle"
7 - STEVE TIBBETTSEXPLODED GUITARS |
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Rarely has an artist prevailed with the unique vision of Steve Tibbetts, from his early self-produced solo albums like Yr through to his critically acclaimed collaboration with Tibetan nun Choying Drolma. Tibbetts has woven an intricate, often psychedelic soundscape, mixing acoustic and electric guitars and the global percussion of Marc Anderson. We talk with Tibbetts and Anderson about music that emerges when you "take out your brain and play with it."
Essential Albums:
"Yr"
"Exploded View"
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8 - ROBERT RICHVIRTUAL TRIBAL |
Robert Rich is one of the artists who defined techno-tribal music in the 1990s and was it's most sophisticated practitioner. From his sleep concerts in the early 1980s through to classic albums like "Rainforest" and "Propagation," Robert Rich has invested his music with a primal tribal spirit, spun through a maze of electronics. We look back with Robert at a career that is still blossoming.
Essential Albums:
"Rainforest"
"Propagation"
9 - ENYACELTIC CHOIRS |
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The sound of Enya is instantly recognizable and often imitated. The Irish singer brought Gaelic music to its widest audience ever while simultaneously creating a distinctive, multi-layered vocal sound. With her albums, "The Celts," "Watermark" and "Shepherd Moon," Enya's atmospheric melodies captured a world wide audience.
Essential Albums:
"Watermark"
"Shepherd Moons"
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10 - VANGELISTHE ANGEL OF ORCHESTRAL SYNTHESIS |
As much as any artist, Greek synthesist Vangelis has shaped the sound of Echoes over the last decade. He came to renown in the 1970s with spacescapes like "Albedo 0.39" and reached international acclaim in the early 1980s with his Academy Award Winning Score to "Chariots of Fire." In the 1990s, Vangelis released several powerful albums, including "The City," "Oceanic" and "Voices," and much of his earlier music was re-issued.
Essential Albums:
"Albedo 0.39"
"1492: The Conquest of Paradise "
