photos by Justine Johnson
On the eve of its release through Pax Aeternum, MXDWN is hosting an exclusive stream of Triangles, the psychedelic, instrumental, avant-reggae debut solo album from ECHO RESPONSE.
The brainchild of multi-instrumentalist Jason Ingalls (El Malo, formerly of The Baltic Sea, Seekonk, and more), ECHO RESPONSE’s debut album Triangles stands as an act of sonic world-building – and immersive, vibrant landscape in which a listener can lose themselves. Unafraid to contort the influence of his predecessors into something new and different, Ingalls doesn’t perform songs so much as he embarks on journeys.
From the Studio One vibes of opener “The Approach,” to the pensive Morricone ambience of “One Door Opens,” to the worldly Eno/Byrne funk of “Rayquaza,” Ingalls manages to pull the listener in a different direction with each song without losing the sense of the larger path being headed down. But focusing on these individual points of reference would be like staring at brushstrokes rather than taking in the whole of a painting. Like fellow iconoclasts such as Can, Tortoise, and Khruangbin, ECHO RESPONSE fuses the rhythmic pulse of dub, the ethereal sheen of cosmic jazz, and the anything goes aesthetic of krautrock into something that can balance being expansive yet inviting, eclectic yet focused, reverent yet iconoclastic.
Entirely written and performed by Jason Ingalls, except for saxophone performed throughout the album by Rexy Dinosaur, Triangles was recorded at Ingalls’ home and at Acadia Recording Company, mixed by Todd Hutchisen, mastered by Pat Keane, and completed with cover art by Chris Allen Collage and photography by Justine Johnson.
Ingalls reveals, “This album was born out of creatively distracting myself from another body of work. I invented a group in my head; a ragtag dub band on tour, traveling through time and space with all the regular trappings of being a small local band on tour. A gig in an asteroid bar, a gig on an empty moon to no one but the bartender who isn’t amused, the long drives, the lack of sleep, the surrealness of strangers’ houses on planets you’ve only heard about. Sadly, no recordings of the actual gigs exist, just these gems from soundcheck. Hence why some are one riff meditations while others have deeper forms. I played all the instruments save for the saxophone which was played by my dear friend Rexy Dinosaur. Mixed at Acadia Recording Company in Portland, Maine by Todd Hutchisen who really made this record what it is. Mastered by Patrick Keane who I cannot thank enough for opening up doors I didn’t know existed.”
MXDWN writes with their exclusive album stream, “With Triangles, Ingalls expands the audience’s horizon of how the world can sound… Mixing reggae beats with electric guitars and maybe something that could be described as ‘80s mystery show theme’ the album never loses the audiences fascination.”
Immerse yourself in ECHO RESPONSE’s entire Triangles album first with MXDWN now at THIS LOCATION.
Pax Aeternum will release Triangles through all digital/streaming services tomorrow, Friday, March 18th. Find preorders at Bandcamp HERE.
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