By: Staff
Echos, the Portland-born, LA-based alternative artist known for her haunting soundscapes and evocative storytelling, has just released her latest single, “PAPERCUTS,” via Outlast Records!
This release comes with a mesmerizing video that pairs perfectly with the intensity of the song. We had the chance to experience “PAPERCUTS” firsthand, and from its first haunting notes, the track draws listeners in with a sense of raw authenticity. Paired with striking visuals of strobe lighting and captivating cinematography, the video takes the performance to new heights. This song, with its powerful vocal delivery and supportive band, is bound to capture attention. With breathy, spine-tingling vocals leading to a climactic crescendo, the musical arrangement is nothing short of stunning.
“PAPERCUTS” is Echos’ third single leading up to her highly anticipated album, slated for release on January 17, 2025. The song dives deep into the emotional scars left by narcissistic abuse, exploring the raw pain of life’s small but piercing wounds with lyrics that resonate and production that echoes vulnerability.
This track marks Echos’ continued exploration of themes like resilience, introspection, and recovery, further building on the signature sound that has earned her over 370 million streams. Fans who have followed Echos from her collaborations with artists like Illenium, Seven Lions, and Dabin to her performances at festivals such as Snowglobe and Shaky Beats will find “PAPERCUTS” to be her most haunting and introspective work yet. With features in Billboard and sync placements on shows like Shameless and Love Island, Echos consistently demonstrates her ability to blend emotional depth with alternative and electronic elements that resonate widely.
Her music deeply connects with her fanbase, especially those who find solace in her openness about mental health and personal struggles. Through her art, Echos challenges stigmas and encourages empathy. Reflecting on “PAPERCUTS,” she shared, “I hope these songs help others realize they are not alone and that healing is possible.”
Prepare for this new chapter in Echos’ journey with “PAPERCUTS,” an unforgettable track that sets the stage for an album filled with vulnerability and power. Listen to “PAPERCUTS” now, and get ready for what’s to come in January 2025!
We had the chance to catch up with Echos for an exclusive interview in "The Cage" Music Blog.
Here’s how it went:
BEGIN INTERVIEW
Hello Echos, we’re thrilled to have you for this interview! We’ve had a blast diving into your music and exploring your work, and now we’re even more excited to learn more about you, both as an artist, and as a person.
What is the backstory beyond your artist name “Echos”?
The artist name was chosen from a lyric from my favorite Paramore song “Misguided ghosts" the line is "But I'm just a ghost, and still they echo me, they echo me in circles" I was nineteen when the name was chosen (I'm thirty one now - which feels absolutely wild that echos has existed for this long) and it really resonated with me because I've always felt like all of my thoughts haunt me in circles. The name is stuck to me forever now.
How did growing up in the PNW and moving to LA shape your musical journey?
Growing up in Washington absolutely shaped how I create. I've always felt like the PNW has a magical element to it. I've always preferred rain over sun and hiding away in the woods. I actually split my time between both places - I feel like I summon all of the things I want to say in my songs by spending most of my time exploring the forest of Washington and then come back to LA and have a clear understanding of what it is I want to say in my music. I love LA but my heart for sure belongs to the forest.
What initially inspired you to explore a darker, more haunting sound in your music?
I've always felt like music is the place that I can explore all of the darker thoughts and themes that I've struggled with throughout my life -- for some reason saying it all in a song feels easier than speaking it. Probably why I felt so attached to the name echos -- it really is a place where my thoughts are able to "echo me" and I can give them a final resting place. It feels like once a song is written it no longer has to live inside of me and the gift of lyrical alchemy has helped me heal through things that don't seem to make sense and I'm forever grateful for this tool. What's even crazier to me even after all of this time is seeing how others feel a lot of what I'm feeling. I've always said my hopes with this project is to shine a light on things that are hard to talk about and help others feel less alone -- but what I'm not sure my listeners know is that it equally makes me feel less alone as well.
Your latest single that we are so excited about, "PAPERCUTS," explores the aftermath of narcissistic abuse. Could you share what inspired you to write about this topic?
When writing this album I was healing from my own experience with Narcissitic abuse and needed an outlet. I was diagnosed with CPTSD which had me feeling extremely lost and like I didn't have a voice anymore. I had a hard time believing the diagnosis to be real so I spent most of my time isolating and trying to run from it. I’ve always used writing as a tool to understand my feelings and it wasn’t until I began writing these songs that I felt all of these subconscious thoughts and feelings coming to the surface so that I could process what I went through and reclaim my sense of self. I surrounded myself with a bunch of positive people who really helped aid in my healing process. I found an incredible therapist to help navigate this journey and feel comfortable in my skin again. I spent so many years making myself and my opinions small in service of other people and I’m at a place in my life where I’m trying to stop doing that and I hope that by talking about things I’ve been through it can inspire others to do the same and know that their feelings are valid. My hope is that anyone who may be going through something similar hears it and knows they aren't alone in it and healing is possible.
How do you balance vulnerability and openness in your lyrics with the desire to protect your personal space?
I think I'm able to balance vulnerability and openness in my lyrics by making sure I have really solid boundaries online so I don't feel the pressure to be "on" and open at all times. Echos is my whole world -- it's all I've lived and breathed since I was nineteen. But as I get older I am trying to remind myself that having a life outside of being echos is okay too. The best advice I've been given recently from another musician friend of mine is to "make sure to enrich your everyday life too" so I make sure that when I'm not being echos I am just doing the most mundane shit that brings me joy and that means meditating, going out for coffee, hanging out with my family and friends, and spending time connecting to nature.
We loved the music video for “PAPERCUTS”. It had terrific performance art by you and the band and the visual effects made it trippy and hypnotic. Did you work with a producer / director or was this self created?
Thank you so much we had so much fun filming this. We worked with Slater Goodson and Stefanie Moser on this they really helped bring the vision to life. We shot this immediately after filming BRUISES - we weren’t really sure if we were going to have time to film it but immediately after walking off the set of bruises it was like “hey okay it’s go time ! Time to film PAPERCUTS!” - I ran back to the dressing room and threw together an outfit -it was probably the least thought out video on my end which is hilarious because typically I am the eco of overthinking but I think since this happened so quickly we were all able to be in our element and just perform. It is now one of my favorite videos simply because we were just having a lot of fun together.
You mentioned the impactful session where “PAPERCUTS” was created. Could you describe the experience and what made it feel so transformative?
Writing with my band for PAPERCUTS -- and every song on this record just felt so otherworldly. We all have this ability to really understand each other energetically where it almost feels like we don't need to speak to each other we just build around each others ideas. This whole album metaphorically and literally helped me trust my intuition in new ways. For example the outro of this song felt to all of us like the "catchiest" part of the song so we tried making PAPERCUTS have a typical pop structure where we tried moving that part to be the chorus. I've been told in the past that my songs are "boring" because I wait to do the "big reveal" at the end. I’ve always loved songs without a typical pop structure -- I don't know why really - but I fuck with big reveal endings. It's always been a big part of the echos world. Slowly building to this tense release of emotion at the end. So we decided to keep it that way. It felt so good to be like "fuck it - this song is fucking weird and it's going to stay this way" and so far it's becoming the fan favorite -- which is validating - and not something I ever try to focus on but in a way it makes me feel a bit more solid in trusting my intuition and my band and collaborators have such a special way of reflecting that trust in my own intuition back to me. I don't think the song would've felt the same if that outro were to be the chorus.
You’ve worked with artists like Illenium, Seven Lions, and Dabin, WOW! How have these collaborations influenced your music and sound? How does it feel to have such largely respected artists reciprocate that feeling and wanting to share a creative space with your terrific talents?
Working with Illenium, Seven Lions and Dabin were such special moments for me -- especially in the beginning of our career too - I remember looking up to them a lot and also seeing the other vocalists they were working with at the time really inspired me and how I went about writing. I did a lot of topline work for them which helped shape me as a writer in finding ways to create compelling soaring vocals over loud and heavy production which I've taken with me into this new era. I remember feeling really excited when those emails came in requesting to work with us they were some of the first artists to really support echos in the beginning and I’ll always be really grateful for that.
How does collaborating with other artists or producers affect the themes and tones of your songs?
I love collaborating with other artists and producers - I've been able to write for them from my perspective to still adhere to my sound while also finding ways to make sure their story is being told too. Typically when I'm doing a topline collaboration for someone they usually ask me "how would you sing about ____" and give me a topic to run with and it feels like a blend of both of our sounds / styles
Are there any unexpected artists or genres that inspire you, outside of what you typically create?
I don't know if there are any unexpected artists or genres that would surprise anyone - I kind of tend to listen to the same thing for years and years and years on repeat I have a playlist on my spotify called "echos selects" where I put all of the things I'm listening to / feel inspired by - I think everything I listen to probably checks out. Maybe the most surprising would be country music - I grew up singing it so sometimes I still love a good country song but if I'm being honest the only thing I find myself wanting to listen to these days is quite literally anything by Ethel Cain. I will never shut up about how much I love her music.
We feel you taking such an emotional road openly must come at an expense mentally and physically and we appreciate this. How do you tailor your music to try to make your sacrifices help those who may be experiencing similar challenges?
Thank you that's such a great question - I feel like I have a very healthy relationship with writing such emotionally vulnerable poetry. Writing for me is a very emotional experience and I’m not sure if its because I’ve been doing it for so many years but I know how to turn it off which may sound strange — for instance I’m able to sing about the most devastating emotions but walk out into another room and drink coffee as if I was able to leave that part of me in the recording.I love making dark music because I think it’s very human to turn to art / creativity / the longing of feeling connection we are sad. I think sad music is a place that screams “hey, you’re sad! That’s okay because I’m sad too!’ And then it gives this validating space for the listener to turn to when they feel like they don’t have anywhere to go. That’s what making music has always been for me.
Have there been specific fan interactions or stories that have impacted you and your music?
Yes and I'll never forget it. Trigger warning for this part - I’ve been told that my dark music is “bad” and that I should make happier music — I’ve always disagreed with this sentiment — A fan interaction that really really stuck with me is when I played Electric Forest. They came up to me after the show and told me that hearing my voice made them not want to contemplate su*c*de anymore. I just held them and we cried - little did they know I had been dealing with a lot of the same thoughts just a week prior to that performance. That changed my life. I thought wow if my art is able to reach someone and change the way they see themselves and the world, then my art has purpose and I have purpose -- even if just one person feels this way then I've done my job. I no longer worry about whether or not my music is “too sad” or "too dark."
You’ve performed at festivals like Snowglobe and Shaky Beats. How does performing live affect your connection with your songs and your audience?
I absolutely love performing live - it's one of my favorite things in the world. I think we live in such a strange time where it's easy to dismiss that there's a real person on the other side of the screen, but when we see a live performance we are experiencing real human interaction. For me, especially since the first part of my career was built primarily online - it was easier to be like “oh sure I'm putting out a song! and it's just going into the ether!" And of course I read the comments but I don’t think it was possible for my brain to comprehend that people were really, really listening to what I had to say. It wasn't until I started playing shows that I was like "oh wow this is very visceral, and very real" and I feel like the energy exchange is so powerful and I'd look down into the crowd and see people crying and it was like we were all collectively experiencing release. I’ve been told that my voice creates a reaction inside of people that makes them start crying and I know that happens for me when I sing - perhaps it’s something about the way I’m singing I’m not entirely sure but singing to a crowd of people, or two people or simply just to myself alone in my house feels like a healing ritual.
Tell us the real story. Is tour awesome, or are there any unique challenges or unexpected pitfalls you experience while touring?
I honestly love touring - I haven't toured in so long that maybe I'll feel differently since I'm older now and 10x more the homebody I was in my early twenties. I think the unique challenges I had at the time were that it's hard to get quality sleep and when I don't get good sleep I get severely depressed. Those who know me know that I am in bed by 9pm and I wake up at 7am. It just works for me -- so that's really really hard to adhere to on the road. We always make it a rule to maintain a sober lifestyle on the road, make sure we are practicing yoga and going to the gym and eating healthy because without those things touring can really take a toll on you. There were times where I'd only get 2 hours of sleep and that was extremely rough. Being away from friends and family is also challenging too - again it's like having two lives. Normal me just wants to be at home making soup and singing in the woods but “echos” me wants to be out singing every night if I had the choice. I think it’s about finding the right balance of how to bring the at home soup vibe on the road and make sure you're taking care of yourself and find a way to make a new schedule even if it's not at the times you're used to, then it's truly a very fun experience.
You mentioned creating this album helped you reconnect with parts of yourself you’d lost. Could you share more about that journey?
For years I felt like I didn’t know who I was anymore. Chronic people pleasing was taking over my life and I had attracted it in quite literally every area of my being so I just became a collage of what I thought I was supposed to be. When I finally got out of the toxic relationship I was in I realized I could try on being "me" again. Who do I want to be without the influence of someone telling me who I should be? How do I want to speak? Carry myself? See the world? I had to relearn what it is that I liked, simply because I liked it without any outside influence. This album let me explore that version of myself and find my confidence again. I now feel so passionate about doing the same for others.
So, what’s next? Can you share the full details on your future projects and what fans should be excited about? We’re hearing about more releases, and we’d love to be the first to announce it!
I am currently gearing up to release this album in full - we have another music video on the way as well! And excited to plan some shows in the near future! After taking some time away from the road to really focus on my healing I am so ready to be able to share these songs in a live setting. I also started working on the body of work to come out after this one which I probably shouldn't talk too much about since you're all still waiting on the current one but I have so much to say and so much to share. I've never been more inspired to create than I am now.
Echos, thank you so much, we appreciate you taking the time to talk to us!
Thank you so much for having me!
End Interview
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We’re happy to have shared Echos’s exciting journey with you and uncovered such inspiring insights about their creative process.
Now, click the links below to experience their incredible work firsthand!
Check out this latest release and listen to more of Echos on Spotify & YouTube.
Commentaires