Canadian global fusionists Eccodek are back celebrating their 20th anniversary, with an explosive 9-song album capturing their fiery blend of dub, funk, jazz, electronic and tribalism.
RECALIBRATE is their 5th studio album and is distributed by Six Degrees. Following the success of their 2015 Juno-nominated Singing in Tongues and subsequent festival touring, Eccodek leader Andrew McPherson stepped back from the band to develop his new instrumental project Peppermoth, all the while keeping a full production and remix schedule. The 2020 arrival of the global pandemic halted all production and recording projects and provided the perfect incubation period for what would become Eccodek’s newest release.
Drawing on the combined musical muscle of the 6-piece band and an impressive lineup of guest vocalists, RECALIBRATE's sprawling musical travelogue marks a brilliant return to form for the group - one of Canada’s seminal and most influential global groove collectives. Eccodek reclaims what Ottawa Xpress called "‘its magnetic grooves, percolating beats and bone rattling bass."
Andrew reflects, "Like so many artists who’s musical compass had been completely scrambled because of the pandemic, I found myself wondering, what next? And with the future so uncertain, I realized I needed my own spirits lifted and that by rekindling Eccodek’s early spark and deep love of groove, I was reigniting the very musical passion I’d been missing."
Andrew is again supported by the band that has consistently dazzled audiences for 20 years: Adam Bowman (drums), Jason Shute (congas), Marc De Vos (bass), Brent Rowan (saxophone/woodwinds), Les Hartai (beats/samples) with Andrew on keyboards, flute, guitar, engineering and production from his Monastereo recording studio. Tapping into his ever expanding roster of international singers and collaborators, he welcomed back Eccodek veterans Kiran Ahluwalia and Onkar Singh, alongside new inductees Mahsa Vahdat, John Orpheus, Brenna MacCrimmon, Charleston Okafor and Oranmiyan Ajagundade. Combined, they form a musical lineage that stretches from India, Nigeria and Persia to Trinidad and the Balkans, seamlessly blending with Andrew’s heady mix of live percussion, bottom heavy bass, soaring saxophones, textural synths and dubbed-out sonics.
In a historic time of global "recalibration." Eccodek’s 5th album reflects what an award winning, live festival favourite must do to honour its 20 year history, while recommitting to its passion for cultural diversity and borderless, artistic expression. As CBC wrote, "Eccodek’s music shifts dreamily between music with roots in Mali, Turkey, Fiji, Nigeria, India, Canada and beyond."
Eccodek’s two Juno nominations, two Canadian Music Awards, countless festival appearances and 2009 Juno Awards show-closing performance (w/Great Big Sea and Hawksley Workman) continue to push the world class project further afield. Andrew’s steady production work attracts an ever expanding community of world class artists that include Vieux Farka Touré, Jane Siberry, Dub Colossus, Desert Dwellers, EarthRise SoundSystem, Syriana, Delhi2Dublin, Transglobal Underground, Dubmatix, Stephen Fearing, Deva Premal and more, with releases on Six Degrees Records, Real World, White Swan/Black Swan, EMI, The Ambient Zone and National Geographic.
"Sublime voices are all masterfully woven into the mix" - Toronto Sun
"An intoxicating trip into future globalism" - Maximum Ink
Photo: Caroline Kuras