Ecco2k Sets New Album Echo

The follow-up to 2019’s E arrives this weekEcco2k, photo by Zak ArogundadeSeven years after releasing his debut solo album E, Ecco2k has returned with a follow-up. Echo lands on the rapper-producer’s own label, 9th, this Thursday, November 12. The record contains previously released songs “Aldehyde and Ketones” and “Sky Burial,” plus 10 additional tracks.Per press materials, Echo follows “a vagabond character who wanders the world carrying a broadcast antenna and a crown of flowers. Moving alone through mountains and deserts, beaches, cities, and villages, he searches for signals in a world of overwhelming beauty and indifference, listening and transmitting.” Echo contains no features, and Ecco2k—real name Zak Arogundade—produced every song either solo or alongside regular collaborators Gud, Whitearmor, Felix Lee, and Mechatok.Arogundade got his break as a musician as part of Drain Gang, the Swedish collective rounded out by Bladee, Thaiboy Digital, and Whitearmor. The crew has released two albums together thus far, 2017’s D&G and 2019’s Trash Island. Bladee and Arogundade also put out a joint album, Crest, in 2022.Revisit Pitchfork’s review of Crest.Echo:01 Aldehydes and Ketones02 Echo03 Industrial Strength04 Fæmous Vagrant05 Plume06 Cuban Heel07 French Exit08 Loveless Animal, Lawless Criminal09 Encore10 Held Overnight11 Swimming in Fountains12 Sky BurialCorrection: A previous version of this story mistakenly listed the release date of Ecco2k’s debut solo LP as 2020. It was 2019.Hattie Lindert is an associate staff writer at Pitchfork. A former editor at Resident Advisor, she has written for Rolling Stone, The FACE and The A.V. Club, among others. She’s based in New York, and born and raised in Vermont. ... Read More