Even voorstellen - Echoes of Zoo, album out, ‘Speech of species’
Energetich psych jazz, Middle Eastern microtonal melodies and West-African rhythms
Jazzrock for psych heads, global sounds for jazz minds, or the steaming soundtrack to a midnight desert rave? For sure, Echoes of Zoo fuse influences from all over the musical earth into countless electrifying grooves.
Follow up to their acclaimed debut record 'BREAKOUT' (2021), the quartet's new album 'Speech of Species', to be released on May 12th 2023 via Belgian jazz cult-label W.E.R.F. Records, is deepening their already eclectic sound further once again.
Still packed with a lot of sonic energy and a fair amount of punk- and dub flavours, Echoes of Zoo are this time blending in a big bunch of (Middle) Eastern and Balkan sounds, microtonal scales on modified (bass) guitars, animal communication transformed into melodies and a host of new rhythmic experiments based on Brazilian and West African grooves.
While ‘BREAKOUT’ was an interesting musical interpretation of the confrontation between humans and animals and breathed the vibes of cities and clash of cultures, saxophonist Nathan Daems was this time inspired by the communication of animals amongst each other. That's why he named this new record 'Speech of Species'. More info on the inspirational background here.
Echoes of Zoo — Echolocation (official video)
Echoes of Zoo — Echolocation (official video) - YouTube
TOUR DATES
17.05 | Hnita Jazz Club, Heist-Op-Den-Berg (BE)
18.05 | Rockerill, Charleroi (BE)
25.05 | Citadelic, Ghent (BE)
26.05 | Brussels Jazz Weekend, Brussels (BE)
08.07 | Brosella Festival, Brussels (BE)
10.08 | Paulusfeesten, Ostend (BE)
30.08 | C-Mine, Genk (BE)
30.09 | Ancienne Belgique Club, Brussels (BE)
https://www.aubergineartistmanagement.com/artists/echoes-of-zoo
Echoes of Zoo is the unity of four distinctive Belgian (jazz)musicians: Nathan Daems (saxophone; cfr. Black Flower, Trance Plantations), Bart Vervaeck (el. guitar; cfr. Compro Oro, Lyenn), Lieven Van Pée (el. bass; cfr. De Beren Gieren, John Ghost) & Falk Schrauwen (drums; cfr. Compro Oro, Sylvie Kreusch), founded in 2018.
After releasing a first self-produced EP ‘First Provocations’ in January 2019, the group has quickly been invited to some leading Benelux venues and festivals: Brussels Jazz Festival (Flagey), BRDCST Festival (AB), Brosella, Leuven Jazz, AMOK (KAAP), RSL Jazz, …
In 2021, they released their full debut album ‘BREAKOUT’, awardad multiple four star reviews in some leading (inter)national media (De Standaard, Knack Focus, Jazzwise (UK), Le Soir, Cutting Edge, L’Avenir …) and a — due to the COVID pandemic — shattered release tour with shows in Ancienne Belgique, Handelsbeurs, 4AD, Beursschouwbrug, C-Mine, N9, De Casino, Copacobana Festival and more. The band has as well been selected to present the album at some of Europe’s leading showcase festivals: WOMEX (Porto) and MENT (Ljubljana).
Out on WERF records
Echoes of Zoo — The Call of the Quagga Quagga - YouTube