Are you recording new material? I must say that the four songs in Eclectic
Collaborations really blow my head off. We want more!

We have been sending about hundred copies of "Eclectic Collaborations" demo to
the different labels, distros zines etc and being prized a lot but so far
there's not any concrete offer for record deal are been done. It could be of
course very naive to hope that we would get the attention right after releasing
the first demo and for that reason we have to write new material in order to
release a new demo again. So far we have 4 new songs ready again to record and
planning to hit the studio again in spring of 2001. New material is even more
technical yet atmospheric like "Eclectic Collaborations" was. We have developed
a lot since our last demo and made our likes in jazz music even more obvious. I
guess that admirers of Cynic, Aghora, Meshuggah, Dream Theater and other bands
like those won't be disappointed hearing music of Echosilence.

Is there a possibility to release the material of the "...And Sorrow" demo tape?

The primal intention recording "...And Sorrow" demo was to record somehow our
material and not to distribute it worldwide. We did the whole recording onlywith two days in incredible bad conditions with 4-track Tascam taperecorder. Despite the fact that there were almost none equipment the final result of it turned quite good and we sent the demo to some labels and zines.
Now we have stopped sending "...And Sorrow" just because the lack of production.

How important is jazz music for you as a drummer and for the group when you compose?

All we do comes from our heart and we don't include parts of jazz or metal or
other things coldly calculating how things would go together. Jazz music has
though affected us so much that the influences from our music are quite
obvious.
The first band who brought us to jazz music was actually Cynic. We liked very
much their way of combining jazz and death metal. After that the door for Chick
Corea, Dave Weckl, Shawn Malone etc was open. I admire the techniques of jazz
drummers and the overall compositional stuff of jazz music.

How different is the material with singer compared to the instrumental
ones?

Well, composing instrumental music you don't have to think about where to put
lyrics and stuff like that. You just concentrate for the music and everyone
from the band can give as much as they can from their skills. I guess that for
the music where you have singer the chorus-verse scheme is most suitable and it
definitely sets limits for creating music. From that comes the conclusion that
instrumental music is more variable, free and complex.

Which are your main influences as composers and players?
I mentioned here already Cynic. Early days we used to be very fond of a band
called Death but the influences of Chuck Schuldiner and co are maybe not so
obvious today's Echosilence.
We are actually four very different personalities in Echosilence and our
musical tastes are also very different. The red line is though music which is
interesting, technical, melodic, moody etc.
Some bands to mention: Meshuggah, Atheist, Pestilence, Anathema, Chick Corea,
Dave Weckl, Frederick Thordendal, the Gathering, Dream Theater, Terry Bozzio.

Are you looking for a new singer? Are there any candidates?
Actually not. First when we departed ways with Triin Pata we thought that we'll
definitely look for someone to sing in Echosilence but as time went on we
realised that staying instrumental is our way. We have got very many positive
words also from listeners for our status as an instrumental band. They tend to
say that it's easier to concentrate on music and there are not any words
disturbing. Also the bad singer can make the good music to ashes.
The other thing is that when you sing something you must have a message in your
lyrics this leads automatically to some kind of ideology. We try to be free of
any kind of ideology as much as we could.

Are you professionally trained musicians? Do you have a big knowledge of
music theory?
In general we are not professionally trained, each member has a different level
of musical education. Our bassist Arian Levin is studying composing and
electronic music and guitarist Mart Karu has had some classical guitar
training. Of course we know basic music concepts and we have our notation
system (laughs :). Being non-"professionally trained musician" is more
interesting because we are not attached to classical music theory and we don't
have to do our music "right" which leads to experimenting more with music and
having fun doing it.

Are you going to record again at Matrix Studios? Do you find something
special in that place?
I guess we'll do it. This studio has history, it's the oldest studio in Estonia
and has invested a lot to it's equipment. We were quite pleased with the result
of "Eclectic Collaborations" and I guess that also the next demo will be
recorded in the same studio. It's the best place to record in Estonia but of
course we try to record our new material in Finland or in Sweden if possible.

Do you compose using different parts and putting them together or maybe
you start a song and continue with it until you finish it?
Usually our guitarists come up with fresh ideas in the rehearsing room and then
the other try to learn them. When we have some ideas then we try to put them
together as a song. Our songs tend to be very long-up to 13 minutes but that's
the way we like.
This kind of composing is very time-consuming and we write only a few songs in
a year. Of course this could be better if we would rehearse more, currently we
are rehearsing only at weekends.

Are there any plans of touring to support the new material?
We could arrange a tour only in Estonia, but you know Estonia is such a little
place (1.4 million people and it keeps shrinking) that you could give only 3 or
4 gigs and every metalhead has seen you already. Of course touring in Europe is
an option but right now we don't have such management power to organize it by
ourselves and our new full release should be out also. We have to be very
optimistic regarding our new material but we really hope that someone notices
us.

Any final words for people in Argentina?
First of all thank YOU very much for the attention and this great interview and
of course for the fans: Be open-minded and the world is yours.

Interviewed by Federico Marongiu

...And Sorrow - demo (1997)

Eclectic Collaborations - demo (1998)

Risto Mötus - drums

Mart Karu - guitars

Arian Levin - bass

Marek Kivi - guitars