Echo Orbiter

Did You Know?

• Echo Orbiter's first album was recorded while the band members were still in high school.
• At the 1999 PopFest, the band destroyed stage equipment in a 'Who-like' manner, including pummeling a giant cardboard robot head.

History

Echo Orbiter got its start in 1996 in Westville, New Jersey, when brothers Justin Emerle and Colin Emerle teamed up with drummer Jeremiah Steffen. While they were still in high school, the trio went to Miner St. Studios in Philadelphia to cut their debut album, A Moment In Life That’s Right, with Brian McTear engineering. Critics called it a steady collection of nicely textured pop tunes, with one writer comparing it favorably to Guided by Voices’ better work.

Not long after, the song “Spring is Here” landed on a compilation spotlighting Philadelphia’s up-and-coming indie bands, which helped Echo Orbiter secure slots at the Philadelphia PopFest in 1998 and 1999, and a headlining spot in 2000. The band made headlines at the 1999 PopFest when they smashed a giant cardboard robot head, wrecked a few guitars, tore apart their drum kit, and damaged the venue’s own stage gear in a chaotic, Who-inspired frenzy.

In 1999, Echo Orbiter returned to Miner St./Cycle Sound Studios to record their second album, Laughing All The While, again with Brian McTear engineering and Kurt Heasley of Lilys co-engineering. The band started hanging around the Elephant 6 Collective, appearing on compilations alongside of Montreal, playing shows with Beulah, of Montreal, and the Minders, and putting out a split-45 with Calvin, Don’t Jump!. In 2001, while touring with the Starlight Mints in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, the September 11 attacks cut the tour short. After that, plus the theft of their gear, Echo Orbiter stopped playing live shows entirely. Their final performance for nearly a decade was in Providence, Rhode Island, on September 18, 2001.

Even without live shows, Justin and Colin kept recording at a furious pace. They contributed music to Eventide Production’s short film Mortality and Get-Kinetic’s short film 4.50, and their cover of Medicine’s “Never Click” appeared on the compilation Never Lose That Feeling in the UK, Japan, and the US. Over the next several years, they churned out six albums, three EPs, five singles, and nine full-length compilation albums to go with them, earning a reputation for cranking out sharp, three-minute pop songs.

In 2010, Echo Orbiter released their ninth studio album, Euphonicmontage. The record mixed experimental sounds with influences ranging from Ayn Rand to the Flaming Lips, and was designed to mirror the cubist style of Picasso’s paintings in music. Critics called it a landmark in indie rock. That same year, the band appeared on a R. Stevie Moore tribute alongside Ariel Pink and XTC’s Dave Gregory, and represented the United States on a FIFA World Cup compilation. Working with Green Light Go Publicity, Echo Orbiter played their first show in nine years at Johnny Brenda’s in Philadelphia on September 18, 2010—exactly nine years after their last gig—with Joe Jack Talcum of the Dead Milkmen. The Philadelphia City Paper made them a cover story in its Music Issue. Later that year, they released the EP More Batteries, which was recorded entirely on a hacked iPhone.

In 2012, Echo Orbiter appeared in the book Rock Torch Volume One alongside artists like Sean Lennon, Matt Pond, Cornershop, Elf Power, and Ra Ra Riot. They also put out a free EP called Aerosol Power, recorded on a four-track reel-to-reel in a cabin in the Pocono Mountains during the winter of 2011.