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“…great music is what the Brussels-based Echo Collective is all about.” – HEADPHONE COMMUTE

“Throughout the past few years, Echo Collective have made a name for themselves not just as technical masters, but as intuitive, adaptable and generous artists” – NO WAVE

Founded by Neil Leiter and Margaret Hermant, Echo Collective is a diverse group of classically trained musicians based in Brussels, Belgium. In addition to its own compositions and projects, the group collaborates with modern composers and bands on concerts, tours, film scores, recording sessions, and original compositions.
Past and ongoing collaborations include A Winged Victory for the Sullen, Johann Johannsson, Joep Beving, Stars of the Lid, Erasure, Daniel O’Sullivan, Adam Wiltzie, Dustin O’Halloran, Christina Vantzou, MAPS, Michel Bisceglia, and James Heather.

While touring and recording with A Winged Victory for the Sullen, Ancienne Belgique concert hall in Brussels invited Leither and Hermant for a concert residency. Taking the name Echo Collective, the duo were free to develop their own material, expand their repertoire and bring in other musicians. One project of the residency was to cover either Radiohead’s Kid A or Amnesiac albums; the latter was chosen because, “it had more layers, more complexity, and it was a little more esoteric,” says Leiter. “There was more to chew on and add our sound to.” Amnesiac was subsequently scored for 7 players: string trio, harp, piano, bassoon/contrabassoon, clarinet/bass clarinet/barritone saxophone and percussion. “It was a great challenge,” says Hermant. “And a good way to discover how you can work together, and to find a way to make someone else’s music yours.”

The transition from classical to post-classical was effortless, certified by Berlin label 7K! signing Echo Collective, beginning in 2018 with a studio version, Plays Amnesiac. The same year, the collective accompanied vocalist Andy Bell on a similarly revamped version of the Erasure album World Beyond.

In September 2019, they released ​‘12 conversations with Thilo Heinzmann’, their album of the music of Jóhann Jóhannsson on Deutsche Grammophon, receiving critical acclaim from Guardian (‘poignant beauty’) and Pitchfork.

2020 saw Echo Collective release their own original music on 7K!. ‘The See Within’ connects their past with the present, absorbing the experience of collaboration to feed their own inventive beauty and confirming them as genuine creators. For The See Within, Echo have been nominated twice for “Composer of the Year” and “Classic Without Borders” at the Opus Klassik 2021 Awards.

Echo Collective’s upcoming album, ‘Mirror Image’ slated for release in March 22, 2024, delves into contemporary and experimental classical music, merging with captivating soundscapes. Recorded in diverse acoustic spaces, including historic locations in Italy and Belgium, the album explores acoustic research in immersive environments like 4DSound in Berlin and DNB Soundscape in Belgium. Inspired by new technological tools, the collection serves as a reflection of the musical connection and artistic identity shared between Margaret and Neil, blending traditional and innovative elements.