Ekko Astral, a self-described mascara moshpit band hailing from Washington, D.C., want to be the biggest rock group in the world. Helmed by frontwoman Jael Holzman, the group came together to produce post-punk pieces for a new world, inspired by Holzman’s gender transition amidst the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic.
With singles “TRANSDEMIC, BABY” and “YXI”, the former of which was featured on NPR Music’s New Music Friday playlist, Ekko Astral announced their ambitions, creating soaring, head-banging soundscapes set to Holzman’s poetic musings on her “second puberty”. Ekko Astral details the intricacies of gender transition alongside infectious, pummeling beats and razor-blade guitar lines. Their impending debut EP, QUARTZ, set to release later this month, proves a natural refinement of the group’s sound, a harmony of vision and execution few can properly pull off in a debut.
In addition to Holzman’s roaring vocals and songwriting chops, Liam Hughes and Sam Elmore explode on guitar, with Hughes demonstrating his precise production skills on QUARTZ. Miri Tyler’s drum beats punch through the air with fury and excitement, and Guin Tully’s gritty basslines underscore every sound with a rigorous intensity.
I spoke with Holzman about Ekko Astral’s past, present, and future, a conversation which illuminated a robust ambition to match the group’s explosive garage-inspired sound. Ekko Astral has what it takes to go far, and most importantly, no doubt that they’ll get there.
The following conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
How did you guys get together?
This band started two years ago when I came out to our guitarist, Liam, as a transgender woman — he was one of the first people that I spoke to. Right after that conversation, my life took a series of turns that were ultimately for the better but…it was a difficult time. I thought I would be inspired by going through the early phases of hormone replacement therapy, because it’s a period of second puberty, and I had a feeling that that experience of angst…would make some pretty good art! I didn’t know I would be writing this record when I was being pushed out of my best friend’s house for being trans, and living in my hometown, dealing with housing instability — I think about the period in my life when the songs on this record and when Ekko Astral was first originated from as a period of intense pain, internal pain, you know? Because it just happened to be that way, I didn’t really expect it. The first record and some of the stuff that we’ll be coming out with after…it’s just poetry I wrote when I was dealing with a lot of difficulty coming out in the initial months. It’s that period of double pain…you’re figuring yourself out, and that’s hard, and there’s another layer where everyone else doesn’t understand you. And I don’t plan on that being the theme of this project, it did not occur to me that Ekko Astral would be a band themed around one particular issue, and it’s definitely a point of pride that we have a lot of music in the works that is not at all related to gender identity, but where it came from was…a need to express how it feels to be me. After finding my voice, it was clear that perhaps it would be a good idea if this band was populated with more of my friends and more people like me. So Liam and I got together and started writing the meat and bones of the tracks that would ultimately be on QUARTZ starting in January of 2021, after one of my best friends edged me out of his house. Liam and I then found Miri — Miri came out as trans after joining this project, and it was a privilege to get to know her as she was evolving as well, and then we brought in Guin after our initial drummer, Stephen [Yeager], who we recorded QUARTZ with, decided to go back to college and get his master’s in New York. We decided to do a rotation, where Miri went from bass onto drums, she recorded bass on QUARTZ and then went to drums, and now Guin does bass. Guin plays bass in this other band, The Firnats, they’re really really good. We have a second guitarist we’re about to debut, Sam Elmore, who went to high school with me, and we played shows together as kids, so it’s really adorable that now I have this gang of friends and fellow transfemmes, and it’s a heck of a lot of fun. The story of it as it started two years ago is a bit of a crisis, but what it’s evolved into and blossomed into is really beautiful. I’m really proud of it.
You mentioned that you guys are adding on subject matter that doesn’t have anything to do with gender identity — is that born of some kind of catharsis or acceptance you’ve experienced, or is it merely a need to just talk about something else?
It’s a combination of those two things — and others. QUARTZ, the first attempt at defining our sound, was a manifestation of my true second pubescence. Once you finish puberty, you know a little bit more about who you are and what you want…we’re taking the feelings that I tell on QUARTZ, feelings that I told pretty well, I’m really proud of the way I articulated those feelings - of starting transition and feeling all that angst - and I think now translating that into more showing. We have this one new track that we’re going to start recording in the studio soon, it’s called “It’s the Cigars You Smoke That Are Gonna Give You Cancer”, it’s a reference to a Tim Robinson joke from that Netflix show, I Think You Should Leave. It’s about that perennial, constant feeling of…you know people who are self-destructive, and who are toxic in the way they are because they refuse to admit that the things they do are not good for them, and are probably quite unhealthy for them. So the mission of the song is quite literally healthcare…and when you hear a trans woman say that, there are two meanings there. Anyone can say that and it means something, but then also, being who you are can actually be quite healthy — at least it was for me. So I see a lot of power in trying to simplify the messages we have, and my hope is that we make music by people who have unique perspectives…I want to make music that anyone can enjoy by people that are trans. To me, that is the goal. And, to be honest, it’s not easy to relate to at first.
Would you say you’re making music specifically for trans people to understand, or are you gearing it towards a wider audience — or both? I guess they don’t have to be at odds.
I think the problem is, these days, they are at odds. I don’t just work for myself; my hope is that Ekko Astral, as well as the work I do trying to organize shows in DC…I hope that over time it proves that trans people can write music to anyone, and not just music that is specifically engineered to get around the difficulty cis audiences feel with transness in music. For example, we have had some successes in some genres of music made by trans artists. Typically though, they have to appeal to conventions to be more cis-conforming. You’ve got an artist like SOPHIE, who would pitch-shift her vocals. You’ve got an artist like Ethel Cain, and her voice is cis-passing, and she would probably admit that…my voice is cis-passing! I thought there would be a lot of power in someone singing about trans experiences but with a voice that is angelic. I thought that would be powerful for anyone to hear. I wouldn’t necessarily say we only make music for trans audiences; I want to make music for anyone, and I want the music we ultimately produce to really be about opening doors and showing people new perspectives.
In terms of your songwriting and production style, is it a generally collaborative effort, or does it usually lie on one person?
The songs have so far primarily flowed from me. QUARTZ is a set of songs that I wrote and then brought to the band…however, it’s becoming more collaborative over time. That’s a testament to the players in this band. I have to say that these are the most talented musicians I’ve ever worked with, and I’ve tried to start bands since I was a little kid. I’ll bring a song to this group and it will transform into something I couldn’t have even imagined, and it will absolutely rock the house. The more I lean on the other players in this band, the better it sounds. Where I find the most power is with my lyrics; one of our signatures is the lyricism, and it’s a privilege that they just let me say whatever I want on the microphone, even if sometimes it’s a little boldly profane.
And how does the kinship you’ve all established as friends in the band play out when working together?
Liam and I went to college together; we were both English majors at the University of Vermont, and he’s one of my closest friends. Sam and I…each had bands in high school, and we would play together. These were two musicians that over my life, I really looked up to and stayed in touch with. Miri and Guin, in their own right, have achieved a lot locally with their music careers, and getting to know them has been a privilege. In the span of time that I’ve known Miri, she’s become one of my favorite people; Guin is someone I talk to every day at this point. It wasn’t designed this way, but now it’s just a group of friends, my favorite group of friends in my life. It comes through when we play live, it’s a lot of fun, we have a ton of banter, and the dynamic is really relaxed. These are my closest friends in my life right now.
How’s it been translating from that awkward period of writing and rehearsing to actually playing live?
The truth is, it was always intended this way. I started transitioning and I went, “Okay, if I made the record about it, and I planned it out in advance and we started pitching shows and we did the right things…we could actually develop steam”. Liam and the rest of the group know this — I’ve been meticulously plotting this out from the get-go. I believe a lot of people with talent, if you plan it out enough, really can achieve it. I’m privileged to have planned it out with that forethought. What I’m really shocked by, though, is how the local community has eaten it up. D.C. is, I believe, one of the most queer cities in the country, and it shows. What our crowd looks like is what I think anyone would hope a safe space for LGBTQ people can be…people can move around, dance, have a good time, and everyone seems very safe and happy. We’ve started really building a following, both online and locally, in a way that feels quite organic, and now we’re booking shows. It all feels like it’s building to something bigger that I only dreamed of when I was a kid playing Guitar Hero, and I look forward to the future.
Have you only been playing shows in D.C., or have you booked outside of your home as well?
We’re booked outside of D.C. now! People are starting to take notice of what we do. It’s cool. There’s a lot of cool stuff in the works.
You talk about this being the start of something; do you have specific ambitions for where you want the band to go?
Oh, I want this band to be huge. I want people to, when they think of their favorite rock band, I want them to immediately default to our band. I want that to be true for anyone regardless of our background. I think it would be the coolest thing in the world if people’s favorite rock band was fronted by a trans woman. I think it’s doable, and I think we are going to be that; it’s just a matter of time. No one’s ever lost for being too ambitious. It takes a lot, it takes an incredible deal, but for us, we need to work really hard. And I’m a really hard worker…I do this all in my spare time, it’s like a second job for me.
And has this been a largely positive experience for you?
Absolutely. It’s the best part of my life, this band. When I was a kid, this was all I wanted to do. I’m a writer, and I love writing, that’s what I want to keep doing for the rest of my life. Music was something I was raised with from a very, very early age…I knew I wanted to play rock and roll around the same age I figured out I was a girl. I never let go of them, but society and local life and family, all of that got sublimated into having long hair and playing Guitar Hero, and now it feels foolish that I wasn’t spending my time doing this back then. I am never going to waste this opportunity; you could throw a million walls at me and I would break through a million and one if it meant I could play on stage. I’m very excited to see where this goes, because I think my ambition might be meeting a good moment.
I read through the whole especially this question was great - "In terms of your songwriting and production style, is it a generally collaborative effort, or does it usually lie on one person?" I had a similar question but did not put into words and the answer was great too! Helped👍 one thing I had to ask was how did you transcribe the interview I have heard about an application called otter but it is not handy and has a subscription attached
also could you tell about how did you plan for the interview. Was a great read, thanks!