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ON THE RISE
Thought-provoking, alternative/pop singer songwriter, ECHASL delivers an impactful story through her latest single, “I Know U Know.”
ECHASL—an acronym for “Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining”—turns to her diverse background to create a sound uniquely her own. Born and raised in China, she was later educated in the United States. Blending Eastern and Western cultures, ECHASL digs deep for her music, often uncovering topics and emotions with raw, authentic strength. Her music often evokes the frustration and anger provoked by how women are unfairly treated in society, from gender inequality to sexual abuse to daily injustices.
Growing up, ECHASL played the oboe and piano; more recently, she also took up playing the drums. Empowered with the mastery of these instruments, ECHASL is able to approach her songwriting from a technical standpoint that often evades artists who focus solely on vocal art.
“Singing came naturally to me,” shares the artist. “I would hum while playing the piano, thinking about a specific melody I wanted to sing, and it just popped out. Now, I start songs with the piano and then use DAW to help shape the song.”
Fresh, unique, and powerful, “I Know U Know” is a protest song. “It’s against all kinds of discrimination—racism, sexism, etc.—but it’s actually based off a real historical story about a girl called Moi Afong,” explains ECHASL. “She was the first Chinese person to land in the U.S. on record. She was tricked and sold to a circus where people would pay 10 cents for a ticket to see her. She was like the other animals sitting there, just being herself. No freedom—and no one knows what happened to her in the end.”
Inspired by the chilling tale of Moi Afong, ECHASL gave her a voice generations later through her single, “I Know U Know.” While the title implies that we should all know we’re equal on a basic level, the song tells the lesser-known story of the hardships faced by those who weren’t given the respect they deserved.
To write the song, ECHASL first focused on the melody. “My producer was with me at the time, and he was like, ‘I want this’ when he heard the melody and verse.” Powered by collaboration, the song was quickly finished.
“I Know U Know” is one of the eleven tracks on ECHASL’s first album that she worked on with her producer. Compared to the other tracks (all electronic base), this single leans toward world music and relies on the intricate use of three instruments: the double bass, drum, and a traditional Chinese string instrument.
“This song is the trigger that makes me feel this is what I want to do,” shares ECHASL, after connecting with the musical style of her latest single. “As I’m planning my second album, it’ll be closer to this style.”
Listeners can look forward to ECHASL releasing more Chinese songs this year as she works toward her next English album. “Writing music is more like confessing,” she adds unapologetically. “My music is a confession as a human being. We’ve been creating all these harms to each other and to nature. My songs are a bit like protest songs. I don’t write love songs. They’re not happy—they’re pretty heavy. This is what I think is most important. A lot of people may not feel comfortable listening to this type of music, but it’s me.”
Make sure to stay connected to ECHASL on all platforms for new music, videos, and social posts.
ON THE RISE
Clinton Brand III – better known as CBIII – is a California-based rapper. His new single, titled “I Won’t Quit,” is a motivational and relatable message for everyone “going through it.”
The track, with a beat by Tunna Beats, has a Blurry Face vibe. It starts with a violin and the soft “ahh”s of featured singer Alex Brinkley. When the beat drops, piano, bass and drums enter along with CBIII’s lyrical meditations on “overthinking, contemplating, and debating” why he “won’t quit.”
As the final line makes clear, the song is a study in contradictory mindsets. There’s the fear of failure – what if I’m not good enough? – and then the contrast of relentlessness as stated in the title.
The lyrics of the song’s final quattrain are especially strong. Beginning with an example of CBIII’s wordplay (phenomenal and astronomical anomaly), the final message is one of inspiration: I’m tired of this, so I’m going to make it better.
This struggle with nagging self-doubt and overthinking makes “I Won’t Quit” very relatable. In the end, CBIII wants listeners to be inspired, to not give in when they find themselves in similar circumstances.
Brand’s inspiration for “I Won’t Quit” was intensely personal. Following the death of his parents at a young age, he was raised by his grandmother and then was placed in foster care. A recent visit found his grandmother’s memory fading; this was painful, considering that she had once been his biggest supporter.
This episode left him feeling abandoned, in a dark place.
He says, “I wrote the song ‘I Won’t Quit’ because at that time I was suicidal. I didn’t have nobody else to turn to because my grandma didn’t really care anymore.”
The vulnerability expressed in the lyrics made CBIII unsure if he wanted to release the song at all. He says, “I actually sat on the song for like five months before even thinking about releasing it because it’s so close to home that I wasn’t even sure if I was going to have the courage to share it.”
Now that the song is out, its vulnerability is its strength. Brand’s struggle is real, and the general contours – missing family support, doubting yourself, knowing you need to persevere – will be familiar to many.
In addition to his personal desire to live up his dream of greatness, Brand has another reason not to give up: his younger brother, who is currently in foster care. Knowing his brother looks up to him, he wants to remind him that giving in to doubt is the easy way out.
Brand says, “I want to encourage him, to show him that if you set your mind to it, bro, there’s nothing you can’t do.”
In the end, CBIII wants listeners to learn from his pain, to ask themselves, “What if I don’t give up?”
Stream “I Won’t Quit” now, wherever you listen to music.
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