Echostream are a NJ-based kick ass electro-industrial band with three Japanese members (two of which female) and a line up comprised of two drummers (electric and acoustic), a keyboard player who loves to break Oxygen 8s on stage, a Japanese guitar player and a Japanese female lead singer with a beautiful ethereal voice. Their second full length CD "The Duality of Courage" just came out recently and features ten tracks of intense well-produced electronica that goes from being grand and majestic ("Static") to minimalistic and myserious ("Hole"; parts of "You Know"), with all the stages in between. It is obvious from the distant and reverberated piano parts that NIN is a great influence here, but Echostream's sound is more complex and a lot less raw, especially when compared to the last few of Reznor's records. What also sets them apart is the fact that instead of screaming into a mic and processing the outcome, Echostream went the opposite route: there's airy soft female vocal melodies by Ryoko that sit on top of a sophisticated bed of beats and layers synth sounds by Tony Grund. That is not to say that Echostream is a stranger to the unleashing of violent guitar-driven sonic attacks. Tomo certainly does have that up his sleeve ("Rip You Down"; "Contagious") but he also contributes to the darker ambiance of the mellower tunes with gently processed sounds and riffs in the background.
Released at the same time of the full length album, the single "Dragon" features (besides the title-track, obviously) two different versions of "Static" and a version of "Jane" which is not present on the album.
I've been wanting to see them live for a while and you should keep an eye out as well. Check out their online stores too, where you can get competitively priced CDs and merchandise.