ESSE Releases 13-Track Collaboration Album 'ESSEnce'

Collaborative project spans house and breakbeat

ESSE has released ESSEnce, a 13-track album built entirely around collaborations with artists on his ESSEntial Records imprint. The project brings together house and breakbeat producers including Rich DietZ, LA Riots, AZOOLAND, AUGUST, BUITANO, and JUS RON.

The album's title references the oldest definition of essence, that irreducible quality which makes something itself. ESSE says the project captures the sound his label has been building throughout the year.

Standout tracks explore different sounds

Two cuts illustrate the album's range. ESSE and AZOOLAND teamed up with AUGUST for "I Love It," pairing a soulful vocal with a chugging bassline. "Get Down," his collaboration with Rich DietZ, takes a breakbeat approach with electro influences, 808s, and vowel-bass accents that push beyond conventional four-on-the-floor house.

"This isn't a collection of global dance hits or Billboard toppers," ESSE tells EDM.com. "This is music for the streets. For sweaty underground clubs, for bumping in your car, for getting you through whatever you're going through. It's the sound this label has been building all year. Everyone on this album is going to be no stranger to the spotlight. You'll see these names on the charts, the biggest playlists and the biggest stages. Get familiar now."

From mixtape concept to full album

ESSE says the project started as a mixtape idea just over a month before release. "I reached out to some of my favorite artists right now," he recalled. "Artists who've supported the label and believe in where it's going. Artists I want to see win just as bad as they want to see me and each other win. Artists on the rise and on the grind right alongside me."

ESSEnce is out now on ESSEntial Records.