Art d'Ecco
Vancouver, Canada | Established. Jan 01, 2016 | SELF | AFM
Music
Press
“Day Fevers sounds a lot like what would happen if T-Rex did a duet with Orbison in Venus’s best-kept-secret underground euro pop club. The result is an album that is eyebrow-raisingly good.” - Beatroute Magazine
If Mercury Rev had been around in the ’60s and someone making a B-movie called the band up and said “I’m making one of those Sergio Leone–type dusters, only mine is set in outer space, and it needs a score,” the music that resulted might sound something like “Sunrise”. The opening track of Art d’Ecco’s debut album, Day Fevers, is every bit as weird as that description makes it sound, containing both spaghetti-western guitar twang and in-sound-from-way-out synths. - Georgia Straight
Often the most exciting music created in these retro-obsessed times is that which doesn’t feel like a carbon copy of some classic album, but an amalgam of styles and influences that feel wholly original, yet contain familiar sentiments throughout.
Art d’Ecco’s inspired debut Day Fevers is a dark journey through glam, new wave and early grunge, pulling references without feeling derivative. It begins with “Sunrise” an ode to Ennio Morricone, glorious chants against a sun cracked landscape, but the sun sets shortly after with “The Deal”. “Lights Out and Then You’re Done”, Art snarls over a dark pool of echoes and handclaps. “She So Hot,” Art’s first single, sounds like Bryan Ferry and Jarvis Cocker cruising for damaged goods. Art suddenly shifts to Trompe Le Monde-era Pixies with the uptempo “Rita Mitsouko”. This is followed by the dark synth splashed come-ons of “I’ll Never Give You Up” and “Let’s Go Home Together”, a reinterpretation of Real Live’s “Send Me an Angel”, though instead a cry for help from above the request is a little more forward, a little more base and little more honest from the one that sees you standing at the back of the nightclub “Cold as Fuck”. Day Fevers finishes with one part T. Rex and two parts Neu!, held together by layers of synths, fuzzed out bass lines and echoes.
And yet these references only act to serve the idea that Art’s vision can shift gears, styles and genres suddenly, but still feel honest and appropriate to the intention of the song. A strong debut from Art d’Ecco that implies only the surface has been scratched of this dark creative well. - Ion Magazine
With a back beat that reminds one of The Human League’s “Don’t You Want Me Baby”, Art d’Ecco has created a song that has spawned an equally imaginative video. “I’ll Never Give You Up”, the second single from his debut album Day Fevers weaves a story from beginning to end. The video follows the artist’s progression from very masculine character into a very androgynous character. A classically feminine Marilyn Monroe type model leads Art d’Ecco from what he is to what he can be.
The 80’s techno video is inspired by David Lynch and Wizard of Oz, and also nods toward David Bowie, who is another inspiration to d’Ecco. The song and the video both have a dream-like quality that pulls you along and by the last line, you are left wondering: Have you been listening to a love song? - Impose Magazine
Art d’Ecco recently released the single “I’ll Never Give You Up.” The track is off d’Ecco’s forthcoming release Day Fevers. The full-length was produced by Jason Corbett, and will be available September 29th.
Art d’Ecco’s story is anything but usual. After a period of personal turmoil, d’Ecco escaped the city life and relocated to the Gulf Islands of British Columbia to embark on a journey of much needed soul searching and personal rediscovery. He spent the last three years in relative seclusion on the island retooling, writing, and overcoming the obstacles of isolation and regret.
“Formed during the three year period I spent in isolation, tucked away in a cabin on one of the Gulf Islands in British Columbia. I’d fled a bad scene in Vancouver – my life was spinning out of control and I needed a refresh. I was burnt out and over playing music. The scene. The Debauchery. I was emotionally hollowed out. Eventually, I discovered that feelings of alienation and desire were something I could channel into music. I’ve always been a man of extremes, so it was in this escape that I rediscovered myself as an artist. These songs came from months of writing and from being alone.” - Northern Transmission
Discography
Day Fevers LP - YourFace Records
RELEASED: September 9th 2016
Photos
Bio
The man with the peculiar name stepped up to the microphone and introduced himself as Art d’Ecco.
While he strummed the 12 string guitar, his boyish, clean-shaven face sang of a city-life recently abandoned; and his bright blue eyes illuminated the subtle darkness lurking at the intersection of his soul. The crowd sat still, watching - as the room filled with roaring silence.
“Who is Art d’Ecco?” I thought to myself.
In a town of a few thousand people, the questions start to pile up quickly. I was compelled to know more. After his performance, I waited for him to exit, and followed him out the back door…
* * *
Over 3 years have passed since that cold winter evening. It’s a beautiful springtime afternoon and I find myself overlooking the Pacific Ocean from the top of one of the region’s highest peaks; taking in the view with a restless Art d’Ecco. He’s no longer the mysterious man I stumbled upon at an open mic night back in early 2013. Having spent the better part of 3 years sequestered to his cabin in the woods, retooling the island lifestyle and rediscovering himself as an artist; he seems different, but for the better.
In the beginning, our mutual love for Bowie, Roy Orbison, and Kubrick films propelled us into a fast friendship; but the profound effect these artists have had on his writing, is what leads us to the top of the mountain; where the confluence of sea and sky and forest and fresh air - swirl as if to create a cauldron for my inquisitive being to percolate in.
On the drive up today, we listened to his debut album DAY FEVERS - an LP that was largely written in said car, overlooking the panoramic view we’re now sharing. The record is an homage to his aforementioned influences; spun into themes of desire, isolation, and the distortion lens of nostalgia. Memories of better times, a different life, and eventually - overcoming regret. There’s a common thread of growing pains and feeling unwell, yet as the day evolves along the album’s internal clockwork (opening on “Sunrise” and closing on “Sunset”) there’s a sense of resolve in the album’s finish. A self-realization for the artist as he finally heals himself of these internal afflictions - one track at a time.
After writing and recording the album’s demos, he brought the project to Vancouver-based producer Jason Corbett (Jacknife Sound, ACTORS) with the bold vision to create his own playlist; mixing elements of 70’s glamrock with analogue synthesizers and Motown rhythms; garage rock with Krautrock; and neo-psychedelia with… spaghetti western soundtracks. The end result is as ambitious as it is exciting. An honest portrayal of what happens when one is left their own devices, in the windowless room of mother nature. An exercise in self-actualization, Art d’Ecco has finally mastered the art of being himself.
Martha Chau, freelance writer
Gulf Isle music reviews
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