Echobelly

樂隊于1992年由杰出的盎格魯-亞裔混血女主唱索尼婭·奧羅拉·馬登(Sonya AuroraMadan)Zaire倫敦組建，包括格倫·約翰森(Glenn Johansson, 吉他手）、黛比·史密斯(Debbie Smith，吉他手）、亞歷克斯·凱澤(Alex Keyser，貝斯手）和安迪·亨德森(Andy Henderson，鼓手）。
樂隊之名來自于“某種饑餓的感覺”。1993年晚些時候，樂隊通過小廠牌Pandemonium發(fā)型了張EP《腹痛》(Bellyache)，其中包括爆炸性的《給她支槍》(Give Her A Gun)和《睡著的希特勒》(Sleeping Hitler),而“腹鳴”則由約翰森創(chuàng)作，充滿了脈動的吉他音響。該EP初登英國地下榜便位居15名。
基本上Echobelly的曲風融合了英式流行、搖滾、另類以及后龐克，再搭配上女主唱Sonya響亮清脆如夢幻般的嗓音，予人有精神為之一振且積極開闊的感受，使得他們?nèi)缫还汕辶靼愕兀嗬^迅速地擄獲英國、歐洲、美國及日本歌迷的心。 93年8月該團在獨立廠牌Rhythm King 旗下發(fā)表了首張專輯《Everyone`s Got One 》，立刻受到眾多樂評的贊譽，勇奪英國榜#8的排行名次；95年9月第二張專輯《On》發(fā)表，不僅連續(xù)創(chuàng)下3首Top 20排行單曲，專輯亦迅速登上排行#4名席次；97年發(fā)行專輯《The World Is Flat》由名制作人Gil Norton擔任專輯制作，襲其過往清新且積極的樂風，但同時也有著較為深沉且人生黑暗面的題材探討，以及晦澀壓抑且洶涌暗藏的樂風嘗試。這張Echobelly出道以來首張精選輯《I Can`t Imagine The World Without Me》，18首歌曲紀錄著92到97年樂團發(fā)展軌跡及所樹立獨特風格，收錄“I Can`t Imagine The World Without Me”、“Great Things”、“King Of The Kerb”、“Dark Therapy”、“The World Is Flat”、“Insomniac”等精典名曲。
Echobelly這支當年處在Brit-pop浪尖風光無限的樂隊，現(xiàn)在很少人再記得他們，樂隊成軍以來的第五張專輯《Gravity Pulls》也悄然無聲中發(fā)行了。隨著Brit-pop浪潮退卻，2000年他們離開了所謂的主流音樂市場，從上一張專輯《people are expensive》，樂隊決定了由自己獨立發(fā)行，少了主流市場的壓力，他們果然做出了更具原創(chuàng)、更具風格的作品。而在這張新專輯中，我們又再度感受到 Echobelly在音樂上的急速成長。專輯內(nèi)，吉他像是懸掛在空氣里靜止的，偶爾卻又戲劇性的浮上來，改變了以前大多數(shù)在中快版的曲式與緊湊的吉他伴奏的樣式。在目前這樣旋律已經(jīng)被漸漸忽略，轉(zhuǎn)而以節(jié)奏來取代的音樂市場中，這絕對是一張旋律性非常強烈且優(yōu)美的專輯。女主唱拖長聲的唱法和獨特的咬字方式以及那種骨子里的優(yōu)美英倫傳統(tǒng)流行曲的特質(zhì)使得他們的音樂絕對可以吸引住任何一雙對聲音和旋律挑剔的耳朵！
Led by vocalist Sonya Aurora Madan, Echobelly fused the ironic, self-absorbed viewpoint of the Smiths with stylish Blondie posturing and a solid guitar crunch. Defiantly politically correct, the group cultivated a fair amount of praise within the British press at the beginning of their career, but as the Brit-pop craze of the mid-90s wore on, the group was slowly eclipsed by such contemporaries as Elastica and Sleeper. Nevertheless, Echobelly earned a dedicated cult following in the U.S. and U.K., as well as a devoted fan base within Japan.
Madan formed Echobelly circa 1992 with Glenn Johansson (guitar), Debbie Smith (guitar), Alex Keyser (bass), and Andy Henderson (drums). The groups first single, Bellyache, was released in late 1993 to positive reviews from the U.K. weekly music press and managed to debut at number 15 on the indie charts. By early 1994, they broke the Top 40 with I Cant Imagine the World Without Me. Everybodys Got One, the bands debut album, was released in the fall of 1994 to positive reviews and strong sales within the U.K.; it was released in the U.S. in the spring of 1995 to little attention.
By the summer of 1995, British indie guitar music had overtaken the pop consciousness, and Echobelly were poised to break into the mainstream. Though the band was plagued by some behind-the-scenes problems — bassist Alex Keyser was replaced by James Harris after the recording of their second album, On — they didnt quite manage to make the leap. Great Things, the first single from On, entered the charts at number 13, but each subsequent single, and the album itself, didnt fare as well. Nevertheless, the group retained a strong following within Japan over the course of 1995, where they were considered superstars. In 1997, Echobelly issued Lustra.