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Skechbook starts off strong with a comfortable mesh of pleasant synths and liquidy bass. The first track, entitled “Cause and Effect” swims forward over the delicate pop of its cushiony snapping beats. Superb vocal editing mixes voice into the song as if it is another instrument. As the track progresses, its sound subtly changes. By the track’s end, it is a different arrangement entirely.

“Cause and Effect” sets up the framework for the rest of the album. Skechbook is a record of shifting structures. It is an output that grew from Dominic Hoare and Andy Gillham’s cumulative years in music. The two have a long history. They met in the orchestra, but soon moved from classical instruments to synthesizers and computers (the ZX spectrum, specifically). They started to get into House and began hitting raves and DJing parties through the 1980s. The mid-90s brought them to Drum n Bass and beat experimentation. As they moved forward, they were promoting bars and clubs, DJing and producing. Other styles started to pour in. It wasn’t just House or DnB any more, it was everything. The artists continually remained open to new sounds and expanding ideas.

After some time apart for music production and independent growth, the duo got back together in 2004. They started experimenting with a new sound derived directly from live performances. Echaskech was reborn. Three years later, Skechbook was released.

Skechbook gracefully moves from Techno to Acid, from Ambient to IDM. It works off of an inspiration by Kraftwerk, it shows an appreciation for Oribital, and it even digs a little deeper and touches on the warm, melodic soundscapes of Plone. The skill that Echaskech displays is not just the marrying of different influences and genres, lots of electronic artists do that, the real accomplishment is how smoothly these transitions take place.

There are only a couple of exceptions to this. One is the drawn-out sample that trudges it way through the first minute of “Unsynchronised Swimming”. Another is on the track “Popstars”. Here, the fuzzy vocals pull on the listener a little too hard when compared to the cottony feel that floats through the rest of the album. But these moments are too brief to detract from Skechbook as a whole.

Overall, this is an album that is, simply put, well done. It embraces its many influences with an intelligent disregard for any specific genre. The result is something that is both strangely comfortable and familiar while still remaining unique and exciting.

Reviewed by: Richie Corelli

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