Ecuadorian producer Daniel Gachet, aka Entrañas presents his debut full album Caverna on Infinite Machine. The project explores an amalgam of polyrhythms found in traditional Ecuadorian music such as bomba and albazo, blending them with jagged atmospheres of UK bass and grime. Through deliberate sound design, Entrañas seeks to place the listener within the unpredictable ecosystem of the city of Quito and its surroundings. Also, check out our older premiere of the track „Chueco“ by the Quito-based producer.
In this record, Entrañas searches for a sound that conveys both the infrastructural chaos he experiences currently in his home city, while also reflecting the hauntingly beautiful and seemingly perpetual terrain just outside of Quito. Not far from the frequent and unpredictable power outages and city-wide lockdowns which are now commonplace due to the ongoing narco wars, there is an Andean stratovolcano visible from many parts of Quito, including Entrañas own bedroom window. Ruco Pichincha stands nearly 5000m in height, attracting the awe and curiosity of many who happen upon it, perhaps by way of its beauty as well as its innate potential for mass destruction.
You can read the email interview with the Ecuadorian producer below ⬇
I think the artwork of this EP translates the idea of the project really well. The music on the project wants to describe a whole environment, a whole landscape. But I get a feeling of a dreamy Blade Runner-like post-apocalyptic world, not an existing place. But as you write in the official text, the political and socio-economical landscape in your hometown, and home country – Ecuador, is changing drastically as well. Is this your soundtrack to the contemporary Quito and Ecuador?
Yes, the uncertainty that my country currently has leads me to want to create music that is a little dark or, as you say, “post-apocalyptic”. It is very difficult to make a living from art in my country since culture and art are the last things you think about when the country is going through a crisis. I feel that thanks to the internet my music can travel and reach different places since there is not much movement here in the creation and acceptance of the new electronic music that’s being created here, in a certain way I feel that this music is perceived in this way as futuristic and apocalyptic because of how I am looking at the cultural situation of my country and how I have very little faith that it can be improved in the near future…. But I love my country, the environment and the amazing food, and the views are just amazing I love the traditional music from my country and have been listening to those rhythms all of my life so I want to make music that feels very Ecuadorian and new.
As it’s written in the official text: „The project explores an amalgam of polyrhythms found in traditional Ecuadorian music such as bomba and albazo, blending them with jagged atmospheres of UK bass and grime.“ I’m very curious how was your creative process and research process behind this EP. Have you been studying a lot of older Ecuadorian music? Then, how does it crystallize into your tracks?
Ecuadorian music has been part of my life since I can remember, and I feel it is very inspiring material. It is beautiful to be able to look inward and around you for inspiration more than towards foreign countries. For years I have researched the rhythms of my country, the strange thing is that in my country the most common thing is that people reject their own culture, so it is a little difficult to access information and listen to a lot of traditional music records. Before there was not so much traditional Ecuadorian music on the internet but recently there’s been a lot of people uploading old records to all the different streaming platforms and also people creating new beautiful Ecuadorian music I love that! I have also had the privilege of meeting many friends who have taught me a lot about music and I am very grateful to them. I feel that the music that comes from Ecuador has a lot to say and feels very authentic, especially that which seeks inspiration from its roots and culture in whatever way. I also feel that nowadays when we talk about Latin American music we only think of reggaeton and that is not the case, being Latino is much more diverse than just that, and exploring the roots of our countries and their diverse rhythms helps us demonstrate that.
Have you been creating some musical ideas outside in nature, perhaps close to Ruco Pichincha?
In 2022 I made an ambient record that started from recordings that I made with my phone of different atmospheres and soundscapes found in the different ecosystems and climates we have here in Ecuador. And then, later, I processed these recordings on my laptop creating ambient tracks, or „brain massages“ haha. Its called “Pisos Térmicos” and came out on an amazing Ecuadorian label run by Quixosis called “también” I would love to pursue another experiment like that one but maybe in more electronic and club-focused direction. The next time with more “professional” gear!
Ruco Pichincha, Quito
What about creative or music spaces in Ecuador? Do you have a lot of friends/artists in Ecuador, with whom you talk about your music and creative process? Does Quito have some clubs where you can play your music? Or are you mainly focused on traveling abroad with your art?
There are not a lot of venues that support new electronic music, not even one club. Most venues and clubs only support mainstream Techno and House music, and I and my colleagues always get rejected in those spaces. When these spaces see that our music has Latin roots, they automatically categorize us as reggaeton DJs. And the fun thing is that reggaeton venues or clubs also don’t support our music – not even the people who listen to that music! So we have to create our own spaces in different and alternative places like for example some cultural houses, or rent spaces that have never been used for music and even in museums to find a place to showcase our music with our shows and parties 🙂 And yeah there are a lot of producers to talk about music and the creative process, and I have the privilege of calling them my friends.
I recommend you to check them out, the music they create is amazing and also very unique, artists like: Cruzloma, Ene Ese, Zunfo, Mala Fama, Divina Niña, KAIFO, NTFL, PVSSY, Quixosis, and Joaquin Cornejo are amazing and are always releasing amazing music. There’s also an amazing YouTube channel that focuses on Ecuadorian music that I recommend you called Musicoteca Ecuador, the guy that runs that channel is the best DJ in Ecuador haha. I keep learning from all these people and I’ll always be grateful to them. I would love it if in my country the electronic music scene could become diverse and we could showcase our music and feel a lot of support. But I always have received a lot more support from people from other countries, so I would love to travel to all of those countries. Unfortunately, it is very difficult for Ecuadorians to travel as we need a visa to enter most of the countries that have big scenes, like for example all of Europe and the UK.
I’m working on how to get the visa to get to Europe and the UK soon hopefully I’ll get the visa haha I’m crossing my fingers, since it’s my dream to play there. And I would love to return soon to Mexico and the US. Also, my dream is to get to know all of Latin America, I have only had the privilege of playing in Colombia Mexico, and Peru. I want to know all of Latam and would love to return to these countries 🙂
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( You can follow Entrañas on SoundCloud or Instagram / Questions: Krištof Budke )
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