As Hamburg based label TAU rings in the new decade, it’s Echonomist who delivers the soundtrack for the label’s first release of 2020. Altogether three original tracks plus a remix from Ditian can be found on the artist’s homage to New Wave, simply called ‘Modern Wonder’. After a successful 2019 Petros, Echnomist’s real name, and releases on Innervisions, Blue Shadow or Watergate continues his run and demand of contributing meaningful and valuable music to the scene and its floors. Speaking of the latter, Echonomist, who enjoys his international artist career, supports local and aspiring musicians with his Sunday event ‘Dreams’, which seems to be a solid base to play yourself into the spotlight of the Greek scene. However, Petros talks the 411 on his upcoming release as well as giving us some insights into his ‘coming’ as an artist and how’ll be the next big thing from Greece.
Torture the Artist: Hello Petros, tell us something about your day.
Echonomist: I woke up at 9am and had breakfast, then I went to the studio until 2pm, had lunch and did some exercises with my personal trainer, went back to the studio again until 10pm…and at the end of the day I watched some Netflix.
Torture the Artist: What’s the story behind your moniker ‘Echonomist’, is it a reference to one of you early artist influences ‘Echochord’ or how did it come about?
Echonomist: Actually, I have studied accounting and one day during a brainstorming with my cousin trying to find a name, we thought of combining my studies with my love for dub techno music, where the producers mainly use the effect space echo and ECHOnomist came up!
I wanted to be a producer and not an accountant.
Torture the Artist: It’s been a while since we last spoke, which was when you released your album ‘Nebula’ on Upon.You back in 2017. What striking experiences have you made meanwhile and how have they influenced you at a personal as well as musical level?
Echonomist: To be honest, the most striking experience that completely changed my way of thinking, my priorities and in the end made me realise that I want to be a producer and not an accountant, was a few years ago when my father died at the age of 56. It was then that the thought of dying quite young and not having done what I truly loved, music, made me what I am today on a personal and musical level.
Torture the Artist: A new EP of yours, ‘Modern Wonder’, is about to be released on TAU. Before we speak a little about the release, what’s a modern wonder within all these bad news that we currently have to witness on the news, some maybe even in person?
Echonomist: To be gentle with myself, because I am doing the best I can…
It’s just a tribute to my New Wave and breaks influences.
Torture the Artist: To what extend is ‘Modern Wonder’ musically and nominally influenced by ‘Transmoderna’?
Echonomist: Even though there might be some overlapping regarding the name or seemingly a hint to ‘Transmoderna’ my ‘Modern Wonder EP’ has nothing to do with it, it’s just a tribute to my New Wave and breaks influences.
Torture the Artist: The other two original tracks on the EP are ‘Eyes’ and ‘The Touch’, why did you choose these senses over the other five?
Echonomist: I did not realise that until I read your question! <laughs>
Torture the Artist: Imagine you had to choose one of the seven senses to keep for the rest of your life while you’d lose the other six ones, which one would you choose, and why?
Echonomist: I guess it would be ‘hearing’ because I can’t live without music.
Torture the Artist: Back to you, back to your music, ‘Back To Mine‘ was featured on the ‘Transmoderna EP’ and consequently is one of the four tracks that represents that episode of Innervisions in Ibiza last year, what does the track depict for you and why or in what way did you have to return to yourself?
Echonomist: ‘Back To Mine’ is a track that represents my earlier and main influences I had as a teenager and was not made with a main purpose to be heard on the dance floor… It was made to reflect my inner soul and music taste. It was a striking moment when Steffen and Kristian realised that and decided to include it on the ‘Transmoderna EP’.
I wanted to have a remixer with the same quality but more ‘upcoming’.
Torture the Artist: Last time we spoke you mentioned the aspiring Israeli scene and that you had nothing against Moscoman or Red Axes remixing one of your tracks, who should have open his/her ‘Eyes’ to give one of your tracks ‘The Touch’, or is it still the aforementioned two artists?
Echonomist: They are still some of my favourite artists and I am still connected with the Israeli scene as one of my latest releases was released on Blue Shadow Records. But TAU and I wanted to have a remixer with the same quality but more ‘upcoming’ one as we would like to suggest and support an artist like Ditian who will definitely make a lot of noise the next months in our scene!
Torture the Artist: You regularly play in your hometown Thessaloniki and seemingly you are a driving force in Greece’s electronic music scene, how important is it to you to still and constantly participate in the local or national scene?
Echonomist: Obviously it is more important to me to have an international career. However, I really appreciate the fact that I am quite known in the Greek electronic music scene because it was hard work to get there through friendships and mutual visions with people that ended up to be my friends and real supporters.
Torture the Artist: Who are the rising stars or the next ‘Argys’s or ‘Echonomists’ in the local scene and where do we meet them?
Echonomist: I truly believe in Atsou a lot actually. He is a talented, smart and gentle guy, who is already running a successful label called ‘Madorasindahouse’.
I mainly host local and upcoming artists so one can witness the Greek electronic music scene.
Torture the Artist: What’s a place/ club/ event you’d highly recommend to anyone in order to witness or get some insights of electronic music scene in Greece?
Echonomist: Every Sunday I run my own event called ‘Δreams’ (Dreams) at AIGLI club, which is a breathtaking place as it used to be an old Turkish hamam. I mainly host local and upcoming artists so one can witness the Greek electronic music scene.
Torture the Artist: What’s (electronic music) track represents the spirit of the local scene the best for you, and why?
Echonomist: My main love and the main influence for me and many others Greek electronic artists is Lena Platonos, so I would say that the track that represents the Greek electronic music scene best is ‘Markos’ from her.
Torture the Artist: Everyone has ambitions and dreams when it comes to what he/she loves the most, what’s something that you’d like to achieve (with your music) as an artist?
Echonomist: My vision is to be mental and physical stable and healthy… and until now I’ve managed to achieve that through my music.
Torture the Artist: It is said that your DJ sets cover a wide range of music, where and how do you dig for music and what’s an artist, not from the electronic music scene, who you enjoy at the moment?
Echonomist: Actually Spotify is a great source of music and I dig a lot and find quite some music there at daily! I have just run into Ana Roxanne’s music and I really enjoyed it.
Torture the Artist: What’s the last thing that deeply touched you?
Echonomist: Unfortunately, the ecological disaster in Australia, which saddens me.
Echonomist’s EP ‘Modern Wonder‘ will be released on TAU on January 24th, 2020.
Interview by Holger Breuer
Torture the Artist 