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Ian Eskelin

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Ian Eskelin played an influential role in the early 90's Christian dance scene before joining rock band All Star United later in the decade.

Eskelin first appeared in the then-fledgling scene in 1992 as a member of synth-pop band Code of Ethics. However, his role in that band appears to have been limited to remixing a few songs from the Visual Paradox and Code of Ethics albums for a pair of maxisingles.

Eskelin then teamed up with Max Hsu and Luke Mazzerri to form the techno-dance trio Zero. The outfit combined Euro-dance, techno/rave and hip hop sounds on its first and only full-length album, Ravenous, released in 1993.

Eskelin was also featured on several tracks on Word Entertainment's Motion Factory dance compilation, released about the same time. The compilation featured three tracks by Zero not included on Ravenous, as well as the song "Destination Love," by Brand New Language, a moniker that Eskelin used for his early solo work.

Eskelin released his first full-length solo album, Brand New Language, several months later. The album melded the catchy, synth-pop melodies of Code of Ethics with the throbbing Euro-dance and hip hop of Zero and even added Latin piano and horn sounds on a couple tracks. Eskelin's rap vocals, while not exactly on par with Eminem, were nonetheless impressive and reminiscent of Marky Mark & The Funky Bunch a couple years earlier (Eskelin's picture on the album cover, however, did bear a strong resemblance to Vanilla Ice).

The result of these efforts was an uptempo, energetic sound that made Brand New Language one of the best Christian dance albums of the early to mid-90's.

Eskelin released his follow up album, Supersonic Dream Day, less than a year later. Although many of the tracks had a more commercial sound geared toward CCM radio, Supersonic Dream Day still retained a few Latin and Euro-pop elements to avoid being branded a "sell out."

Eskelin also remixed songs by The Echoing Green and a few other genre bands over the next couple years.

Eskelin also produced a trilogy of albums for his side project, Hypersonic. Similar to N*Soul Records' Nitro Praise series, Hypersonic updated hymns and praise/worship music with danceable beats. Vocal efforts were handled by CCM singer Crystal Lewis and other female singers, and Eskelin worked mostly behind the scenes.

Despite being one of the most influential members of the Christian dance scene, Eskelin left the genre in 1997 and formed alterna-rock band All Star United. He retained this sound on his latest solo album, Save the Humans, released in 2004.