Focus E:scape

Article by Colin

E:scape are telling Soundstories developed from improvisation. Their music is arranged into various atmospheric soundscapes, which they describe as "playing the soundtrack to the movie in your head". They have worked constantly on their atmospheric instrumental soundscapes. Sorting through a wealth of grooves and jamming sessions they developed their unique style; a transparent and well-tempered mix of acoustic and electronic elements.

In this interview, the band talk in greater detail about their influences, ambitions and thier combination of sonic and visual elements, as well as their new album Soundstories.

The Interview

Hi guys, how are you today?

Hi there! We're really busy at the moment; on the one hand we are in an intensive rehearsal period, where we are realising the repertoire for our live-performance. On the other hand, however, we're producing new ideas with our visual artist Sascha. Our multimedia sounds & visual tour should start in autumn/winter.

The album Soundstories is a big success on We7, were you expecting this kind of response?

We've been really surprised! Our instrumental soundtrack-style is geared towards a niche market and We7 acts as an excellent platform for us to try and reach as many people as we can and make new fans. This is one of the reasons that we like to visit the site so often because there's so much to discover!

How did you meet?

We met in 1998. At that time we were actually playing as a rhythm section of a coverband. Aside from that, we'd had some thrilling jam sessions, and that brought us together and gave us the desire to start developing our own project.

How would you describe the album?

"Soundstories" is a soundtrack; we are telling soundstories. Developed from improvisation, the music is arranged into various atmospheric soundscapes. E:scape are playing the soundtrack to the movie in your head…our sound features a transparent and well-tempered mix of acoustic and electronic elements.

What are your influences?

We like listening to a variety of genres. There are jazzy, industrial, ambient, world music influences…. and we try to produce different soundscapes, mixed together to create one continuous listening experience.

Who would you like to record with?

Oh - there are reams of excellent producers and composers who create fanciful scores. For instance it would be great to work with Martin Russell. We really appreciate his work as a producer and got inspiration from it. Also, we can never forget Brian Eno.

How do you go about creating a track?

Improvisation provides the template for a song... some beats over that, some melodic riffs …that give rise to chords and harmonies. Mixing and matching... Much of E:scape's music evolves within the track itself.

Do you have any gigs that are up and coming?

As we said, we are preparing our Multimedia Tour for next year, joining sounds and visuals we work together with VJ's, filmmakers and visual artists. When we are performing on stage E:scape actually play behind the screen - The musical basis provides a wide artistic freedom of the visuals. The pictures giving another emotional language. We are really thrilled about it!

What would be your dream interview question and what would you answer?

Sorry - but we have no dreams! We are disaffected and uncool! E:scape is a work in progress…we are not swayed by a dream!