EchoStorms open up on their formation, their recent single 'Creator' and more: Interview

Hello and thank you for joining us! Could you give us an insight on the main inspirations/influences that led to your chosen career pathway?

Ben Locke: I was very lucky to have been given a great start in music by my grandmother with whom I spent a great deal of time as a kid. When I was about three years old, she retired from her job as a music teacher and turned her attention to giving me the best musical education I could ever wish for, teaching me music theory and how to play the piano as well as introducing me to artists such as The Beatles and Elton John. Shortly after this, I discovered artists such as The Prodigy, Basement Jaxx and bands such as The Killers and Bloc Party alongside all the other Britpop and post-Britpop bands.

I got involved with a local studio when I was quite young and from day one, I knew that was what I had to do as a career. I fell in love with writing and producing songs and that’s what has really shaped my life so far.

Katya Fadeeva: I started playing piano from when I was quite young and graduated from music school. A bit later I taught myself how to play guitar, which is an instrument I really enjoy playing and writing with.

After I finished music school, I moved from my hometown to Saint Petersburg where my sister was heavily involved with organising raves and events in the underground electronic music scene. Being involved in that scene really sparked my interest in electronic music and DJing.

Combining both your talents in a manner that will scintillate even the toughest of crowds, we would like to know a little more on the backstory of how EchoStorms was formed, as well as an insight on both members?

Ben Locke: EchoStorms was born during lockdown while we were living at my studio in the UK – basically the result of the inability to go outside, too much free time and way too many synths lol!

Katya Fadeeva: Ben had musical projects that had been successful previously and had also written and produced records for other people which had done well. I was really enjoying DJing back in Russia and wanted to develop more as a writer and producer, so we were really an amazing fit right from the start!

Incorporating elements of melodic techno, indie dance and house, we would like to know how your style of play came to be, as well as your own thoughts on maintaining a versatile nature as an electronic duo within our community?

Katya Fadeeva: As we come from diverse musical backgrounds and have eclectic tastes in music, when it comes to creating music, we always set out to incorporate elements from multiple genres and by doing that aiming to create something unique.

It’s never been hard for us to maintain the versatile nature of our music as we are always full of unusual ideas and not afraid of trying new things and seeing them through. However, we have sometimes come across opinions in the industry who think that some of our music is too “out of the box” or forward thinking, which is the reason why some of the tracks that we consider to be the most interesting of our work are still as yet unreleased.

Making waves with your debut single, ‘Tidal Wave,’ could you give us an insight on the main thought process behind this track, as well as the overall message that you set out to portray when releasing this now proven certified hit?

Katya Fadeeva: The majority of the actual songwriting of Tidal Wave actually dates back to 2014 when Ben was in America working with Timbaland. He had written this song for Birdy to record for her album, but it was never released. I discovered this song back in 2020 on an old hard drive lying around in Ben’s studio in the UK and knew that we had to finish off the writing together and record it for EchoStorms. It was a really nice way of introducing ourselves to the electronic music community – not just as DJs and producers but also as songwriters and vocalists. It gave us an incredible push to kickstart our career and it will always be a very special song for us.

Releasing on some of the most well-renowned labels in the dance scene, as well as being supported by some of the biggest names, we would like to know how rewarding such recognition has been, as well as the added incentive that it generates in continuing to elevate your sound(s) on a constant basis?

Katya Fadeeva: I’ll never forget the moment that I received my first ever Songstats notification – it said that David Guetta had played Tidal Wave! It was one of the most surreal moments of my life up to that point, such an incredible feeling that on our very first single we had been supported by literally the Number One DJ in the world! Having the support of so many incredible DJs – both huge names and also up and coming – is just the best feeling. It really means so much to us and we will be eternally grateful for it.

Releasing on world renowned labels has been a real honour and a wonderful experience. Especially Stereohype; they’ve become real friends and we’ve played many of their live streams. Their fans – the “Hypefam” – have always been so supportive of our music. Massive love to those guys!

Having launched your very own imprint, ‘Galactica,’ could you give us a further insight on the values and ethos that your label omits to up and coming artists, as well as the impact that it has had on your career ever since its launch?

Katya Fadeeva: The impact that Galactica has had on our career is huge. It allowed us to focus on developing a sound that’s unique to us and making the best records possible, rather than having to make tracks to fit with other labels’ sounds or worry too much about industry politics. I think without the freedom Galactica gave us we would not be in the position we are in today.

Blessing us all with yet another banger, your most recent release, ‘Creator,’ is one for the books. We would like to know the overall feel behind this production, as well as the different musical elements that were incorporated in order to create a track of such magnitude and presence?

Katya Fadeeva: Ben’s always had a hand in the hip-hop world, and I know that for as long as we have been releasing music, he’s wanted to do a house/ hip-hop crossover record and Creator is just that! We co-wrote the topline with an incredibly talented vocalist called TeeRare. The vocals were actually recorded at a much slower BPM, then we sped them up to give the vocal the feeling of urgency that it has now. It took quite a while to get every element exactly how we wanted to be honest. For example, we’d already finished the first version of the track when we realised that we weren’t in love with the sound of the drum samples we had used, so we went back and completely redid the drums with more organic and natural sounding samples. It took a lot of fine tuning and focusing on small details but in the end we’re really happy with the final result.

With festival season now in full flow, could you give us any hints towards what the future holds for EchoStorms in terms of music and live performances?

Ben Locke: We’re currently in the middle of our summer residency at Canna in Bali, which runs until September. After that we head to South America for some shows – dates will be announced soon!

Katya Fadeeva: Release wise, the next one to drop is “Do As I Say.” It’s an acid-infused, underground track and I’m on vocals for this one. It’s been in our sets for almost a year now and it always goes off, so we are really stoked to finally be releasing it! It’s out on Nervous on July 14.

After that is a collaboration with Able Faces. The track’s called “Whisper Through The Noise.” This is definitely one for fans of our more melodic work with a big vocal! It’s out on Altra Moda on August 11.