Eskuche Takes Us For A Ride On His "Time Machine"

We caught up with Eskuche to chat about his latest single on Farris Wheel Recordings, sound evolution, hometown inspirations, and more!

The dancefloor wouldn’t be complete without the exciting sounds of Eskuche, and it seems the industry leaders hold the same sentiment. For over a decade, he’s been proving his worth, landing on game-shaping imprints like Mark Knight’s Toolroom, Green Velvet’s Relief, Jamie Jones and Lee Foss’s Hot Creations, Mikey Lion’s Desert Hearts, and Gene Farris’ Farris Wheel Recordings. In fact, the house aficionado is fresh off of his latest Farris Wheel output, taking fans for a ride on his “Time Machine,” featuring sizzling vocals from Amanda Haze.

If you haven’t wrapped your ears around it yet, drop what you’re doing and turn the volume up! Eskuche’s new single boasts futuristic soundwaves and a rhythm packed with attitude to tease and tantalate the body in all the right ways. In summary, “Time Machine” simply has to remain firmly planted on the soundtrack of summer if we expect the party to reach its full potential. This production marks Eskuche’s second go-round on the Chicago-based label, and it’s truly a match made in house heaven.

Of course, there’s so much more to the story than a track release, so we caught up with Eskuche to tap his brain about his Farris Wheel relationship. We even weaved in some inquiries about life as a multi-based producer, his evolution in the industry, impactful performances, and so much more. Speaking of performances, he plans on making a massive impression at ARC Music Festival in Chicago over Labor Day Weekend, so do yourself a favor and secure your tickets, and then continue on for our chat!

Stream Eskuche & Amanda Haze – “Time Machine” on Spotify:

Hello Eskuche, thanks so much for taking time out to chat. Let’s dive right in with your new single, “Time Machine.” This track brought you back around to Gene Farris’ Farris Wheel Recordings. Talk to us about what it means to you to be on the radar of a Chicago legend.

I think I met Gene for the first time when he was playing in Miami, and we clicked right away. He’s a really great guy, and we always have a good time. I like to work with him, and I am really happy that we started to play more shows together, and I’m looking forward to more!

“Time Machine” also brought you back together with Amanda Haze. Can you give us the inside scoop about your work relationship and some of your favorite things about her personal artistry?

I met Amanda a few years ago through our mutual friends. She said she likes house music and likes doing some cool vocals and spoken word phrases. This was exactly what I was looking for. Our first track was “Bass Face.” This track was very quickly picked up by Green Velvet, and we released it on Relief. For “Heartbeat,” she came to my studio to record something different, maybe a bit more commercial; personally, I think this is my favorite vocal of hers. I told her, lets do more as it works really well for my style, and she sent me “Time Machine.” Originally I was thinking of using this vocal for a different track, but I decided to give it a try in this track, and it was perfect!

You made your Farris Wheel debut in 2021 with “Roll On.” Can you compare and contrast the artistic vision for each of your Farris Wheel tracks?

“Roll On” was the first track I sent to Gene. I wanted to do something minimal and groovy, and I found this vocal from Big Tymers; Heavy beat, and this vocal was a perfect combination. “Time Machine” is very different. It’s more of a peak-time banger with acid-influenced build-ups and hypnotic vocals.

Let’s move the timeline back even further. When you set out on your career as a music producer over a decade ago, describe your artistic mindset at the time and how your sound has evolved through the years.

It all started for me with NYC tribal grooves influenced by Danny Tenaglia, Dj Boris, and Victor Calderone – I just was in love with drum music. Then I moved into more stripped-down European tech, such as Marco Carola and Jamie Jones, which had a big influence on creating my sound.

Speaking of sound evolution, you’ve lived in some of the most music-forward and artistically inspiring locations on the planet, including Miami, New York, and Ibiza. Can you talk about how each location has had an impact on your in-studio creativity?

As I mentioned before, NYC tribal was a big influence, so going to clubs like Pacha NYC, Cielo, and Brooklyn warehouses shaped my sound a lot and was a big inspiration to get into production seriously and start developing my sound.

The first time I came to Ibiza was in 2012, but it was a very touristy crazy trip with my friends, so I didn’t catch the right vibe of the island. The next time I came there in 2016, I fell in love and decided that next summer, I wanted to live there. So in 2017, I moved from my apartment in Brooklyn, put most of my stuff in storage, and left for Ibiza, and stayed there for two seasons. I can say for sure after going out to DC10 and Amnesia and getting into a more European music vibe helped me to develop my personal sound. I did “Activator” in 4 hours after coming back home from Paradise closing.

In 2019 I decided that I was done with NYC’s cold winters and wanted to live with palm trees and sun all year around. So, after coming back home from Miami Music Week, I decided I needed a change again. At the end of the year, I moved to Miami. Personally, I think it was my best decision. Miami’s vibe is very different, it’s more chill, and the rhythm of life is way slower than in NYC. So for some time, I noticed I’d been making more relaxed, deep, and melodic music. But I also produced a lot of my usual style tracks as well as developing a new direction which I want to release in the near future.

To date, what do you consider to have been your most impactful performance career-wise? Walk us through the event.

That’s a tough one. I think it was a La La Land tour with Green Velvet. That was definitely a breakthrough moment for me. I remember I played three shows with him in one weekend. We started in Echostage (Washington, DC). It was a crazy show. Right after it, I had to fly early to LA to play at Factory 93 during the day and then the same night to play in Exchange. It was a great weekend I will remember forever. Playing with Curtis is always a lot of fun!

Similarly, is there anyone in the industry that you feel has had the most impact on you? Like a mentor or someone that deeply inspires you? If so, describe the relationship and/or impact.

I can say for sure Green Velvet had a big impact on me. I learned a lot from playing with him. He’s always a positive and humble guy. And Jamie Jones; I looked up to him since the early days, and ’till now, he is always inspiring me to push the boundaries further and further.

Staying on the topic of impact, we can’t have a chat without bringing up the fact that Four Tet dropped your track “Passion” during his iconic Madison Square Garden b3b with Skrillex and Fred Again. Walk us through your thoughts and feelings when you see your music landing on the tracklists of industry icons and the drive it has inspired within you.

“Passion” is that track for me that I never really expected a lot. It came after “Activator,” “Concentrate,” “Paranoid,” etc., and I thought maybe it was a bit more on the deep side. It got some good support when it was released on Hannah Wants‘ label – Etiquette. But during COVID time, it really started to shine with Four Tet playing it at his Mixmag Lab From Home livestream. And then when everything started to open up, it just started to play everywhere, by the DJs from very different genres, and keeps going to today. Last weekend Jimi Jules played it, Jamie Jones played it at Sunwaves a few weeks ago, and more. I keep getting new videos every weekend.

Waking up and seeing all the videos from my friends and also people I don’t know tagging me from Madison Square Garden was mental. Looked unreal. I also love to see that a lot of people know that “Passion” is my track and tagging me. I’m happy that it is very recognizable!

As you continue to build momentum, what are some goals that you’d like to smash through before the year is up?

The main goal, I would say, is to finally start my own label and build a brand, as well as keep releasing music on my favorite labels. I love to play in the USA a lot. It’s my home, but I’m also working on building my presence worldwide in markets such as Europe, South America, and Asia.

Again, thank you so much for your time. Congrats on the new tune, and we can’t wait to see what you have in store for us next!

Thanks for having me; till next time!