Bunky
Echo-Hawk initially came to my attention as a visual artist, but then I saw
that he did music as well and wanted to check that out. It sounds like he
sometimes combines the two media in shows, and that he works in other media as
well, so I'm not sure that looking only at the music is reasonable, but this is
what I have to work with.
Songs are
available on Soundcloud and ReverbNation. ReverbNation has much more available,
but "Onward & Up" is only on Soundcloud, and it may be the most
representative of his house music side. It is danceable and interesting to
listen to. Overall there is a lot of variation in the sound, which is why I
hesitate to pick one that is most representative.
The
Soundcloud grouping feels more political, whereas the expanded offerings on
ReverbNation include a lot more about, well, technically a lot of them are
about sex. The humor throughout gives it a breath of fresh air, so it does not
feel the way you might expect. "Well, Jermaine Helped" is a good
example of this. That sense of fun also comes through on "My Big Red
Bike", though it took me a moment to catch on to what he was doing.
One thing
that was interesting for me was that usually I am not familiar with the
original material in remixes, so I can't compare. Echo-Hawk does have a track
"Wonderful HAUS" based on Adam Ant's "Wonderful". I am
afraid in this case it is the weakest track, because he doesn't really do much
to put his own stamp on it. To be fair, I love that song, and part of what I
love is its simplicity, so it would probably require a complete reinvention for
me to enjoy another version.
Echo-Hawk
collaborates well with other artists, including TACTiLE KiLLSPLENTY on
"Smudge Away", Brian Frejo and T-Hawk on "Grandma Says",
and Lucid 44 on "Motion Sickness". "Grandmas Says" was
probably my favorite, in that it drew my deepest emotional response.
I'm not
sure that it makes sense to think of the musician without thinking of the
artist in this case, but I do think the music can stand on its own.
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