Chris Eckman
Guitar, Vocals
Eckman is best known for his fundamental contributions (songwriter, vocalist, guitar player) as a member of the acclaimed American band, The Walkabouts. Over the last 25 years, The Walkabouts released nearly 20 albums on labels such as Glitterhouse, Virgin and Sub Pop. They have also toured extensively in Europe and the United States.
Collaborators and guest musicians have included: Brian Eno, Peter Buck (R.E.M.), Warren Ellis (Nick Cave/Dirty Three), Tindersticks, Mark Lanegan and the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra.
Chris has also produced over thirty albums for other artists including: Tamikrest (Mali), Midnight Choir (Norway), Aziza Brahim (Western Sahara/Spain), Bassekou Kouyate (Mali), Steve Wynn (USA), Andrea Schroeder (Germany) and Vlado Kreslin (Slovenia).
In 2014, Aziza Brahim's Eckman-produced album "Soutak" was the #1 Album of the Year on the World Music Charts Europe.
Eckman's production work in West Africa led to the formation of his global music label: Glitterbeat Records. Glitterbeat won the prestigious WOMEX "Best Label Award" in 2014.
Other bands & projects:
- Solo: has released four solo albums, "A Janela" (1999), "The Black Field" (2004), "Last Side of the Mountain" (2008) and "Harney County" (2013)
- Dirtmusic: As a trio consisting of Eckman, Hugo Race (ex-Bad Seeds) & Chris Brokaw, they have released the four albums "Dirtmusic" (2007), "BKO" (2010 - a collaboration with the Tuareg band Tamikrest) and a pair of albums recorded in Bamako, Mali in 2012: "Troubles" and "Lion City".
- L/O/N/G: a duo with Rupert Huber from Viennese down tempo pioneers Tosca. Released their debut album "American Primitive" in 2011.
- Chris & Carla: duo project with Walkabouts singer and co-founder Carla Torgerson. They have released three albums, "Life Full Of Holes" (1994), "Swinger 500" (1998) and "Fly High Brave Dreamers" (2007).
- Eckman also works extensively as a soundtrack composer. These works include: "Feed Me With Your Words" (2012), the debut feature film by the internationally recognized (Cannes) Slovene/Italian director Martin Turk, and "The Memories Of Angela Vode" (2010), a feature length television film by the acclaimed (Berlin Biennale) director Maja Weiss.
