Echoboy

Richard Warren, a Nottingham, England native who sings, writes songs, and plays multiple instruments, leads the psychedelic electronic project Echoboy, whose sound reflects the influences of Bob Dylan, Television, Kraftwerk, and the Chemical Brothers. He had earlier fronted the Hybirds as their singer, songwriter, and guitarist, a band that dissolved soon after issuing its self-titled debut album to critical praise in 1998. While that group was winding down, Warren began developing Echoboy songs and distributed copies of the first single, Flashlegs, at the Hybirds’ final shows. Later the same year he issued the debut album Echoboy on his own Point Blank imprint, followed by singles through Earworm Records and Rough Trade, before securing a deal with Mute Records. That label put out the EP Frances Says the Knife Is Alive in 1999 and the full-length Volume 1 in 2000. Echoboy then toured with the Doves and Elastica and appeared at Spain’s Sonar Festival that year, with Volume 2 arriving in late 2000. Giraffe, the third album, surfaced in early 2003 and received strong reviews for its darkly poppy electronic approach; the Lately Lonely EP continued along the same lines.