Once I Was Young and The Airplane Album find the producer taking yet another sonic right turn.

"These records were made in the same year with a very similar creative process. I moved almost completely away from sampling, experimented more than ever with ambient and techno elements and used the album format as a way to tell a story about moments in my life."

Once I Was Young is a storytelling work that journeys through analogue synth-pop, modulated techno and raw, dusty drums with otherworldly melodies. Moments of beauty come through escapist, naturalistic ambient tracks and fusions of Kraftwerkian sequencing with more classical piano, while stark, club-ready grooves keep things moving.

Airplane contrasts similar shades of light and dark, synthetic and organic, rough and smooth. Glitchy, imperfect analogue sounds, knackered drum machine grooves and eerie synth phrasing evoke a post-human world with icy atmospheres. Elsewhere, warmth comes from bittersweet melodies and loose, funky drums that ooze retro-future charm.

Once I Was Young and The Airplane Album show a diff erent side to Escobar, one that embraces introspection and experimentation while exploring a whole other world of meaningful machine soul.

Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: [email protected]More

Eli Escobar returns for his 9th full length LP. While his last few projects found him exploring downtempo beats, EBM and ambient influences, this latest offering of Eli's studio craftsmanship marks a return to the sound of his early releases like Up All Night and Happiness. Warm samples expertly woven into classic drum machine rhythms and searing synth lines, The Beach Album takes listeners on a journey through golden era hip hop beats, feel-good NY-styled house grooves into sweaty techno bangers. Similar to Eli's DJ sets, the 16 track long player has something for everyone. Created during the uncertainty of the pandemic when as Eli put it, "It didn't feel like the right time to release dance music," The Beach album celebrates the return of NY nightlife and optimism for the future.

Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: [email protected]More

Just over a year on since he released his stunning LP ‘Happiness’ on Classic Music Company, Eli Escobar returns to the label with an album which couldn’t be further removed in sentiment. Whereas ‘Happiness’ radiated sublime house/disco hybrid bliss throughout, ‘Shout’ is a heartfelt rage against America’s developing political disasters. The quintessential New York City DJ, Eli is a devoted collector, explorer and connoisseur of all kinds of music from his hip-hop roots. He is hugely well-respected in the New York club circuit after over two decades of mutual love for the city and the house scene. Having been switched on to Eli by his debut album ‘Up All Night’, Classic Music Company is now his creative home. ‘Shout’ starts robustly with ‘Nightmare Rag’, police sirens ringing out in the background while a disgruntled voice repeats “ode to America” and a dream-like piano riff gathers momentum, turning into a punchy acid beat. Giving way to tangible heartbreak in ‘Interlude (American Sorrow)’ with lamenting saxophone and light percussion, Eli maintains the political message in ‘The People’, urging the listener to wake up by using crafty vocal samples and hypnotic chords. Further highlights include heavier tracks like ‘Muzik’ which picks up the pace of the record, before ‘City Song’ brings back the New York house vibe with vocal cuts and warm synths. ‘City Song Part 2’ and ’Body and Soul’ show Eli’s disco influences while ‘Goin’ On?’ flickers with hope.
A stormy departure from the glowing balminess of his previous LPs, ‘Shout’ addresses Eli’s anguish over his country hitting self-destruct, while still putting his own twist on his city’s house and disco soundtrack, joining the dots between yesterday’s golden era classics and today’s club anthems. Underpinning it all is Eli’s acute musical sensitivity; whether it’s a straight-up party jam or a crafty disco cut-up, warmth and soul are poured in.

Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: [email protected]More

It’s been a couple of years since Classic released an original artist album, the last one being Luke Solomon’s critically praised ‘Timelines’. This time round Classic brings a relative newcomer into the fold. Eli Escobar has slowly been building a credible reputation out of his home in New York, releasing his first single back in the late nineties and moving more recently from hip hop into dance music. As a DJ, he harks back to a golden era of disco and early house music, graduating through the 90s during which he was brought up on a diet of underground house including Classic’s early output. In recent years Classic’s head was turned by his wonderful album ‘Up All Night’ that was released on Night People, a label from New York that Eli (pronounced ‘EL-EE’) has a vested interest in. Following up the album with a series of singles, the label swiftly became a cult dance classic. ‘Happiness’ continues from where ‘Up All Night’ left off, championing the disco cut-up ethos from lesser known staples. Eli also enlists the vocal talents of Nomi Ruiz and the legendary Vanessa Daou, who most notably featured on the classic Danny Tenaglia and Peter Daou’s, ‘Surrender Yourself’ back in the 90s. Moving from straight up house party jams such as the title track, ‘Happiness Pt 2’ into raw Chicago work outs like ‘Chaka Khan’, Mood II Swing inspired deepness such as ‘Winters Anthem’ and ‘I Need U’, before wrapping it all up with straight up disco floor fillers like ‘Phreeky’ and ‘Can’t Stop Dancing’. ‘Happiness’ will surely solidify Eli Escobar’s place as more than a “one to watch” producer, this will take him into the realms of a torch bearer for a new generation of underground dance acts.

Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: [email protected]More