Echobelly - Career

Career

In 1993 Madan and Johansson teamed up with bass guitarist Alex Keyser and drummer Andy Henderson, who had previously played with PJ Harvey's band. Guitarist Debbie Smith, formerly of Curve, came on board in 1994. According to the Epic Records' website, the group came up with the name Echobelly from the notion of "being hungry for something". With Madan and Johansson serving as songwriters, they recorded their debut EP, Bellyache, on the independent Pandemonium label in late 1993.

The favourable response to Bellyache helped Echobelly secure a recording contract with Rhythm King, which was then part of Epic. Once on board the label, the group released the "I Can't Imagine the World Without Me" single in June 1994. The group then recorded the album Everyone's Got One, which included the single "Insomniac" and reached number eight on the UK Albums Chart.

As their music received more airplay, Echobelly won admiration from other artists as well. Madonna expressed interest in putting them on her Maverick label, and R.E.M. requested the group as the opening act for their upcoming tour. The band returned to the studio in 1995 to create their next album, On, produced by Sean Slade and Paul Kolderie, who had also produced Hole and Radiohead.

Madan's lyrics often ventured into the seamy side of life, such as the milieu of prostitution and homelessness addressed in the song "King of the Kerb". "I wanted to challenge myself as a lyricist on a different level on this album," Madan said in Rolling Stone. "I want people to tell me what they thought the lyrics are about. I'm not a politician. I'm not interested in changing everybody around me. I'm interested in myself."

While many of the songs lamented the state of things, others on the On album celebrated the endless possibilities of the human spirit. In "Great Things", Madan sang "I want to do great things/I don't want to compromise/I want to know what love is/I want to know everything." The album's mostly optimistic feel provides an intriguing contrast with its serious subject matter. As Pareles wrote, "Both music and lyrics examine the tension between order and liberty". Listeners in the UK responded favourably to the album, driving three singles from the release into the Top 30 of the UK Singles Chart. Sales of the album rose to over 150,000 in the UK, nearly double that of Everyone's Got One.

Health and legal problems interrupted the success of Echobelly in 1995 and 1996. Madan had a serious thyroid problem during her world tour that was potentially life-threatening, but was later cured. Bass guitarist James Harris joined after Keyser defected because of personal and artistic differences. The group also had disagreements with Rhythm King after the label moved to Arista. The band chose to stay with Epic. In 1996 Madan also ventured away from the group when she sang on a recording of the club band, Lithium. Smith left the band before the release of Lustra, which was issued in November 1997. A single from the album, "The World is Flat", was released in August of that year.

A four-year hiatus was brought to an end in 2001 when the band returned with the Digit EP and their fourth album, People Are Expensive, which were released on their own Fry Up label. Two further singles, "Tell Me Why" and "Kali Yuga" (a remixed version of the album track) followed.

In 2004 Echobelly released a fifth album - again through their own Fry Up label, Gravity Pulls.