Having spent the past five years releasing a slew of singles and EPs on labels including Warp and Planet Mu, San Francisco-based producer Brendan Angelides decided to take the plunge with his first album.

“With EPs and singles it’s very easy to fly under the radar,” admits the man better known as Eskmo.

“It’s also not as risky putting out EPs – you’re able to coast along doing that. It’s a bit more of a risk to put out a whole vision of an album. It’s something I wanted to do.”

The self-titled album, simply called Eskmo, sees Angelides experiment more with his sound, resisting the pressure to simply link up some of his existing singles.

To the forefront of the dense sound are his trademark crunchy beats, the results of painstaking hours spent in the studio. But for the first time he has also invested time in recording his own vocals.

“I had used my voice in tiny pieces before on certain tracks,” he says.

“On a personal level I felt a strong drive to start using vocals, just for myself really. I felt I needed to as a phase of my own personal growth – the challenge of adding the lyric and being involved in that world. I wanted to push myself into that whole process, and it has been really amazing. It’s another dimension of creative visualisation.”

For this live show Eskmo is employing an audio visual element.

“I have been doing live performances from the beginning,” he says.

“I was never a DJ, I only had about ten or 15 records. I have only really focused on touring these past two years.

“I’m trying to integrate the visuals into the music, to add texture and emphasis to specific parts of the tracks. I can control it all from the stage.”

It’s something he is continuing to develop, hinting future live shows could be even bigger. For now he is on the touring treadmill, promoting the Eskmo album which came out on cult label Ninja Tunes last year.

But he has exciting plans for the future, not least hooking up once more with Brazilian electronic musician Amon Tobin – formerly a Brighton resident.

Angelides recorded an EP with him as Eskamon, and is hoping to record a full album soon when touring schedules allow.

“Working with Amon inspires me,” says Angelides.

“He’s a model to look up to. He’s developed his sound and been in the music game for a long time. He doesn’t have to cater for anybody.

“I feel that’s where I’m trying to come from in my own way.

“We have been able to inspire each other in the studio, playing off each other.”

Until that collaboration happens, Angelides is shifting home from San Francisco to Los Angeles.

“San Francisco has such a vibrant scene,” he says.

“The nature and the culture really inspires me, it’s a really dynamic environment – it’s so compact with the ocean and the woods.

“I’m very influenced by my surroundings – I know my sound changed and grew when I moved to San Francisco, so that may happen in Los Angeles too.”

Support from Koreless, Anxst and Native Machine.