“ Speed “ a dream state post punk talisman perfect for driving on a highway at night all alone. Lost in the tremolos of The Kiss, are we electric? Am I electric? Are we electric? Is he electric? Kevin Thorne has proven himself time & time again to be a master of the bass & the darkness. ‘ Not An Album ‘ is one of Kev’s best pieces of work & just proof that he never disappoints. 5/5 stars - we are lucky to have this piece in 2023.
I've been making music off and on for over 40 years, initially as a duo, then solo from around 1981. When the Pandemic hit I did a full reboot, releasing 6 albums via Bandcamp between 2020 and 2022. My music has been compared to early Brian Eno and Wire, and is bass-driven (I very rarely use my guitar or keyboard). My inluences include Throbbing Gristle, Psychic TV, Cabaret Voltaire and Rema Rema.
Factoids
Band name: we be echo
Members: Kevin Thorne (bass / drum programming / vocals
Inspiration:
I have an urge to create, it’s my therapy. When a song comes together nicely, I can feel the energy of lost friends around me. Creating a song is a journey - and I never know the final path - I can start a song thinking it will go one way, and it will take me another completely different way. It’s quite amazing, and I feel I have no real influence in how they turn out!
Marcy Angeles (we have an album available on bandcamp as Sleep Duchess)
Dave Farmer (Iham), we have a track on an upcoming triple album "Not In My Future" (I also have a we be echo song on this), and have others in the works for vinyl and digital release.
I'm currently putting together a compilation album "voices of discontent" with guest vocalists.
I've collaborated with other musicians including:
“...for those who wish Cabaret Voltaire had never gone disco or Psychic TV had never leaned into house, you need we be echo in your life." spectrumculture.com review of “Ceza Evi Compleat Edition” double CD (ColdSpring, UK).
“It’s honestly probably the best new album I’ve heard this year” Lawrence Burton (Do Easy, Retirement Community)
"Very Brian Eno meets Wire, in the best of ways" Marcy Angeles (Western Obsidian) talking about Darkness Is Home
“When the music lover listens to the album “No Truth, No Lie” in the year 2035, he will continue to be amazed, when he listens to it in 2050 he will continue to be fascinated by enjoying these experimental songs "
Felix Diaz, Lux Atena (translated from the original Spanish)
Reviews / Interviews
Review
Ceza Evi - Compleat Edition
Despite its lo-fi origins - recorded with multiple playbacks on a dual cassette recorder - Ceza Evi sounds like a forgotten classic of the original industrial era. Inspired by Throbbing Gristle and released when cassette culture was at its peak it is an inventive and diverse release which would sit nicely beside the Thomas Leer and Robert Rental album The Bridge, Chris and Cosey's Heartbeat and Cabaret Voltaire's Voice of America.
" Darkness is Home makes me think of Nine Inch Nails if Trent Reznor had grown up listening to Wire rather than Kiss….. Darkness is Home may even be the best album I've heard this year."
“Kevin Thorne’s musical style is a juxtapose of many genres but with a very strong post-punk flavour……wbe never disappoints and his new album is one of his strongest yet”
Garageband with plugins emulating the Roland Chorus Space Echo, the Roland TB303 bass sequencer, and various effects. I've tried other DAWs but this one is just so intuitive and simple to use.
I create a drum pattern, then play along while recording. When I find something that works, I save the recording, delete what I don't need, then play along with that. It can be quite a process, but other times, it all flows together perfectly.
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Then when I have the base song and maybe some soloing in the middle and end (I like to build up towards the end), I listen to the song a few times, figuring out words and phrases that work with the song, then write some lyrics down. I record on my iphone using the Shure microphone, either playing the song base through headphones on my mac or an old iphone.
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I then transfer the vocal WAV file to Garageband and mix it down.
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Often I add more bass to round the song out after the vocals are mixed in
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I then transfer to my iphone and listen several times - if the song makes the cut, I save it to my next album's playlist.
Historical Factoids
Invited to the recording of Throbbing Gristle's Heathen Earth album
Designed several album covers for Chris & Cosey
Contributed two songs to the compilation CD set "formative UK Electronica 1975-1984" (Cherry Red): we be echo - sexuality / third door from the left - in the room.
First vinyl release was a song on The Elephant Table album (Xtract Records, 1983)
graphic designer since leaving college in 1981.
Originally from South East London, UK
Living in South Western Ontario, Canada since 1999
Images - 1980's & new
These images may be used in publications alongside a review or interview without requesting permission. For other uses, permission is requested.
