Caverna

Caverna Ecuadorian producer Daniel Gachet "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.

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 awe and curiosity of many who happen upon it, perhaps by way of its beauty as well as its innate potential for mass destruction. A particular location of interest for the artist, the mountain emits a kind of objectivity that is distinct from the urbanscape of human activity; it asserts itself, unobservant of the adjacent violence, trials and tribulations. Its very name–"Ruco" translated in English to "old" from the indigenous Quechua language–seems to reflect both its acquired reverence from native inhabitants of the region, as well as the relative incomprehensibility of such natural monuments.

On Caverna, references to Quito and its encompassing geography are apparent in ways that are direct at times, nuanced at others. "Toque de Queda" (trans. "lockdown") was produced in real time during a city wide lockdown in which Entrañas and his collaborator Ene Ese were unable to leave an apartment for hours on end. The sheer apprehension of such a situation can perhaps be gleaned from the seething claps and non-melodic droning atmospheres that build, producing a tone of frustration and unease. Tracks like "Coscacho", "Muerto A Puntapiés" and "Cruces" seem to take on a similarly minimal approach, focused on brooding heavy bass lines and relentless polyrhythms that become increasingly menacing as the tracks build. A listener might imagine these compositions to conjure the rumbling subterranean activity of Ruco Pichincha. As their names might imply, "Caverna" and "Cascada" take a different approach, building up shimmering soundscapes reminiscent of 90s new age. These ephemeral sequences seem to summon meditation on natural landscapes in a way that feels lighter and more optimistic, unveiling a softer vision.

In light of his prolific catalog, Entraña's twelve-track work reaches into territory that feels both more personal and experimental–though these compositions are undoubtedly dance-floor ready. Caverna brings together anthems of leftfield club music with chambers of ambient reflection–both of which read as significant and distinct to the artist's background and day-to-day experience in Quito. As the majestic and humbling mountainous surface of Ruco Pichincha might resemble, Caverna's title track ends the record with a reminder; a gentle nod to the significance of such sacred wonders as places of refuge in our human experience; whether we can grasp them, or see them from our bedroom window.