American neo-progressive rock music concept project created by guitarist Ethan Matthews, former guitarist and producer of the progressive rock outfit Greyhaven. Originally formed as a recording duo and live band in Boston, Massachusetts in the year 2000, Echo Us issued two early EP’s, ironically now referred to as The Black and The White because of their black and white covers with only the group name appearing. No contact info and minimal liner notes were seen on these cds as they were originally distributed for live show promotion only. The group initially formed of Ethan (guitar/programming), Matthew Cahoon (vocals), Kai Kurosawa (bass/Warr guitar), and Michael Van dyne (drums) played a number of Boston area shows before disbanding due to musical and internal differences in late 2001.
Ethan moved to Portland Oregon in 2003, kept the name Echo Us and finished up work on the full length debut, finally issued in 2005 through his own label/ imprint. This recording marked a huge shift too a much more experimental and ambient sound, and also included the bass guitar of Kai Kurosawa, originally from the live band.
2009’s The Tide Decides represented another transition. A nearly 70 minutes long conceptual work issued through Musea Records, the album included guest musicians Raelyn Olson (harp), Teri Untalan (viola), Andrew Greene (drums), and Aaron Bell (bass).
In 2007, the follow-up Tomorrow Will Tell The Story was composed from pieces of automatic writing and worked on concurrently with The Tide Decides until it’s release, effectively forming a multi-album work. Like the preceding album, Tomorrow also includes a number of guest musicians including vocalist Henta, and again the harp of Raelyn Olson. Also appearing is a Kabbalistic ‘canticle’ performed by Rawn Clark, as well as harmonium by Daniel Panasenko. The album is due for release in Fall 2010.