Alejandro Escovedo announces new re-recorded retrospective

The always evolving Alejandro Escovedo has announced a new album “Echo Dancing”, described as a “career-spanning collection that’s less a look back than a bold new turn for this sonic adventurer and singular creative mind.” It lands on Yep Roc on March 29th 2024. Reinventing and re-recording his previous work – with inspiration from Brian Eno and Judy Nylon and Suicide – Escovedo traces a one-of-a-kind musical life from ‘70s New York punk to Austin’s “musical conscience and hometown hero” to unflinching advocate for musicians’ mental health and immigrant causes. The first track from the album which you can hear below is a scorching reimagining of ‘Bury Me’, a song he first wrote in the early ‘90s contemplating what would happen if he “should die before he turns 43” – he recently celebrated his 73rd birthday so hey, it worked out OK in the end.

“I was planning this record just prior to boarding a plane to Italy to record with [co-producers] Don Antonio and Nicola Peruch,” says Escovedo. “My original idea was to record an album of new material. But then I changed my mind and thought that revisiting songs from my various albums would be more interesting. I always feel that a well-written song can withstand a lot of abuse. Turning a past song inside out leads to discovery of new ideas you might not have understood. The songs never seem to be complete. They are always evolving.”

The press release continues: “Songs like “Bury Me” and “Castañuelas,” while they were powerful in their original form several years ago, now announce themselves as highlights of Escovedo’s long career. They speak to an eternal world that lives inside so much of his music, like it was formed in a way that cannot age. There is something very permanent in the career of the Texas-born artist, an inner flame that is always there. It feels like it is a part of musical history that is rarely captured at such peak performance, let alone reappears with a new life. If the life of an artist is always to push ahead, to leave what was done alone in favour of contemporary creations, then Escovedo’s basic concept of Echo Dancing is a revolutionary concept of high beliefs. That the past can live again as a reborn entity.”

“I was planning this record just prior to boarding a plane to Italy to record with Don Antonio and Nicola Peruch,” Escovedo says. “My original idea was to record an album of new material. But then I changed my mind and thought that revisiting songs from my various past albums throughout my career would be more interesting. I have a great faith in these two artists to always create something interesting with whatever I might bring to the session. These songs were already dressed for the dance.”

“I said goodbye to certain phases of my life as I have grown. I greeted new acquaintances musically. And I was extremely surprised by the outcome. That is the thrill of being alive. I feel we have now made a beautiful collection of songs recorded in an effortless vibe of collaboration and camaraderie. I can’t give Nicola and Antonio enough credit and thanks for their musicianship and wide-open approach to making this album. And I should also mention Ivano Giovedi, who incredibly engineered the recordings. He did an amazing job.”

“Everyone involved has guided me to new approaches to my music, like other musicians have my whole life. I have always worked hard to discover new ways to tell the story. I’ve never hidden my love for Brian Eno, Roxy Music, Judy Nylon, Cluster, along with the Stooges, New York Dolls, MC5, Roky Erickson, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Joe Ely, Terry Allen; you get the picture. There is always more work to be done and joy to be made. I am nowhere near finished.”

“ECHO DANCING” TRACKLIST

1. John Conquest
2. Sacramento & Polk
3. Bury Me
4. Everybody Loves Me
5. Too Many Tears
6. Castañuelas
7. Outside Your Door
8. Sensitive Boys
9. Thought I’d Let You Know
10. Swallows of San Juan
11. Last to Know
12. MC Overload
13. Inside This Dance
14. Wave