Eli Brown on the Making of “Gotta Go,” His 2026 Vision, and the Underground Roots Driving His Techno Evolution

“Gotta Go” has been a secret weapon in your sets all year. What was the exact moment you realized this track needed to become an official release, and why did it resonate so strongly with crowds?

We first made the track around EDC Las Vegas, but I bottled it and didn’t play it that night. I’m very self critical and quite often too scared to play brand new tracks! The night after, however, I played it for the first time in Philadelphia at a cool underground club called The Ave and it felt really good. I took the track back to the studio and refined it a little over the next few weekends, then the big moment was at my Brooklyn Storehouse show. The reaction the track got then was insane and I knew this one was a winner.

Arcane has quickly become a hub for forward-thinking techno. What made “Gotta Go” feel like the right release to continue defining the label’s direction?

I hadn’t released on the label for a while so I was keen to mark my return with a certified banger. This one is tried and tested and I feel it fits the label’s ethos and sound really well. High energy techno that does feel out of place in an underground warehouse, or mainstage festival, I feel this is a balance I’m always trying to find with my music.

You’ve had a massive run leading into 2026 from the EDC Las Vegas anthem to high-profile collaborations and now this single. How has this creative momentum shaped the next chapter of your sound?

I’m always trying to push the envelope of my sound, I never want to stand still. I like to operate within the broad parameters of techno but I don't want to be confined to making one particular sound. I’m always looking for influences outside the genre to bring them into the Eli Brown sound.

For example, this year I’ve explored merging latin music with techno with my tracks ‘Me Gusta’ and ‘Papi’. ‘Wavey’ was something a bit more fun and rave-inspired, whereas for ‘Done Searching’ I tried to draw influences from some of the nostalgic 90’s dance tracks that weren't afraid to merge indie music with club music. In terms of the next chapter for Eli Brown and my sound moving forward, I’m working on a heap of new music and perhaps this may take shape in the form of an album next year, I’m not sure, you’ll have to wait and see!

Your roots in Bristol’s underground still echo through your music today. Where do you feel that influence shows up most strongly in “Gotta Go,” and how do you maintain that edge while playing on the biggest global stages?

I grew up listening to jungle and drum and bass so I would say there's definitely a dark undertone that runs through my sound that you can hear in ‘Gotta Go’. When I’m making records I always like to picture myself as that 16-year-old going to my first raves. This was back before we had things like Shazam, so after we got home from the party we’d always chat about the memorable tracks we’d heard that night, it was always the ones with a big vocal or mad synth line. As a result I'm always trying to think about how will that raver on the dancefloor remember this song? With ‘Gotta Go’ I think it’s the amazing vocal by SACHA combined with the heavy drop that makes it pretty unique.

With a new year on the horizon, what can fans expect from you, both in terms of releases and the evolution of your live sets as you move deeper into this peak-time, mainstage techno identity?

As I mentioned previously, I’m working on a bunch of new music and trying to develop my live shows for 2026. I don't stand still, I evolve and grow, all the time I’m trying to push forward. I’ll continue to fly the flag for techno and try to convert as many people as possible along the way. 2026 is shaping up to be a big year for me so stay tuned.