K'S Choice to Release New LP ECHO MOUNTAIN, 9/4

K's Choice has been defying classification since the late 90s and release their fifth LP, and first in over 8 years, Echo Mountain, on September 4. Building on their incomparable reputation for undeniably smart and melodic original music, Echo Mountain is Gert and Sarah Bettens return to the pop fold. After a period of swapping song files via email, the brother and sister got back together in a rehearsal space and the result is some of the finest songs of their career, running the gamut from folk and pop to alternative rock.

With the global success of Echo Mountain, Sarah and Gert went back into the studio performing new originals, acoustic arrangements of K's Choice catalog favorites mixed with some special cover song selections. The resulting collection is Little Echoes, a release featuring Sarah and Gert on acoustic instruments with the addition of keyboardist/singer Reinout Swinnen. Armed with just two acoustic guitars, one piano and three voices, Little Echoes captures the magic of a live recording with the thrilling precision of what can happen when three virtuosos get together to record live in a studio. Previously only available after live shows, Little Echoes shows an outfit at the peak of their musical prowess.

K’s Choice has always been a hard band to pin down to a single style and as a result was one of the few bands of the late ‘90s to build followings with both the Lilith Fair and Lollapalooza factions. As evidenced by their fifth LP (and first in a decade) Echo Mountain shows the group’s knack for the eclectic remains very much intact.

Originally formed in the early ‘90s by the brother-sister tandem of guitarist/singer Gert and Sarah Bettens (hailing from Antwerp, Belgium), the group built a large worldwide fan base on the strength of such strong and varied albums as 1993’s The Great Subconscious Club, 1996’s Paradise in Me, 1998’s Cocoon Crash and 2000’s Almost Happy. Add to it a worldwide hit single - 1996’s “Not An Addict” - European hits “Believe,” “Almost Happy” and “Everything For Free,” plus some very high profile tour opportunities including opening for Alanis Morissette for the majority of the Jagged Little Pill tour as well as part of the aforementioned Lilith Fair, a long and fruitful career lay ahead for K’s Choice.

After the world tour in support of Almost Happy had wrapped up, K’s Choice faced a tough career crossroad. “After ten years, we felt it was time to do something else for a couple of years, to do our own thing, and see what developed.” True to his word, Gert founded a new band, Woodface, while Sarah launched a successful solo career. A year ago, the call of K’s Choice beckoned once more, recalls Sarah. “We always knew we were going to record again, but we didn’t have a master plan for when or how. It just seemed like the right time and that it would be fun again … the part that was missing when we decided to take a break. The writing was challenging again, and musically it was even more interesting, because we were coming from two different worlds. When we started sending songs to each other, it was like, ‘Wow, I don’t know if we’re capable of making the same record! But with some creative musical conversations and a little soul searching we found common ground, and once we did, it just clicked like it always had.”

After a period of swapping song files via email (Sarah now lives in the U.S., while Gert remains in Belgium), the group reconvened for rehearsals with a line-up featuring both former members (bassist Eric Grossman and drummer Koen Lieckens) and new members (guitarist Thomas Vanelslander and keyboardist Reinout Swinnen). “From the start, it became clear that it was going to be different from the way we wrote for the first four albums,” says Gert. “Back then, we were often on tour together, so as soon as Sarah or I came up with a song idea, we could immediately play it for one another. This time, we were forced to exchange ideas via the internet. Although it’s different than the way we used to communicate our ideas, we were still able to be musically creative and honest with each other. Initially, we thought we were worlds apart. I wrote some really, really heavy songs, comparable to those on my last solo album. I wondered if they would really work on the album alongside some of the lighter acoustic songs Sarah had written. We just started rehearsing and in typical K’s Choice fashion, things quickly started making perfect sense.”

The end result is a double disc set, which features some of the finest K’s Choice material of their entire career, and runs the gamut from folk and pop to alternative rock. “I have to say, I was really impressed with my brother’s songs,” gushes Sarah. “It was really nice to sing his songs again. I think he has outdone himself. His new song, ‘Killing Dragons,’ is one of my absolute favorites! It covers the entire musical spectrum of what K’s Choice represents… a beautiful melody, haunting harmonies and incredible lyrics… it gives me the chills. ‘Come Live the Life’ features my brother’s songwriting too. The simplicity of the chord structure, combined with the genius of the melody, makes for a very inspiring, exciting song.”

With the global success of Echo Mountain, Sarah and Gert Bettens continue to open new doors with their undeniably smart and melodic original music. They have been introducing Echo Mountain to legions of fans around the world with amazing sold out headline shows from London, to Tel Aviv to the SXSW Music Festival, in Austin, Texas.

A year and a half after their comeback album, K’s Choice recorded a new album - an acoustic one, entitled Little Echoes, which features new originals, acoustic arrangements of K’s catalog favorites mixed in with some special cover song selections. The Little Echoes recording has been followed by months of the Little Echoes acoustic tour in Europe.

The tour featured Sarah and Gert on acoustic instruments with the addition of keyboardist/singer Reinout Swinnen. Armed with just two acoustic guitars, one piano and three voices they perform alternative and intimate versions of the most stirring songs from their extraordinary catalogue. It is unlike any K's Choice show ever witnessed. Besides the beautifully understated staging and signature Bettens harmonies, fans are able to take home the Little Echoes original music with them directly after the show!

The Little Echoes tour and album is the next adventure in sharing the K’s Choice passion.

Echo Mountain

Disc 1

- Come Live The Live
- Let It Grow
- Echo Mountain
- When I Lay Beside You
- Perfect
- I Will Carry You
- If This Isn't Right

Disc 2

- Say A Prayer
- These Are The Thoughts
- Sixteen
- Killing Dragons
- America
- Along For The Ride
- How Simple It Can Be

Little Echoes

- Message To My Girl
- I Wanna Get Lost
- Killing Dragons
- No Surprises
- I'm So Excited
- If This Isn't Right
- Someone Just Like You
- Come Live The Live
- Cannonball
- River To The Moon
- Echo Mountain
- Sixteen

For more information, visit the K's Choice website and find the duo on Facebook.

To post a comment, you must register and login.