It was an old story, even back then; the story of the missing child. Our minds tend towards the tragic in cases like that but it was the way people spoke about it; not with lament but with wonderment. How could someone be there one moment and then gone the next?

The stories/theories/legends ran the spectrum between Light and Dark. In these stories, lay the inspiration for the music of Montreal’s Eckman Dredge. The musicians of Eckman Dredge grew up listening to these stories and so named their group after the missing child at the center of the local legend that gripped their small town. Out of respect, the name of the child has been changed to Eckman Dredge.

The songs can be thought of as short stories, Eckman Dredge Adventures. Dreams of a life unlived. With the debut album, we imagine Eckman spirited away to far off galaxies, encountering different characters, and growing up to endure all of life’s little indignities. The cover art for this debut album is Eckman’s Symbol; A spark of light in the dark of the void. “Contrary to the album cover, the music does not presume to turn on any lights but it does do its best to fumble for the switch.” – Eckman Dredge. The songwriting is a collaborative effort between the band members. The credit goes to Eckman.

The band members wish not to hide but to stay out of the way. All that matters is the music, the stories. Listeners are invited to bring along their own stories, their own interpretations to the songs and with any luck, find their own meanings. Therefore, we will never know who the members are, nor what they look like before you attend one of their iconic shows.

The single and new video for ‘Get Away Closer’ is the first track to be featured from their upcoming album. ‘Get Away Closer’ enters the mysterious mind of Eckman, following a lone astronaut careening through the void. Able to show their knowledge of what an alt-rock, post-grunge song should sound like, the single calls back to the rock of the 90s with a modern twist. Sharing song meaning is not the primary concern of Eckman Dredge because it may alter the perception of the listener, the purpose of music is to find meaning within the song for yourself. The video, then, invites you to join Eckman as he takes you into the unknown, where the risk are great and deadly but you see light at the end of the tunnel, while the artifical intelligence inside the helmet guides you through your thoughts. Sit up and take note as you follow him to a place beyond the stars.