UNTITLED ECHO SOCIETY FEATURE DOCUMENTARY
Currently in post-production, the film begins by dropping us right into The Echo Society’s groundbreaking performance of 2016’s “V” to a sold out Los Angeles crowd. The film follows the society from their biggest performance to date through the following year as they work together to develop, write, rewrite, rehearse, stage and ultimately perform, their next show, “Family” at the Paramour Mansion in October 2017.
The storytelling takes a lyrical approach capturing the composers process with a verite aesthetic and unfettered access as they deconstruct the visual and aural spectacular that was “V” and vulnerably turn inward, drawn towards intimacy and connection as they work together and collaborate with a host of talented guest artists to build “Family” from the ground up.
Bookended with performances captured with the tone and pacing of an immersive concert documentary, the film's body is tasked with gracefully and thoughtfully unpacking artistic process; at times spending all night/week in a composers studio following a simple melody hummed through to a full orchestral arrangement and other times interested in the completely DIY process of creating this complex experience for thousands of strangers.
2017 PERFORMANCE - ECHO VI: FAMILY
The Echo Society have just performed their sixth and most intimate show to date with ECHO VI: FAMILY at the Paramour Estate. FORBES Magazine called FAMILY, " a weekend-long event that saw music in every room. Attendees of “Family” were put into an immersive experience where they could choose their own musical adventure."
Although the heartbeat of this show was its intimacy, FAMILY ended up being a collaboration like the Society had never experienced with 21 composers in total and more than 50 musicians performing over 3 days. Each composer wrote for their own room and ensemble to be performed (mostly) un-amplified on instruments of their choice. The audience was able to freely roam through the rooms, as close or far away from the musicians as they chose, staying for a long or short as they felt compelled. No stages, no edifices separating musician from audience, just humans on the same scale, sharing the experience.
Guest composers pieces ranged from Jónsi (Sigur Rós) creating an dramatic underwater musical experience in the mansion's pool to what felt like stepping into Moses Sumney's home where he passionately performed bare foot and sitting on the floor.
FAMILY VI PERFORMANCE FIRST LOOK
PASSWORD: ECHO
THE ECHO SOCIETY STATEMENT on FAMILY:
We as The Echo Society wanted to do something in response to the events that have been unfolding over the last year- the turmoil and rifts we all feel. Instead of pointing fingers outward, we’re looking inward to ourselves, to our experiences with our own families as a way to explore questions about what family means, especially when we disagree.
In a world full of nonstop, passionate disagreements about what’s important in life, we’re delving into our own stories and experiences to create something that will hopefully be a night of togetherness, emotions, and camaraderie as we create a family between audience and artists.
It’s highly personal. We’ve worked hard to create something we believe is impactful and meaningful. Hearing the rehearsals yesterday we believe we’ve done it. We hope we get the chance to share it with you.
All our love,
The Echo Society Family
ABOUT THE ECHO SOCIETY:
Founded in 2013, The Echo Society is a Los Angeles-based non-profit artist collective led by seven composers. It gathers to inspire, challenge, and enrich the community through the creation and performance of new sonic and visual art presented during singular, one-night-only experiences.
By highlighting new work commissioned from a diverse community of artists, featuring special guests from around the world, and presenting art in unpredictable formats, The Echo Society seeks to create connections within the Los Angeles arts community, while bringing both orchestral and electronic music to new audiences.
Their performances have taken place in nontraditional venues such as Mack Sennett Studios, the storied Vibiana Cathedral, and, most recently, the beautifully restored art deco ACE Theater (formerly United Artists Theater) in Downtown LA for a sold out audience of 1600 people. Their performances to date have all sold out through word-of-mouth alone, and attract a coveted audience of young, creative professionals from a wide variety of disciplines— classical music, electronic music, film, television, dance, advertising, and so on.
With their hybrid sound, fierce musicianship, and compelling light and live sound, The Echo Society engages and challenges audiences anew with each entirely original performance. LA’s own KCET explains the group's approach as, “purposefully flexible, not adhering to any dogmatic rules that might create some kind of ethos…..a moving target with a cowboy attitude playing in a concert music field not known for its ability to adjust.” NOISEY goes on to explains the shows as, “intelligent but accessible fusion of classical and electronic sounds, existing outside of what those genres’ respective audiences are typically primed for.” This is all much more complex than what they set out to do when they came together modestly seven years ago as a group of young early-career film composers looking for an outlet and community to write and perform. Their yearly one night only shows have captured the imagination of LA’s music and art scene, coming online at a time when it needed the energy more than ever.
THE ECHO SOCIETY COLLECTIVE
Brendan Angelides: Billions, Elysium, Insurgent, 13 Reasons Why
Joseph Trapanese: Straight Outta Compton, Oblivion, Tron, Allegiant
Nathan Johnson: Looper, Brick, Don Jon, The Brothers Bloom
Benjamin Wynn: Avatar: The Last Airbender, Kung Fu Panda
Jeremy Zuckerman: Scream, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Kung Fu Panda
Rob Simonson: Foxcatcher, Moneyball, Life of Pi, The Spectacular Now, 500 Days of Summer
Judson Crane: Kill the Messenger, Young Ones
TEASER OF 2016's "V"
The film starts by dropping us right into this performance.
BRANDON VEDDER - DIRECTOR
Brandon's career began touring with and making films about musicians. His early days had him shooting for concert film's like Pearl Jam: Live at the Garden. In 2013, alongside Transcendental Media, Brandon produced, edited and shot the acclaimed documentary La Source, narrated by Academy Award nominated actor, Don Cheadle. The award winning film had its World Premiere at AFI Docs and went on to play theatrically in NYC & LA. In 2015 Brandon directed, shot & edited A Certain Kind of Light, a documentary short that received six best short documentary awards and aired on PBS in 2017. Brandon’s most recent release as a producer & co-cinematographer is In Pursuit of Silence, which had its US premiere at SXSW in 2016. The film had it's international theatrical release in late 2016 where it became a favorite of critics, boasting a 91% on Rotten Tomatoes. Brandon is currently a fellow with the San Francisco Film Society where he has a year long filmmakers residency working on his forthcoming film.
KEVIN HARDING - PRODUCER
Kevin Harding is a Los Angeles based film producer who has worked with NBC/Universal, Warner Bros, 20th Century Fox, Fox Searchlight, Sony, The Food Network, Atlantic Records, and A&E. After a fruitful stint producing independent feature films and music videos for artists like Miley Cyrus and Sublime with Rome, Kevin turned his focus to television on projects like hitRECord on TV, produced and starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Currently, Kevin is steering the ship for A&E’s Emmy Award winning Docu-series Wahlburgers starring Mark Wahlberg.
PATRICK SHEN - PRODUCER
Patrick Shen is a filmmaker and the founder of Transcendental Media. Patrick’s work, which includes the award-winning films Flight from Death: The Quest for Immortality, The Philosopher Kings, and La Source, has screened at over 120 film festivals across the globe, broadcast in over 25 territories, received 24 awards and 10 nominations, and has been featured on the TED blog, CNN, Huffington Post, LA Times, Boston Globe, and the Washington Post. He was the recipient of the 2009 Emerging Cinematic Vision Award from Camden International Film Festival and has presented his work at USC School of Cinematic Arts, IFC Center, Angelika Film Center, the Smithsonian, The Hammer Museum, NYC Museum of Natural History, Princeton, Cornell, Duke, and Harvard University and back in 1999 he was invited to the White House to meet with President Clinton. Since 2012 Patrick has been lecturing and teaching filmmaking workshops all over the globe as a film envoy for the U.S. State Department and the USC School of Cinematic Arts for their American Film Showcase. His latest film In Pursuit of Silence, a meditative exploration of our relationship with silence and the impact of noise on our lives, premiered to sold-out audiences in November 2015 at CPH:DOX (Copenhagen International Film Festival), premiered in North America at SXSW in 2016, and will be released theatrically all over the globe in 2017/2018.
