Record label Just Music says on its website that “Seeing Echaskech (a.k.a. Dom Hoare and Andy Gilham) live, will re-define your expectations of what an electronic act can achieve in a performance.” Now I’m not at a live performance, I’m listening to their Future Sex E.P, so the question is, will an Echaskech recording have anything like the effect of a live performance, complete with video, real time mixing, and sequencing. Well that’s a bit unlikely, but ‘Future Sex’ does serve as a good illustration of what Echaskech are all about. These guys have previously worked as a Drum n Bass act, and DJ’s, and sight a range of influences which include Kraftwerk, Beastie Boys and Jungle Brothers. I can hear evidence of all this throughout the song and its accompanying remixes. The pulsing beat and electro/funk rhythms are there, and some quirky sound/vocal effects, but it lacks something. Something that would have me on the dance floor, hitting the replay button, or clicking ‘buy’ on a download site. A few interesting ideas, but the overall result, for me anyway, just isn’t as strong as some of their contemporaries.
