In case you actually wish to get away from all of it, Chale Abbey is likely to be the spot. Located on the southern tip of the Isle Of Wight, the studio is housed inside a wonderful sixteenth Century barn, all authentic oak trusses and pure stone partitions. “It’s out in the midst of nowhere and a 10-minute stroll to the coast,” enthuses multi-instrumentalist Jordan Lehning, flipping his cellphone digicam to offer Uncut a digital pan of the studio. “We’re within the management room now. It’s simply lovely, completely remoted. An amazing place to make a report.” Even when it means travelling all the best way from Nashville, which is the place Lehning, Andrew Combs, Dominic Billett and Romford-born Spencer Cullum are often primarily based. Their new group, Echolalia, is rounded out by bassist Eli Beaird, multi-instrumentalist Juan Solorzano and Lehning’s brother Jason on synths and engineering duties.
“A couple of years in the past I informed Jordan about this magical place, so we ended up reserving some days to report right here,” explains Cullum, peering over Lehning’s shoulder. The pair cherished Chale Abbey a lot that they’re again there now, engaged on one other undertaking. However earlier than that, Echolalia’s self-titled debut is due out in February – it’s a heat, psychedelic folks set that always feels peculiarly English, evoking the pastoral spirit of Robert Wyatt, Kevin Ayers or Cat Stevens. “A whole lot of the songs have been written on the spot, actually,” says Cullum. “Then we’d all begin chipping in concepts.” There was little or no dialogue beforehand, intentionally so. “I feel we every introduced three tunes to the desk, and just about our first instincts guided the course,” says Lehning. “We form of simply dove in. I feel we lower the report in three or 4 days.”
The key to the undertaking’s success, it appears, is belief. These musicians have all been mates for a while, showing on one another’s data or at reside exhibits. But they’d by no means performed altogether earlier than. “It felt like a kind of issues that you simply speak about with mates while you’re out for a drink however by no means appeared more likely to come to fruition,” says Combs, becoming a member of us over Zoom from the States. “However Jordan made it occur. I feel ‘collaborative’ and ‘enjoyable’ have been the important thing phrases for me.”
Jason Lehning chimes in from Nashville: “With most data, you’re simply framing one persona, placing all of your power into making that particular person sound nice,” he observes. “Echolalia has singers and artists, however there was none of that form of power. It was like hanging out together with your childhood mates and using bikes across the neighbourhood. However it nonetheless has that artistry. That was a very fascinating factor for me.”
This overriding sense of bonhomie is mirrored within the album’s closing monitor, the spontaneous “In The Pub”. Primarily a geezer-ish East London singalong, it proved a cultural schooling for the visiting People. “I feel it was the primary take,” laughs Jordan Lehning. “We couldn’t have completed that two or 3 times. It was the very last thing we tracked and it was actually humorous.”
“I used to be channelling Chas & Dave,” chirps Cullum. “Me and Dom are massive followers!”
It stays to be seen if Echolalia will probably be a one-off. Schedules being what they’re, everybody concerned is hopeful that the celebrities will align once more quickly. The prospect of touring, most certainly within the UK and Europe, can be on the agenda. “For me, it’s the right band,” says Cullum. “Each band member is somebody that I love, musically and personality-wise. Normally, while you’re youthful and in a band, the bloomin’ bass participant desires to do a Snow Patrol track and your drummer desires you all to put on hats…”
Echolalia is launched by Full Time Interest on February 28