Pop Montreal Review: (((((Echoes Still Singing Limbs)))))

Montreal’s Echoes Still Singing Limbs ushered in an otherworldly atmosphere during their opening set at Le Cagibi for the Saturday portion of Pop Montreal. Lead by multi-instrumentalist Nick Kuepfer (AIDSWolf, One Candle Power) and featuring Nader Hasan (voices, acoustic guitar, broken telephone, antlers), Kristina Koropecki (cello) and Aidan Jeffery (voices, harmonium, percussion), this four piece experimental/ psychedelic group throw away all conventions and embrace the unexpected, accidental and beautifully gruesome elements of sound and meditation.

Echoes began their set by inviting the spirits of the seas with Hasan calling wildly and screaming into a conch shell and later playing percussion on an assemblage of objects including metal bowls filled with water, antlers, brass vases and a broken telephone. Jeffrey used a giant rubber mallet on bass drum to produce frightening rhythmic hits that Kuepfer matched on antlers and a red metal watering can (?) with Koropecki on cello.

The use of unexpected objects as instruments immediately invites the listener to approach this music using a different part of their hearing faculty. It’s not the familiar sounds of guitars, drums and bass that you’ll hear in an Echoes recording or live performance. This is particularly what makes this music so enjoyable to listen to. It’s like a deep breath of fresh coastal air, taken while standing atop of a high cliff, looking down at the ocean while contemplating jumping. The music suspends you in a state of awe and appreciation that eventually holds you steady, and protects you from leaping, leaving you filled with a sense of appreciation for life and good people.

However, it’s not just esoteric object manipulation that makes this project soar. Kuepfer is clearly a seasoned and highly skilled guitarist. The combination of unexpected noises with some intensively good guitar playing takes the listener even deeper into a state of concentrated listening. The eventual by-product of Kuepfer’s playing is a hybrid of John Williams classical guitar style and John Fahey’s experimental-americana - although, not at all in a “hey-look-at-me-playing-some-awesome-guitar-licks” fashion. The guitar blends in seamlessly with the sounds of Koropecki’s cello (which added the perfect element of grounding amidst the unbridled energy of Hasan’s wild utterances and Jeffery’s operatic soprano vocals).

Be sure to also check out the other projects spawned by the members of this group:

L’embuscade (w/ Kuepfer Jesson Moen & Julien Landry)
Canon (w/ Hasan, Kuepfer & Jeffrey)

You can buy the debut Echoes Still Singing Limbs EP on Villa Villa Nola by clicking here.