The Echoing Green (Joey Belville – music & vocals, Chrissy Jeter - vocals), has released a steady stream of uplifting hope-filled electronica and synth-pop for over a decade.  Since their 2004 album “The Winter of our Discontent” that signaled a new musical direction, they have been strangely silent.  I caught up with Joey to discuss what they’ve been up to in the last couple years, where their music is headed, the new Pristina project, and his recent passion of producing for other artists.

JL: Why the 2 year hiatus since your last major album?

JB: All kinds of reasons... mainly other musical projects as well as "life stuff" - like both my wife and I as well as Chrissy and her husband had our 2nd child each in that time - but also I did the new Leiahdorus album, the Ever album, the new Monica Schroeder, as well as worked on Pristina during that time.

JL: Why have you transitioned more into a producer role recently?

JB: It seemed a real logical transition for me at this time. I'm a studio geek more than a stage performer by nature. Also - producing is a great way for me to be involved in music - even when I don't have the inspiration to write it. It's nice to embrace the vision of others once in awhile.

JL: What’s the story behind the Pristina project, and when will it be released?

JB: Pristina is the female vocal project I've been wanting to do since 1998. It feels so good to flex some different musical muscles. The Echoing Green is the only thing I've known for so long... I just needed a different outlet. Plus - it's almost always "ladies night" in my cd player (or iPod). I'm a sucker for great female vocals... esp. in real dreamy musical scapes. SO... I teamed up with female artists I'd made friends with over the years and we all made this labor of love. There wasn't a budget - it didn't make a difference - we really did it for the art of it.

The limited edition of the record is actually out now. You can get it at ADD [http://www.adifferentdrum.com/]. It contains a bonus disc with remixes from Venus Hum, Iris, Rename, and others...

JL: What other artists are you working with on this project?

JB: I worked with:

Sarah Masen. I only knew her in passing, but was familiar with her music. It was Jon Foreman of Switchfoot (who is her brother-in-law) who got us together. I told him about my project and he thought Sarah and I would really hit it off - and he was totally right. Even more important than the music - I got a great friend out of the experience.

Alicia Luma. I've known Alicia for YEARS - since before I used to tour with Five Iron Frenzy. It seems to me that she came and crashed at my house with Velour 100, I think...? I actually don't remember when we first met. She's gonna punch me if she reads this. Either way it was a long time ago. We lost touch for a bit, but then her mom actually tracked me down on the Internet and kept me updated on all her exploits. Alicia has always been the musical bridesmaid, but never the bride - so to speak, in that she has been the "live" singer for bands like His Name Is Alive and Velour 100 - but never recorded on their records. Which is their respective loss, because she's CRAZY good. Not only that - she's one of the best lyricists I've ever known.... ever. We were originally only going to do 2 songs together and we wound up doing 7. 5 of which are on the album.

Anita Robinson of Viva Voce. I got to know both Kevin and Anita from the Viva years ago. Then Kevin actually played guitar on the Supernova album for The EG. We managed to stay in touch fairly well since then. Both her and Kevin are "lo-fi mad scientists" so-to-speak. Recording up at their place was pretty different. I documented it in a podcast you can check out on iTunes (just search for Pristina)... it was silly fun.

Chrissy Jeter - don't need to explain that one too much. She's not only the closest thing I have to a sister, she's amazing.

Monica Schroeder - this was the only person I worked with on the record who I had not actually met in person. Todd at A Different Drum was a big fan of hers and suggested her. I checked her stuff out and really liked it. I sent her a rough mp3 of a couple tracks and she picked the hardest one (in my opinion, anyway) to write lyrics over and pulled it off. She tracked her vocals in Toronto, and sent them down to me and I edited them and slapped them in to the track. We talked on the phone a lot during that time. So since then - she really liked my work on the song and she asked me to produce her next record. So she flew down to New Mexico and I finally got to meet her and we did her record. She was great! It was a fairly weird way to make a record- - but it worked.

JL: What other projects are you currently working on?

JB: Besides the new EG, I'm doing a lot of remixes. I'm finishing up a remix for Venus Hum as well as a remix for Project 86, Iris, and Ultraviolet. I have kind of a love/hate relationship with remixing. I almost always really love what I come up with - but I usually hate getting started. But I keep plowing through regardless.

Wil Foster, Chrissy, and myself have also begun working on a new vocal-trance side project called Hotel. We're still kind of mapping it out - but it's mainly just for fun.

JL: Do you have an album coming out soon?  If so, will the musical style be influenced by the other types of music you’ve been producing lately?

JB: Yes - I hope to have the new EG done by this spring and out in the summer. We made the first track "Suffer" available on myspace for download and we have also started a remix contest for it. Musically, it's not really influenced at all by Pristina or Leiahdorus or anything like that. Actually, working on the other projects has cleared our vision and we really know what we want to do this time around. "Suffer" is very indicative of the new sound. It's a logical progression from the Winter album - I really don't feel like we need to reinvent ourselves - like a lot of bands do.

JL: How has your musical style changed over the years?

JB: I've definitely been liberated from making bubbly, major-key synthpop. I feel like the overall tone and sound has gotten a bit darker and moodier (sonically, not spiritually), which I think is good. Don't get me wrong - I *love* good hooks and will always have a pop sensibility that I couldn't get rid of if I wanted to - I'm just finding new and better ways to get to those hooks.

JL: in your more recent albums, you’ve switched to distributing exclusively via a Different Drum, a secular synth-pop label. What were your reasons for moving to this label? Has it been a positive move? What are the challenges of producing Christian music for a secular label?

JB: Although ADD is a small label - they've been consistent.  Big labels have come and gone; yet Todd at ADD still prevails.  Todd has always believed in the EG, and there haven't been too many challenges to speak of, when it comes to our beliefs and our music.  Being on ADD has actually given us an artistic validation that we've been craving for a long time.  While Chrissy and I are both strong believers, we've never wanted to be stereotyped as a "Christian" band.   Not because we're ashamed, or anything lame like that - it is simply because there is SO much bad luggage associated with the term "Christian Band" that most non-church-types will not want to even give us a chance because they automatically assume that we're super-lame and cheesy.   We lose on both sides of the spectrum, because a lot of conservative Christian music circles don't think we're Christian enough - I guess because our lyrics aren’t CCM-Trendy enough to make good youth group t-shirts... not that there's anything wrong with that.

JL: What are some of the latest toys in your studio? Do you have a favorite?

JB: Oooh - gear list stuff.  I've not made one of those in awhile.  
Hardware wise - my main vocal microphone is a Brauner Phantom C, as well as a handful of others.  
My main Mic Pre is a Universal Audio LA-610.  I love this thing... I swapped out the factory tubes with some Mullard (British) tubes and it rules.  I also tend to use my Grace 101 and Presonus Eureka from time to time.   

I recently switched from a Motu 828mkII interface to an Apogee Ensemble...  I'm not quite used to the way the control panel is, but so far it sounds fantastic.

My main recording software is Logic Pro.  I *love* it.  I love it so much I became an Apple Certified Trainer on it and teach it at the University of New Mexico in for some night classes once a quarter.   So, obviously, I'm a total Mac Geek.  I feel like I'm entitled to be vocal about it since I used to be a PC guy to the core and thought all the mac people were horned-rimmed-chai-sipping-stuck up snobs.  Then I realized Chai Tea is kinda good.  (and the switched to mac changed my music-making life)

I monitor through a Blue Sky 2.1 speaker system.  Probably one of THE best changes I've made in a long time.

Then, of course, I have a TON of plugins... too many, to where I think it bogs me down a bit.

JL: Can you offer any production tips for the TF audience, based on your recent experiences?

JB: Get a good microphone.  Seriously.  Don't be fooled by the $100 fancy-looking condenser mic.  It's cheap for a reason.  Not that you have to go out and buy a $2000 mic - but I would recommend at least mics in the $300 range.  It really is worth it - one of the best mics I've owned, and I used on most of the winter album, is the Rode NT-1000.  I think it clocks in around $299 or so.... TOTALLY worth it - and that thing holds its own with the expensive guys... and no I'm NOT endorsed by Rode!  But really - a good mic and a quiet room is really important.  Even if you have to thumbtack sleeping bags to the wall to deaden the room (which I did on tracks like "Ceremony" in the past) it's worth it.

JL: What are some of your biggest challenges while producing? How have you overcome them?

JB: That first question has two different scenarios and answers.   If I'm producing EG stuff - it's a bit harder because I'm paying attention to both the artistic aspects as well as the technical - and sometimes one (usually the technical) gets neglected.  Which is why I've been having Chrissy do more and more technical stuff - she actually tracks and produces all my vocals and writes alot of my harmonies - as well as all of her own.

The other side is when I'm producing other people's stuff.   That's a bit different in that I'm mostly paying attention to the technical.  This is one area that has been so good for me.  Spending so much time on other people's stuff has helped me get my technical game back up to par, so-to-speak.   

The challenge (or at least one of them) in producing other peoples stuff is that a lot of guys have what I call "demo-itis" - where they are SO comfortable and attached to the demos they made that they're just totally closed to any new ideas.  That can be pretty frustrating.

JL: A constant thread throughout your albums has been a message of hope. Why has hope played such a central role in your music? How has it played a central role in your life?

JB: I, like a lot of people, came out of a tumultuous childhood filled with tragedy, abuse, and hurt.  I've always responded better to people that have been in my shoes rather than people who had "answers" yet have never suffered.   I'll take empathy and compassion over an instruction book any day.  If you think about it - Christ had the same approach.  He could've showed himself in the clouds and told us what to do with a booming voice from Heaven - but instead he became a mortal and walked in our shoes - giving him a tangible credibility that changed the dynamic of our relationship with God forever.

JL: What’s in your MP3 player right now?

JB: I've been listening to the new Shiny Toy Guns quite a bit.  Also in heavy rotation is the latest Muse album, BT - This Binary Universe, Acceptance - Phantoms, Pitty Sing, and I can't stop listening to the new Venus Hum - The Colors In the Wheel.

JL: Who are some of your musical influences?

JB: I'm a big fan of Bjork and BT. That may not be super evident in my music - but they influence and inspire me nonetheless.  I also love Wolfsheim, and pretty much anything New Order puts out.  Lately, I've been influenced by records from Team Sleep, and Halou... absolutely brilliant.

JL: What are you reading right now?

JB: "Relentless" by Robin Parrish.  I'm also a big Ted Dekker fan - as well as Stephen Donaldson.

JL: What advice do you wish an industry veteran would have given you when you were starting your career?

JB: I wish they would've warned me about how fake some "industry" types can be.  Of course, this is no secret - but I guess I was pretty wide-eyed when I started.  Not that I'm jaded now, but I'm just quite a bit wiser.

JL: What has God been teaching you this year? How has He been working in your life?

JB: He teaches me a lot through my children.  The way I try to teach them and protect them from themselves and other things is a direct parallel to the way He has been trying to get things through to me all my life... I'm finally starting to get it.

JL: What other musical genres would you like to spread into if given the opportunity, if any?

JB: Mainly the ones I've already started to - down tempo female vocal stuff, as well as vocal trance type stuff.  Now - I TOTALLY realize that vocal trance is quite possibly the oldest and lamest idea anyone has ever had - and I'm way past the point of being relevant with it... BUT it's my total guilty pleasure.  I'm just doing it because I LOVE it - not to make any kind of breakthrough... lol.  I can't help it- - as cheesy as it is I can't help but cranking up an ATB or 4 Strings record and being in heaven...  I know it's stupid, but I refuse to be ashamed – at least I can admit it’s lame.

JL: What are some of your other career goals that have not yet been realized?

JB: I've always wanted to do a soundtrack.  To either a video game or a film.  I've done a small bit of soundtrack work for an indie short film last year - but I'd like to do something more elaborate.

JL: What legacy do you want to leave behind with your music?

JB: I would love to know that our songs have touched lives. 

Of particular interest to TF readers, Joey is running a remix contest for his new track called “Suffer”.  If interested, all submissions are due by January 1, 2007 and the winner’s track will be included on the next EG album.  Sign up

Related Links:

• Echoing Green website
• Echoing Green MySpace page
• Pristina website
• Pristina MySpace page
• A Different Drum
• Leiahdorus MySpace page

Buy Joey’s Music:

• Pristina “Stars and Sirens LTD” (2 CD)
• Echoing Green “The Winter of our Discontent” (CD)
• Echoing Green “The Story of Our Lives” (EP)
• Echoing Green “The Evergreen Collection” (2CD)
• Other EG Music