Castledawson man’s ‘Echo’ longing to be heard
Thursday, 13 November 2008
Ciaran Gribbin aka ‘Joe Echo’, the Castledawson born singer/songwriter who is currently busy recording a soundtrack for an upcoming movie called Heatless, expected to be releases in 2009.
CHANCES are the names Joe Echo and Ciaran Gribbin don't ring many bells for a host of Mid Ulster citizens - but that could be all set to change.
First things first, 'Joe Echo' is Ciaran Gribbin; a Castledawson born singer/songwriter and musician described by one reviewer as "a one man fantasy island of wondrously divergent music."
The pseudonym was adopted by Gribbin as after calling it a day with Belfast based band Leya - a band once voted 'Most Promising Irish Band' in the readers poll of influential Irish music magazine Hot Press. Since going solo Ciaran has been receiving many media plaudits with expectations being cranked up that this could be his year.
“With Leya we'd created a monster of epic, dramatic sound. With Joe Echo I wanted to strip it back, to reinvent myself musically, but retain the passionate element we had in Leya. My singing voice carries strong emotion; I knew that was one of my key musical assets," said Ciaran. "To make a record and not utilise that would be suicidal and, ultimately, not me. In terms of sound I think that Joe Echo has a hypnotic feel, some songs are certainly dance influenced whilst others are more sparse affairs," continued Ciaran in a recent interview.
The mercurial singer is enjoying a hectic year so far; as well as working hard on his solo material, he has also been recording tracks for the soundtrack to Philip Ridley's post-production movie 'Heartless'.
“Its been going really good. In total there are around 12 songs to record and we're half way, and it's all going so well." explained Ciaran.
For his solo album Cairan employed the production talents of Chris Potter whose credits include Blur, U2, The Rolling Stones and a long relationship with The Verve and their frontman Richard Ashcroft. This tie bore some fruit on Joe Echo's debut album where Verve drummer Peter Salisbury makes a guest appearance.
Another side project includes co-writing credits with dance impresario Paul Oakenfold.
“First and foremost I still want to be respected as a good songwriter, making music of true quality. I think people will appreciate that there is substance to the music, lyrics that try and say something more than 'what's that coming over the hill/is it a monster?' or 'Ruby, Ruby, Ruby, Ruby," Says Ciaran, "However, I'd also love to be writing songs that go down well in indie clubs, songs with a real groove to them, that people can get down to. So it's about incorporating all those elements, getting the balance just right."
Further proof, if it were needed, that things are on the up for the Castledawson man, one special plaudit came from the frontman of one of Ireland's top selling bands. Gary Lightbody, of Snow Patrol, is quoted as saying, "Ciaran has one the most extraordinary voices I've heard in a long time." This was not just faint praise from a fellow Ulsterman, Cairan was invited to sing backing vocals on four of Snow Patrol's songs including 'Eyes open'.
Anyone looking to find out more about Ciaran or his alias can log onto www.joeecho.com for more information on up and coming gigs or downloads.
