Echo Image nears completion of new album ‘My Shadow, My Echo and Me’
Echo Image has finished a first full listen of “My Shadow, My Echo and Me,” its new album, with mixing, mastering and artwork still to come.
Echo Image
Norwegian synthpop act Echo Image is nearing completion of its new album, “My Shadow, My Echo and Me.” PÃ¥l-Magnus Rybom, the musician behind the project, has now listened to the record from beginning to end for the first time, describing the experience as “strange but pretty damn good.” The record has been in the making for close to 20 years, with only final mixing, mastering and the artwork still to complete. No release date has been announced yet.
The album follows Echo Image’s return with the singles “Walk My Mind” (2021), “Mono No Aware” (2022), “Of Truth” (2023) and “Madsong” (2024), material that gradually marked the project’s way back after a long period of relative silence following its 2002 split.
Rybom has said the album title is personal: the Shadow stands for difficult experiences that remain, the Echo for the music that helped carry him through them, and Me for the person who came out on the other side.
The project involves several names from the Norwegian electronic scene. Apoptygma Berzerk‘s Stephan Groth, whose Pitch Black Drive label has released Echo Image’s comeback singles, has contributed creative input to the album, Einar Kristiansen Five is handling the mixes, and Linda Eikemo, who also sang on “Madsong,” contributes backing vocals.
About Echo Image
Echo Image is a Norwegian synthpop band from Fredrikstad, built around PÃ¥l-Magnus Rybom. Rybom and Jon-Ivar Berg began experimenting with electronic music in the summer of 1997 and recorded a demo; after Berg left to focus on his own project, Fredrik Hansen and Trine Bilet joined and the band took shape. Echo Image recorded the “Walkout” EP in December 1998 for the local label Kvarts Musikk, then signed to the US synthpop label A Different Drum in 2000, with the German label Bloodline handling European releases; Lars Kristian Holt joined as live guitarist around the same time. The single “Need to Be Proud” was mixed by Apoptygma Berzerk’s Stephan Groth, and the album “Compuphonic” followed in 2001, reaching number 28 on the CMJ RPM chart in the United States. After signing to Hard:Drive for the “Endless Day” single in 2002, Echo Image joined Apoptygma Berzerk on the European “Harmonizer” tour before splitting up later that year.
The band reunited in 2016 for the vinyl-only compilation “Compulation” on HolmByKarlsen Rekords, gathering songs from Echo Image’s four earlier releases along with one previously unreleased track. In 2020, Echo Image signed to Pitch Black Drive, the label run by Apoptygma Berzerk’s Stephan Groth, and re-released its back catalogue digitally. The comeback single “Walk My Mind” arrived in March 2021, followed by “Mono No Aware” in 2022 and “Of Truth” in 2023. Rybom, now joined by Linda Eikemo, released the single “Madsong” in February 2024, co-produced by Groth and mixed by Einar Kristiansen Five. In 2025, Rybom lent vocals to German act Elektrostaub’s “Falling” EP on Alfa Matrix. Echo Image’s own next release, the album “My Shadow, My Echo and Me,” is now entering its last stretch after nearly two decades in the making.
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For almost 15 years I’ve been writing about music, interviewing artists and reviewing releases for Peek-A-Boo Magazine. Recently, I also launched my own WordPress website, where I continue to share interviews, reviews and news from the underground scene. The darker side of music has been part of my life for more than 30 years, with a passion for everything from ’80s synthpop and New Wave to EBM, Futurepop and dark electronic music in general. Also Metal and Rock is part of my world. Away from the scene, I work in a public library, where books are part of my everyday life. I enjoy both fiction and non-fiction, especially books on politics, religion, health and travel. I’m also a fan of thrillers and horror films. When I’m not listening to music or reading, you’ll usually find me exploring nature, enjoying a good sauna, experimenting with vegan cooking, or travelling to my second home, Finland. I’ve always believed the underground has the best stories. My job is simply to help tell them
