eKho (artist)

From eKhopedia, the pulpiest encyclopedia

This article is about eKho (artist). For other information see Ethan Kho (valedictorian).

eKho (born March 16, 2001) is an American singer, songwriter, and producer from Sacramento, California. He released his first album in December 2017. Since then eKho has released three more albums and an EP. He is rumored to have another album out in March of 2022.

Early Life

eKho was born Ethan Vincei Tonio Kho. He has two older brothers, Clark and Earl. Since his childhood he has been noted for being talented in many areas. He was involved and did well in the competetive chess world, participating in 10 official tournaments from 2010-2014.

Career

Most of eKho's time in the professional field has not been spent as a musician. His first job was as a dishwasher at a Korean barbeque place in Sacramento called Gen. However this only lasted a short period of time due to the restaurant's temporary closure during 2020. eKho is also the audio editor for a few podcasts in the Urban Pyx family including Fam and Fed, Truly Universal, and the Urban Pyx Book Club.

Artistry

Musical Style

eKho's music covers a vast number of genres, proving difficult to describe. At times his music is more electronic, drawing from the type of music he listened to growing up. Other times his music can have more of a pop influence. Throughout the years eKho has developed his own musical style that is unique to him. Those who know him best agree that his music accurately represents who he is as a person.

Although widely loved by most who have encountered his music, eKho has a few critics. Most notably his music has been criticised for its "voice modulation", a devastating blow to his career.

Image

eKho is most widely known in Sacramento, Irvine, and San Diego. However he is also known to have worldwide listeners in places such as Guam. Since his early days he has also had a dedicated fan club. The longest lasting member of this is Lily Valdrez. Membership to this fan club is said to be granted to anyone who cries listening to his music.

Appearances in Media

True to his style, eKho has largely avoided the mainstream media spotlight. His album Wonder was featured in a Buzzfeed listicle article in 2020. eKho also has an instagram account dedicated mostly to his music but has been fairly inactive in recent years.

Album Discography

How I Feel

How I Feel is eKho's first album. He released it in 2017. The album art is done by Maeya Estrada, a friend of eKho's since middle school. This album has many features with eKho's friend Sabriyah B. She would later go by the artist name Sab and release her own EP produced by eKho.

Tracklist:

• "Intro"
• "Goodbye" ft. Sabriyah B.
• "Wherever You Are" ft. Sabriyah B.
• "Heart"
• "Falling"
• "58"
• "Empty"
• "Rebirth"
• "Savior" ft. Sabriyah B.
• "Sanctuary"
• "Clear In My Head" ft. Sabriyah B.
• "Wondrous" ft. Sabriyah B.
• "Last Time"
• "Outro"

Daydreams & Nightmares

Daydreams & Nightmares is eKho's second album. It was released on May 21, 2019, the evening before his high school graduation. Like his first album, the art for this one was done by Maeya Estrada.

Tracklist:

• "Goodnight"
• "Promises"
• "Vain" ft. Kima and Anne
• "Wasted Dreams" ft. Sab
• "Muted Heartbeats"
• "Wake Up"
• "Blessings"
• "Twilight" ft. Roselle
• "Melancholy"
• "Silent"
• "Bedtime Story" ft. Sab
• "Good Morning"

Wonder

Wonder is eKho's third album. It was the first one he released in college, marking a new era of emotions and experiences. The songs in this album are based on impactful moments he had during his freshman year at UCI. The album was released on September 21, 2020. This date is significant because it is exactly one year after he first moved to Irvine. This album was also the focus of a popular Buzzfeed article published in 2020. Wonder is eKho's first album with no features. However there are two speaking parts on the "Plea" track done by Regine Balatbat. He also had a few of his friends record chain vocals for the outro, "As We Watch the Sunset Glow".

Tracklist:

• "Forget Me Not" - This song is named after eKho's favorite flower and is one of his most artistic pieces to date. eKho visualizes the life cycle of a forget me not flower captured in the music.
• "Memento Mori" - This song contains and draws inspiration from eKho's favoirte passage from the Bible.
• "Little Hugs & Kisses" - This song captures some of the emotions felt in eKho's time at home during quarantine.
• "With You" - This song was written as
• "Lost and Found (To Those Nights)" - This song is dedicated to many reckless and cherished nights during eKho's first year in college.
• "Plea" - This song was written at a low point in eKho's life. The talking pieces are said by Regine Balatbat who sent them to eKho to offer love and support, with no idea that they would end up in one of his songs.
• "Shooting Stars" - Like many of eKho's songs, this one is based on real nights in his life. In 2019 eKho saw his first shooting star at the beach and many more followed.
• "Tiny Shells" - This song is written for two of eKho's good friends, Lily Valdrez and Maddie Yamamoto. It calls back to fond memories from their first quarter of college. The song is based on a letter Maddie wrote to eKho and a trio of shells that eKho picked up at the beach.
• "Mirror (Won't You Please)" - This song was written for Clydene Kho (no relation), eKho's first good friend from UCI. The mirror metaphor is apt because he shares a surprising amount of similarities with Clydene.
• "Pink Skies" - This song predicted the first year of eKho's relationship with Regine Balatbat. It was written after both of them separately came to the same conclusion that it would be beautiful to write a song about pink skies.
• "As We Watch the Sunset Glow" - eKho wrote this song on the beach while watching a spectacular sunset with two of his friends. It serves as a perfect outro to the album.

[planned album]

eKho is currently working on his fourth album, which remains untitled. This album is said to be based more on the people in his life rather than the moments he's had like Wonder was. This will also be the first album to feature his bass and new microphones. The production quality is rumored to be highly improved compared to previous albums, sparking much excitement in the eKho fanclub.

Other Works

Farewell

Farewell is a four track EP released in August 2019, the summer before eKho's first year of college. "Take Me Home" from the EP was released earlier as a single. eKho timed the release of the song with two of his good friend's college orientations to mark the start of a new era.

Tracklist:

• "Gotta Let You Go"
• "Still in Love With You"
• "Take Me Home"
• "Why This Again"

Silhouettes

Silhouettes is an EP by Sab that eKho produced in 2019. Sab and eKho were childhood friends that began making music together in high school. She has a few features on various eKho songs, most notably "Wasted Dreams" and "Bedtime Story" from Daydreams & Nightmares. She is a wonderfully talented vocalist and songwriter.

Tracklist:

• "When"
• "Rain"
• "High"
• "Healer"

"it'll be okay"

"it'll be okay" is a single put out at the end of 2020. It brought the year to a hopeful close, celebrating the good things that happened amidst all the chaos. Anne and PJ Rirao are the two features on this song. Both were high school friends of eKho. Anne (also goes by Lauren Mateo) has been a regular collaborator with eKho throughout his musical career.

The cover art for the song is drawn by Regine Balatbat. She is also eKho's girlfriend and the inspiration for many songs.

to those who kept the music from fading

to those who kept the music from fading is a short collection of acoustic versions of three of eKho's most beloved songs. It is dedicated to the friends who are also the inspiration for "Tiny Shells". 2021 marked the first year that eKho didn't release an album since he began making music. Instead, he did these acoustic versions.

Tracklist:

• "Goodnight (Acoustic)" - This song was originally released on Daydreams & Nightmares. It was written during eKho's senior year of high school after the concert he was planning was forced to be postponed.
• "Take Me Home (Acoustic)" - This song was originally released as a single and then officially on Farewell. It is eKho's own prediction of the emotions he would feel in moving from Sacramento to Irvine.
• "Good Morning (Acoustic)" - This song was also originally released on Daydreams & Nightmares. It is a letter to eKho's future self, based on a question of what he would write on a message in a bottle if he were to throw one out to sea.

Concerts

Jammin' for Jude

eKho is not a stranger to public performances. He orchestrated and performed at various talent shows and other events at his high school. His biggest performance was a benefit concert called "Jammin' for Jude". eKho organized this entire event for IHS Harmonics, a club he was the president for. The club consisted of two full bands, called Internal and Silhouette. The proceeds for this concert went to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital. It was a wonderful and special concert, especially for those in eKho's graduating class.

eKho was also heaviily involved with his high school's theater department. He served as the musical director for Inderkum's productions of James and the Giant Peach in 2018 and High School Musical in 2019.

Benecon

eKho has also been heavily involved with the Catholic church throughout his life, particularly through youth ministry. He puts his musical talents to good use through service to these communities. During the 2021-2022 school year he has been one of the leaders of the music ministry in Liwanag, the Filipino Catholic comminity at his school. The largest event he has done for them so far is another benefit concert, affectionately called Benecon. This was a large event that brought together Liwanag members both currently in college and from decades past to perform and enjoy in praise and worship together.

Awards and Nominations

eKho has received many awards throughout his life. In middle school at the Leading Edge program at Natomas Charter School he was given the Overall Pillar Award at his 8th grade promotion. This was the highest award, proving his excellence in all five pillars that supported the program. At his high school graduation he was named valedictorian and gave the commencement speech to his entire graduating class at Golden One Arena. As an artist he holds the title of writing the most songs that have made Maddie Yamamoto cry (both in number of times and intensity of tears).