K's Choice - Little Echoes
Quality.....: VBRkbps
Release Date: nov-04-2011
Source......: CDDA
Genre.......: Rock
Total Tracks: 12
Playtime....: 44:44 min
CD Size.....: 72,1 MB
TrackListings
01 - Massage To My Girl 03:23
02 - I Wanna Get Lost 03:23
03 - Killing Dragons 02:44
04 - No Surprises 03:50
05 - I'm So Exited 03:29
06 - If This Isn't Right 03:39
07 - Someone Just Like You 02:49
08 - Com Live The Life 04:19
09 - Cannonball 05:12
10 - River To The Moon 04:27
11 - Echo Mountain 04:13
12 - 16 03:16
Release Info
http://www.kschoice.be
http://www.kschoice.be/little-echoes-info.asp
http://www.facebook.com/kschoice
http://houbi.com/belpop/groups/choice.htm
Like an echo that continues to reverberate, Little Echoes offers a
re-imagining of Echo Mountain - more intimate, more fragile, and
filled with joy, depth and openness.
This new album includes several re-arranged acoustic tracks from the
bandÆs comeback album Echo Mountain. It also features two brand new
compositions along with four specially chosen cover songs: Cannonball
(Damien Rice), Message to My Girl (Split Enz), IÆm so Excited
(Pointer Sisters) and No Surprises (Radiohead).
All 12 songs have been produced and arranged by Sarah and Gert in the
Echo Mountain Studios in Asheville, North Carolina.
The tour starts in Belgium on November 3, passes through 8 countries
and will end in Koln, Germany on January 31. It will feature Sarah
and Gert on acoustic instruments with the addition of
keyboardist/singer Reinout Swinnen.
KÆs Choice has always been a hard band to pin down to a single style,
and as a result, was one of the few bands of the late æ90s to build
followings with both the Lilith Fair and Lollapalooza factions. As
evidenced by their fifth full-length overall (and first in a decade),
2010Æs æEcho Mountain,Æ the groupÆs knack for the eclectic remains
very much intact. ôItÆs always been like that,ö explains one of the
groupÆs co-founders, singer/guitarist Sarah Bettens. ôThereÆs always
been that singer-songwriter part of us, and then the rock part that
stems from the music we listen to and the music we write. ThereÆs
also that pop element in our songwriting and the attention to our
harmonies. When it comes to KÆs Choice songwriting, there is not a
concerted effort of what we should be, itÆs just an honest mix of the
style of songs we end up writing. Even when we felt like we were
coming from two worlds in the initial phase of writing this record,
it somehow blended together into something thatÆs melodic and has a
lot of dynamics without losing its emphasis of heartfelt lyrics and
interesting harmonies.ö
Originally formed in the early æ90s by the brother-sister tandem of
guitarist/singer Gert and Sarah Bettens (hailing from Antwerp,
Belgium), the group built a large worldwide fan base, on the strength
of such strong and varied albums as 1993Æs æThe Great Subconscious
Club,Æ 1996Æs æParadise in Me,Æ 1998Æs æCocoon CrashÆ and 2000Æs
æAlmost Happy.Æ Add to it a worldwide hit single (1996Æs ôNot An
Addictö), European hits ôBelieveö, ôAlmost Happyö and ôEverything
For Freeö, plus some very high profile tour opportunities (opening
for Alanis Morissette for the majority of the dates supporting her
classic æJagged Little PillÆ album, as well as part of the
aforementioned Lilith Fair tours), and a long and fruitful career lay
ahead for KÆs Choice.
After the world tour in support of æAlmost HappyÆ had wrapped up, KÆs
Choice faced a tough career crossroad. ôAfter ten years, my sister
and I had the exact same feeling that we were moving in circlesö,
admits Gert. ôWe felt it was time to do something else for a couple
of years, to do our own thing, and see what developed.ö
True to his word, Gert founded a new band, Woodface, while Sarah
launched a successful solo career. But a year ago, the call of KÆs
Choice beckoned once more, recalls Sarah. ôWe always knew we were
going to record again, but we didnÆt have a master plan for when or
how. It just seemed like the right time and that it would be fun
again à the part that was missing when we decided to take a break.
The writing was challenging again, and musically it was even more
interesting, because we were coming from two different worlds. When
we started sending songs to each other, it was like, æWow, I donÆt
know if weÆre capable of making the same record! But with some
creative musical conversations and a little soul searching we found
common ground, and once we did, it just clicked like it always had.ö
After a period of swapping song files via email (Sarah now lives in
the U.S., while Gert remains in Belgium), the group reconvened for
rehearsals with a line-up featuring both former members (bassist Eric
Grossman and drummer Koen Lieckens) and new members (guitarist Thomas
Vanelslander and keyboardist Reinout Swinnen). ôFrom the start, it
became clear that it was going to be different from the way we wrote
for the first four albums,ö says Gert. ôBack then, we were often on
tour together, so as soon as Sarah or I came up with a song idea, we
could immediately play it for one another. This time, we were forced
to exchange ideas via the internet. Although itÆs different than the
way we used to communicate our ideas, we were still able to be
musically creative and honest with each other. Initially, we thought
we were worlds apart. I wrote some really, really heavy songs,
comparable to those on my last solo album. I wondered if they would
really work on the album alongside some of the lighter acoustic songs
Sarah had written. We just started rehearsing and in typical KÆs
Choice fashion, things quickly started making perfect sense.ö
The end result is a double disc set, which features some of the
finest KÆs Choice material of their entire career, and runs the gamut
from folk and pop to alternative rock. ôI have to say, I was really
impressed with my brotherÆs songs,ö gushes Sarah. ôIt was really nice
to sing his songs again. I think he has outdone himself. His new
song, æKilling DragonsÆ, is one of my absolute favorites! It covers
the entire musical spectrum of what KÆs Choice representsà a
beautiful melody, haunting harmonies and incredible lyricsà it gives
me the chills. æCome Live the LifeÆ [the albumÆs first single/video]
features my brotherÆs songwriting too. The simplicity of the chord
structure, combined with the genius of the melody, makes for a very
inspiring, exciting song.ö
Gert has a standout as well, æ16Æ. ôI tried to picture what it was
like to be 16 again and to experience something beautiful like being
in love and your first kiss. Then discovering, as you grow older,
that thereÆs still some of that fire burning, and itÆs just a matter
of keeping that fire alive. Most of my songs are written about the
same thing - feeling alive.ö
With æEcho MountainÆ being released via Sony in Europe and a label-
to-be-named in the other parts of the world, the now six-piece band
will soon be launching a substantial tour supporting Echo Mountain,
with dates beginning in Belgium, France, Germany, Switzerland and
Holland, before visiting other parts of the world, including such
exotic locales as South Africa and Japan. Which leads to the
question...is the reformation of KÆs Choice a permanent one? ôI donÆt
know if any of us have thought that far ahead,ö says Sarah. ôWe are
so happy that we have this fantastic opportunity. We do have big
expectations, not in terms of how many records weÆre going to sell,
but just the level of excitement this will create, for us and for the
fans that are awaiting this record.ö
That said, both sister and brother are hopeful regarding the future
of KÆs Choice. Sarah- ôI just hope we make more great records, and
that Echo Mountain is the beginning of a rebirth for us. Eventually,
IÆll want to make another solo record because itÆs a way of keeping
everything fresh, so I hope I can continue doing both.ö Gert- ôRight
now, IÆm just so happy that we made an album that IÆm this crazy
about. It just feels very special putting the band back together and
getting ready to go out on the road again. As we were working on
æEcho MountainÆ, I said to my sister, æI really feel like recording
another album after this!Æ Sarah readily agreed. So this KÆs Choice
reunion just might go on for quite a while...ö