The two main members are vocalist Sonya Aurora Madan and guitarist Glenn Johansson. They briefly peaked during the Britpop craze of the mid-1990s with 2 UK Top 10 albums, 1994's everyone's got one and 1995's on.
Other albums include 1997's lustra, 2001's people are expensive and 2004's gravity pulls. A best-of compilation was released in 2002 called i can't imagine the world without me.
In 2008 a new best-of (simply entitled The Best Of Echobelly) has been released by SonyBMG while the band is working on new material.
For more information please visit www.echobelly.com or www.myspace.com/echobellymusic.
Digit
Echobelly Lyrics
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There's no disease, the human race is digital
Pacified by fluoride, genetically modified
Is it genocide?
Burger bar where slaughter chars
They pay the rent, they pay the rent
So it's alright?
Do you know why?
They claim it all
They claim it all
They claim it all
And they claim you
Now we're coming round to the sucker
Picking pockets in the rat race
Spitting at the wrong face
Any dream they can buy again,
Make them come again
So they can turn it all into a sale again
And here am I
Snorting incense in a backroom
Sitting in a vacuum
Falling apart at the seam again
Till I'm numb again
Close the door onto a silent end
There must be something more than this
There must be something more than this
Are we coming down to the sound
Of 8 billion on a bad day?
Maybe later on we're
Gonna find out the hard way
Someday
Is it too late? Too late?
There must be something more than this
There must be something more than this
The lyrics to Echobelly's song "Digit" touch on themes of consumerism, technology, and the increasingly digital nature of society. The phrase "spread the seed and multiply" implies that humans are akin to machines, able to reproduce and multiply endlessly. The line "there's no disease, the human race is digital" suggests that technology has created an insulated and disease-free world, but at the same time, raises questions about the implications of a society that is increasingly reliant on technology.
The lyrics also delve into the effects of human actions on the planet, with references to genetically modified organisms, pacification by fluoride and the worrying question of whether it all amounts to genocide. These are pertinent themes to contemporary society with climate change being at the forefront of global discussion.
The chorus starts with a call to reflect on who controls the world, as the rhetoric "they claim it all" is repeated several times, seemingly indicating that "they" refers to a controlling group or government. Ultimately, the song climaxes with a cry for something more, with the plea that there must be something more than this - this being the consumer culture and a broken society.
Overall, Echobelly's "Digit" is a highly thought-provoking song that questions modern lifestyles and materialism, and probes into the true nature of our existence.
Line by Line Meaning
Spread the seed and multiply
Procreate and increase in number
There's no disease, the human race is digital
With advanced technology, humans seem to have become immune to diseases
Pacified by fluoride, genetically modified
Humankind is being restricted by fluoride and has become artificially enhanced by genetics
Is it genocide?
Is this mass killing of the original humans intentional?
Burger bar where slaughter chars
The place where meat is cooked is itself a symbol of a place of massacre
They pay the rent, they pay the rent
The practitioners of this are paying for their basic necessities
So it's alright?
Is this wicked and malicious act really acceptable?
Do you know why?
Why all this havoc and destruction is taking place
They claim it all
Those who are committing these heinous acts believe that they own everything
And they claim you
Even you, as a person, have become a part of their possessions
Now we're coming round to the sucker
The victims are now trying to put up a fight
Picking pockets in the rat race
Surviving by snatching opportunities in this rat race
Spitting at the wrong face
Fighting back against those who do you wrong
Any dream they can buy again,
The perpetrators can just buy any dream they wish for
Make them come again
They can just bring the same plan into action again
So they can turn it all into a sale again
They do this to make more profit
And here am I
The artist is describing their present situation
Snorting incense in a backroom
The singer is in a room and is doing drugs
Sitting in a vacuum
The person feels empty and hollow inside
Falling apart at the seam again
Starting to lose control emotionally or mentally
Till I'm numb again
Achieving the state of being unresponsive and indifferent
Close the door onto a silent end
The person is shutting down their mind completely and fading away into nothingness
There must be something more than this
The singer is questioning the meaning of life and looking for answers or purpose
Are we coming down to the sound
Are we, as a society and species, falling down towards self-destruction
Of 8 billion on a bad day?
Being crushed under the weight of over 8 billion people on a bad day
Maybe later on we're
Perhaps in the future
Gonna find out the hard way
We will realize our mistakes in a painful and difficult way
Someday
Sometime in the future
Is it too late? Too late?
Is there still time to change our course and save ourselves from destruction?
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: GLENN JOHANSSON, SONYA AURORA MADAN, GLEN MIKAEL JOHANSSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind