The Mysticism ov we be echo

From the belly of South East London, we get to learn more about the artist we be echo or as I know him, Kev. wbe is a multi-instrumentalist & sound artist who is currently residing in Ontario, Canada. “ I don’t think of myself as a musician “ said wbe while we engaged in an evening conversation. Like many musicians and sound provocateurs (myself included), we struggle with the term musician. “ I’m very surprised sometimes by the way the sounds come together. To be honest, I’ m really quite astonished “ said wbe. That is a completely relatable statement. As experimental musicians and sound artists, often times what we create is a one time experience that can not be redone. It’s quintessential to almost always record your music session when you have more of a sound art approach. Although somewhat modest, Kev doesn’t ever seem to appear to let his talent go to his head. wbe rarely listens to artists outside of himself because it can be a bit overwhelming. As a creator, we often times know exactly what we need to hear, release and experience.

Kev’s relationship with creating music first began with his first band: Third Door From The Left. It was late 1979 when Kev and his former bandmate Raye started the project. They recorded on a portable double tape deck. Kev played bass and programmed the drum machine. Raye played keyboards, guitars and vocals. They had a very intricate process in which they recorded stereophonically. “ Back then, things just seemed to fit into place. I often times sampled people talking on the radio. Sound quality back then was very poor as opposed to now. However, we did have a Binaural Head, the same kind that Throbbing Gristle had “ said wbe, and we recoded both our live event with it. We talked about how recording now compared to the 70’s is vastly different. Technology changes and there have certainly been great improvements over the decades. However, there will always remain a bit of romanticism and sultry pull to that of early experimental instruments. Electronic music pioneer Luigi Russolo had first shocked the world with his early noise symphonies. we be echo finds himself working very differently now. It involves a process that many of us solo musicians use of creating our music in layers, being the one person band. With at the very least, 30 self-released albums & tracks on compilations under his belt - Kev has quite the impressive discography. In fact, wbe is one of those musicians that you can be certain to have not heard everything they created yet. My personal favorite song of his is “ Love You Anyway “ off of his April 2021 album The Misanthrope. If you close your eyes tight enough, you’re driving through a forest in autumn where there are no more leaves on the trees. Moving down the road as you make your escape from a horror film you just survived. It’s gentle angelic riff balancing out the enveloping darkness.

Kev found his way into the Throbbing Gristle inner friend circle. TG, the originators of Industrial Music. There is this shrieking obsession and fear I have with industrialization, something that has always seemed to be a theme of industrial music. Industrial has long been series after series of critical dissection of the technological world and a dystopian future. Kev was one of the few people invited for Throbbing Gristle’s recording of Heathen Earth and his name appears on the back of the release. Kev first met TG when he and a friend were walking up Tottenham Court Road in London. They saw the band walking down the road and stopped them to ask for their autographs. It first began with an invitation to Centro Iberico (a Spanish Anarchy support centre where TG were playing). wbe began a friendship with them by writing to them after seeing them live for the first time. TG are an incredible band and much like Psychic TV, anything that has involved Genesis P- Orridge also created a worldwide community of listeners. We have often found kinship and understanding in each other, it is how Kev and I became friends. wbe maintained a lifelong friendship with Genesis P-Orridge, s/he was the front wo/man of both TG & PTV. Gen was not only a pioneer in music but s/he spent decades “ short circuiting society “ and sharing the philosophy of Pandrogyny created by h/er and h/er beloved Lady Jaye. In h/er last few years, Gen struggled and passed away from complications with Leukemia. Gen didn’t just leave behind a legacy but many friendships and a long lasting community for many of us. Kev is really happy that he managed to have the opportunity to catch up with h/er in again person in 2019. When money got tight for Gen, wbe had put together the project known as Wolfpack 23. In that project, PTV, TG & Gen fans from all over the world had contributed our tracks to help raise her funds. Kev has proven himself to not only be a prolific sound artist but also a reliable friend. This community of people who have often felt like they didn’t fit in within most social circles found a place where we belong. People don’t often judge a book enough by it’s content. Our community is caring and we almost always meet each other on the very basis of wanting to understand someone’s human experience. 

Kevin Thorne’s musical style is a juxtapose of many genres but with a very strong post-punk flavor. However, wbe’s sound can not be confined to just one style description. wbe currently has special edition double disc copies of Ceza Evi: Compleat Edition available at soundov.com. Opening the release is the track “ A01 Sexuality “ followed by “ A02 Punish You “, a perfect sequence from sonic meditative compulsion into a burst of electronic percussive and synth madness. wbe’s new album No Truth, No Lie released on August 23, 2022 shows a slightly different side of Kev. It has a very psychedelic rock n roll undertone with a hint of industrial on “ Download Me “ and a pulsing cathedral wall of sound on “ Driven“. wbe never disappoints and his new album is one of his strongest yet. Kev has managed to collaborate with many people along the years. Being involved in many music projects outside of his solo project we be echo. Kev has been a part of Third Door From The Left, and released one song with the band the Contacts on their album From Bromley With Love. He’s done a collaboration with Dave Farmer (iham) who published the Throbbing Gristle fanzine ‘ Nanavesh. ‘ Kev is also one half of our band Sleep Duchess. We released our self-titled album Sleep Duchess on May 13, 2022. We combined most of our favorite sounds including post-punk, industrial and 80s gothy funky punk. wbe has been one of the easiest people to work with. Believe it or not, we didn’t have that much communication in the making of our album. With few words, we completely understood what the other wanted and had maybe one or two band meetings. Most of our communication was via messenger. We released tracks like “ The Logic Ov Sacrifice “ where Kev dominated with his bass and gave the most self-assured vocal deliverance. Also the song “ In The Eyes Ov the Dog “ in which I wrote about a run in some of my family members had with a skin walker. It will forever be one of the funnest and most satisfying albums/projects to be a part of. We are already speaking of a writing a new release for sometime early next year. 

Kev shared that his favorite album to create was No Truth, No Lie. He took a very different approach to recording this time around. “ My favorite album to make is always the latest one. Especially this new one because it is the first one where I had the album almost complete then removed all but one song, and I rebuilt it from there “ said wbe. Kev said that his favorite song to write was “ All The Colors “ because it was when his musical style had changed to what it is now. wbe has said that the best place to start when first diving into his music is Darkness Is Home because it is the first of his newer releases. “ To me, my albums are so different. I’m way more confident in my vocals now. Even though I still can’t record vocals if anyone is in the house! “ It is really intoxicating to hear Kev escape his shyness to give a vocal delivery. Music shares the secrets of the introvert. Currently wbe is putting together a compilation album for streaming platforms known as In Sequence where he adds two edited down tracks from each of his last six releases. He can be found on the we be echo bandcamp, his BC also has a link to the we be echo website. We be echo holds a very special place in my music selection and hopefully some day in yours too. 

by Marcy Angeles: Artist, Writer, Musician, Journalist & Public Speaker