“The city of Dayton, OH breeds innovative music and Echobreak is set to keep that statement true! A (now) 4 piece Pop-Hardrock band that seamlessly blends elements of J-Rock, Hip-Hop, Hyper-Pop, and EDM. Starting in late 2020, Echobreak made their mark with their 2021 single "Black Lotus", reaching 500,000+ streams on Spotify.
As Echobreak continues to grow, they have been gaining the respect of the regional Rock & Hip-Hop scene. Echobreak also has been praised by the likes of Shane Told (Silverstein) & Mike Howell of New Noise, Christopher Daley of OnlyNoise, Local Band Smokeout, Scene Daddy, and Jonny Richardson of JMR Music Reviews.
How has the New Year been for you so far as an artist?
It's been a mixed bag tbh! We are growing every day as a band and have been getting a lot of online buzz, and amazing shows coming up that we are excited to be a part of. On the other hand it's been hard to get a hometown show going ever since the pandemic. We've been a band for over a year and this month we will finally have our Debut hometown show.
Can you tell us how you've transformed from the beginning to now as an artist?
Echobreak is 10 years in the making. All of us have been in a band together in one way or another, and have been close friends for over a decade. Once all of our past projects came to an end, it just felt natural for us to make Echobreak. With our history together, we can easily figure out our strengths and weaknesses to make what we believe to be the best music of our career!
When we first started this project we had a vague idea of what exactly we wanted our sound to be, but we did know it was going to be heavily inspired by the songs used in Anime intros that we grew up loving! In the beginning it was more J-Rock inspired mixed with our Metalcore & Pop-Punk roots. Over time we've been honing our craft like a fine blade; mixing elements of K-Pop & Hyperpop along the way. Recently, we've been experimenting with EDM, which will be showcased some time in late 2023.
How did you come up with your latest project?
As we mentioned in the last question, We've been friends for over a decade. So when the time came we all knew we wanted to do a project together. The funny thing is, Echobreak wasn't the first version of this band. We ended up Shelving the idea for EB. It was originally going to be called 'Arcane Lake". We were an occult Metalcore band, who wore masks made from (faux) animal skulls. We later adopted that idea for the Kitsune mask we now wear.
An EP was recorded for the project, but ultimately was scrapped when Justin confessed he wasn't into playing Metalcore anymore. He approached us with a demo, which later became "Dreamcatcher". It had this awe-inspiring lead that sounded like it came straight from a 2000's anime opening! Being weebs that we are, we knew instantly what Justin had stirring in his head was pure gold and all agreed to go this direction instead. It was hard to let go of that Ep we worked so hard on, but looking back, "Dreamcatcher" was a 'lightning in a bottle' moment that we couldn't pass up!
Where are you from originally?
Dayton, OH, AKA "Gem City". Dayton has been a surprisingly amazing hub for alt-music for being a relatively small city. Recently, there has been a surge of talented Hip Hop artists and a booming scene happening in that world right now! People here are just born with natural talent!
Where do you live now?
Dayton still, The local scene is still strong even in the neighboring cities so it just makes sense to stay here!
Do you think where you live impacts how your music is made?
Yes and no! Yes, as in being a part of the local scene for such a long time has really influenced our taste in music and has put us in front of big names in the alt scene. So we have been privileged to rub shoulders with those kinds of people; it's given us insight on how to be in a successful band!
No, as in we are the oddball of our scene, with our influences for this project being J-Rock & K-Pop. Our image also puzzles people, some love it, some find it weird and cringe at times. But we believe because of that, we have something unique and has potential to break the mold, even at a national level.
What was the inspiration to make music your career?
Growing up in the Dayton scene absolutely inspired us, watching bands like: The Devil Wears Prada, Hawthorne Heights, and Dangerkids when they were small and then going on to be big influential bands. We want our music to be that next bridge that inspires the next generation of musicians like the mentioned bands did for us!
How do you want to shape your career?
We would love to be the next My Chemical Romance, or Twenty One Pilots.We love theatrics and storytelling like those bands do. Our goal is to create an experience, more so than just being a band that plays music. We want a culture to grow from it. Being part of the counterculture has always been familiar to us, but we want to be the bridge that continues to let people know it's okay to be different and not have to fit the norms of everyday life.
Do you work on a tight timeline always or do you go with the flow when it comes to your music?
Tight timeline all the time to be honest. Trying to be a successful band feels like you're running a business! We try to hit our goals as much as possible, sometimes there are factors we can't control lol. We understand that there is going to be a bit of a grind if we want to make it.
How did your latest title of your music come to be?
Our Drummer, Cody, was the writer behind the track "F.B.V."! He was inspired by Hyperpop and loves hype music. He wanted a fun upbeat song that parodies "night life". So that's how "F.B.V." came to be! We all agreed that the sampling in the song was unique and could showcase our pop side more so than our previous material.
Is it hard to let go of the music when it is done?
Quite the opposite honestly haha! Our problem is we have a hard time keeping our mouths shut when we make a new song. It may be a collective sense of narcissism we have, but we are so proud of the type of music we have been making lately we just want to release it now. I can't explain it, but ever since this band came to be, all of us have been on our A game when it comes to writing!
Do you feel an emotional attachment to your music?
Absolutely! Our band is built on years of friendships and hardships. Honestly there are times where it's the only thing that keeps us going! We love what we do, this music has been a great chance to allow us to express ourselves and our talent!
How would you describe your music in one word to someone who hasn't listened to it yet?
Weeb-core.
Where do they go to listen NOW?
Spotify and Youtube are our biggest platforms although we are on everything!
What has been the best fan reaction to your music?
We love hearing anyone enjoying our music, or come up to us and say they love the image! We also love that our loved ones see the hard work we've been putting into this project. If We had to choose one moment, I (Justin) would have to say: One of my close friend's, Vinny, little boy coming out to our shows and listening to our music, calling us super heros, had been the best reaction for me!
Is there anything exciting coming up for you?
A lot! We have shows & festivals all the way up until September. We will have a collaboration track with our good friends PROV3RB5 & Stelliferous coming out May 20'th. We are finishing up another collaboration track with 2 local Hip Hop artists that will be out later this year. We are also working on our debut EP that will drop some time early to mid 2023!
Are you performing the song anywhere LIVE?
"F.B.V." will be a staple in our current set! So if you want to hear it live, come out to one of our shows! We will have dates posted on our socials! Thank you so much for this interview, we appreciate it so much!
Give us all your socials and links so fans can link up with you!
This has every link to our social media and streaming services: https://withkoji.com/@Echobreak