Interview with Eskmo

Brendan Angelides, aka Eskmo, is a US-based electronic musician touring Australia for the first time as part of Melbourne Music Week. His record label Ninja Tune has been pioneering electronic music since the 90s, and we recently caught up with the easy-going artist ahead of his Melbourne show.

Originally from Connecticut, Angelides says coming from a small town helped him get started in music.

“I never really had much there to do except make tunes, so I had a lot of time to figure out how to fit it all together. It was therapeutic to make the music I wanted to make it. I think it’s liberating for kids to have access to these technologies and make music without leaving their house.”

After stints working in hospitality to make ends meet, Angelides started working in the electronic music industry, where he set up audio-visual gear and eventually started performing.

With influences coming from “some really bad hip-hop”, and bands like Pearl Jam, Primus and The Prodigy, Angelides is a sort of a one man band onstage. He sings, plays tunes through a couple of laptops, samples everything from pianos to percussion to bass guitar. He also adds his own visuals, which he says adds to the emotive experience of his shows.

Over the years Angelides has collaborated with some of the top names in electronic music, including Eprom and Amon Tobin (one of the world’s most exciting electronic music producers, who recently played the Sydney Opera House with his audio-visual spectacle, Isam.)

“Amon and I made some tunes together (under the name Eskmobin), and then he got me on his label, Ninja Tune. We both recorded sounds on the field and warped them into new sounds, we both thought that it was cool that humans could emanate new sounds from the planet.”

Angelides says he’s looking forward to hearing what’s happening in the Australian electronic music scene.

“I don’t know what to expect. I think it’s going to be chill, and more familiar then other places I’ve toured like Japan. I can’t wait to hear what tunes you Aussies are making.”

Eskmo will be playing at Phatawhompus, part of the Where?House project at Melbourne Music Week on Thurs 22 Nov.