Simon Little

Hello folks,

Hope you are all staying safe and well in these strange times.

I’ve been using this unexpected wealth of home time to finally finish up the ambient project I started work on about six months ago.

Those of you that follow my work as Monochrome Echo will no doubt be aware that something has been brewing of late. I’ve been getting into the wonderful world of hardware synthesisers and sequencers, mainly through the use of some newly acquired Elektron gear. The Digitone in particular lends itself really well to ambient sounds so I decided to pair it up with my Analog Four and set about working on a complete album of ambient tracks. Now obviously this soon grew beyond the confines of a simple album so I’ve ended up splitting it into two EPs. Or mini-albums really seeing as though they’re both over 45 minutes long.

Since our son Ira was born I’ve been playing him ambient electronic music at night. The music of artists such as Steve Hauschildt, Jogging House, R Beny and  Polypores has such a calming effect at the end of the day and I wanted to write a collection of original tracks that would produce a similar feeling of peacefulness. That’s the story behind these releases and this is what I came up with.

The first instalment The Forgetting will be released tomorrow. There are six tracks plus a seventh bonus track included with the digital download. For the time being I’ll only be releasing these EPs on my Monochrome Echo Bandcamp, so now would be a good time to follow Monochrome Echo on Bandcamp so you get notified about the new releases!

The second instalment Timelapse will be released one week later on 10ty April. Seeing as Friday is now the new Monday for releasing new music I’ve decided to release these EPs on Thursdays. It’s always good to be different I find! Timelapse has an additional seven tracks with yet another bonus track for those of you that buy the digital download.

I’m incredibly fortunate to have the awesome Cristian Eres do the artwork for both of these EPs. And here it is for the first time… cue fanfare!

I’m very excited to share this new music with you. It’s a bit different to my previous releases as Monochrome Echo but I think you’ll like it. It’s music to chill out to which perhaps has become particularly pertinent given the current situation in the world right now.

Anyway I hope you enjoy all the new music as it comes out over the next couple of weeks. If you do, please tell your friends. And don’t forget to follow Monochrome Echo over on Bandcamp and sign up to the mailing list to get notified the minute the EPs come out.

Stay well and wash those hands.

Simon

It’s finally here!

My brand new Monochrome Echo album Matrix Rebooting is officially out now!

This is my third full length electronic album. I started working on these tracks pretty much as soon as my previous album Nobody Is Looking At You was released last year. Once again it is entirely produced by me and the artwork is by the awesomely talented stratego.nine, who also did the artwork for the last record.

I’ve been running series of giveaways on my Monochrome Echo Twitter and Facebook pages over the last week offering free download codes for some of my back catalogue so hopefully some of you managed to snag a free album or EP in the run-up to the big release.

Matrix Rebooting is available for purchase or streaming at all the usual places worldwide. Obviously the best place to buy it is from Bandcamp where you can download the album in whatever high quality format you desire. The added bonus being that you can buy the full discography which now consists of three albums and three EPs with a 25% discount. So just over twenty quid for the lot.

Not to be sniffed at…

I really hope you enjoy the album (and indeed all the other albums) and don’t forget to share links on your social media to help spread the word. Those of you that use Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal (does anyone actually use Tidal??) or any of the other streaming sites; please follow Monochrome Echo and add your favourite songs to your playlists; it really does help spread the word and crack those pesky algorithms so other people might actually find my music without me telling them about it myself!

So without further ado, here’s the new album!!

So by now you all know that I’m producing electronic music under the name Monochrome Echo. So far I’ve put out two EPs and most recently my first full-length album, I Remember My Dreams.

Incidentally, the awesome Wizard of Loneliness in the US has just put out a very limited cassette run of my album. There are only 50 copies of this so if you want one you’d better head over to his Bandcamp page and snap one up before they all go.

Just after the album came out I was approached by Touch Loops, a London-based company that produces boutique loop and sample packs. They’d heard the record and asked me to produce my own sample pack referencing both my own music and similar artists like Shigeto and Tycho. I was a big fan of their sample collections so it was a no brainer to get involved. I headed back into studio corner for a few weeks…

My Touch Loops pack Ethereal Beats was released a few weeks ago. You can check out the demo below. I’m really pleased with how it came out.

Here’s the blurb from Touch Loops:

Ethereal Beats is an exploration into the stunning, enchanting world of organic electronica & Hip-Hop.  With references as far and wide as Flying Lotus, Shigeto & Tycho this eclectic sample collection will instantly become your new go-to for stunning sounds, endless inspiration and incredible musicianship.  

Performed and designed by the incredibly talented artist Monochrome Echo, this beautiful collection of processed acoustic loops & samples showcases perfectly the work of a musician who has mastered his craft.  From glistening guitar loops to processed analogue bass lines, evolving arpeggios to manipulated live drums and pianos this truly inspiring collection is just asking to be twisted, manipulated and embraced.  Sounds wonder and stray from usual providing an off kilter palette that’ll form the perfect foundation for your next stunning composition.  

As well as the usual drum one shots we’ve also included a collection of instrument hits that are perfect for dropping into your sampler of choice ensuring the most flexibility from this bespoke sample pack.  Whether you produce Hip-Hop, beats, electronica or are looking for something that little bit different this collection guarantees to offer everything your sample collection has been crying out for. 

Included: 

Size: 969.7Mb
Loops: 215
Ones: 104
Midi:15

It is available direct from Touch Loops, plus many of the big sample pack retailers online, priced at a very reasonable £24.00.

Since it’s release Touch Loops have teamed up with Blend.io in the states (who released my first EP 64 Souls) to host a remix contest featuring Ethereal Beats. You can win a copy of the pack, plus all of Touch Loops’ June releases and Geist 2 by Expansion. It’s open to producers worldwide so head over to Blend.io the enter. Apparently I get to be one of the judges. Excellent.