Ecco2k announces second album Echo for Thursday release

Echo is set for release this Thursday (12 November) via Arogundade's own label, 9th. The album has been six years in the making, written and recorded across a nearly uninterrupted period of travel.

The album features recently released songs "Aldehydes and Ketones" and "Sky Burial," both of which appear on a limited-edition 7-inch vinyl issued in four versions, each bearing a single letter — E, C, H or O — collectively revealing the album's title to listeners.

As part of the Swedish collective Drain Gang, alongside Bladee, Thaiboy Digital and Whitearmor, Arogundade builds on the foundations of the subculture with Echo, while also continuing to explore his own territory. Arogundade is the sole vocalist on the album, and all tracks are produced by himself or alongside longtime collaborators Gud, Whitearmor, Felix Lee and Mechatok.

Echo is described as a record about loneliness, longing, and the struggle to remain sensitive in a hostile world. It is also said to be a declaration of love for that world and the fleeting privilege of being alive to witness it. The album follows a vagabond character who wanders the world carrying a broadcast antenna and a crown of flowers, travelling alone through mountains, deserts, beaches, cities, and villages as he searches for signals.

Drawing on his mixed-media practice, Arogundade developed the music and accompanying films in tandem, often composing tracks around particular moments caught on video, with the environment and his camera's perspective on it being central to the story. It's described as "a process of perceiving the sublime in the grander environment and finding one's place within that."

Echo tracklist

"Aldehydes and Ketones"
"Echo"
"Industrial Strength"
"Fæmous Vagrant"
"Plume"
"Cuban Heel"
"French Exit"
"Loveless Animal, Lawless Criminal"
"Encore"
"Held Overnight"
"Swimming in Fountains"
"Sky Burial"