Mike Paradinas
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Michael Paradinas (born 26 September 1971), better known by his stage name μ-Ziq (pronounced "music" or mu-zik), is an English
electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...
ian from
Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...
,
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
. He was associated with the electronic style
intelligent dance music Intelligent dance music (commonly abbreviated as IDM) is a style of electronic music originating in the early 1990s, defined by idiosyncratic experimentation rather than specific genre constraints.''"…the label 'IDM' (for avant-garde, 'intel ...
(IDM) during the 1990s, and recorded on
Rephlex Records Rephlex Records was a record label launched in 1991 in Cornwall by electronic musician Richard D. James (aka Aphex Twin) and Grant Wilson-Claridge. The label coined the term ''braindance'' to describe the output of Aphex Twin and fellow artists ...
and Reflective Records. His critically acclaimed 1997 album, ''
Lunatic Harness ''Lunatic Harness'' is the fourth studio album by English electronic music producer Mike Paradinas under the stage name µ-Ziq. It was released on 30 June 1997 in the United Kingdom on the Planet Mu label, and on 29 July 1997 in the United States ...
'', helped define the
drill 'n' bass Drill 'n' bass is a subgenre of drum and bass which developed in the mid-1990s as IDM artists began experimenting with elements of breakbeat, jungle, and drum and bass music. Artists utilized powerful audio software programs and deployed frenzie ...
subgenre and was also his most successful release, selling over 100,000 copies. Paradinas founded the record label
Planet Mu Planet Mu is an eclectic English electronic music record label created and run by Mike Paradinas. The label started out as a subsidiary of Virgin Records then Paradinas set up the label independent of Virgin. After releasing intelligent dance ...
, begun in 1995, where he has championed genres such as juke and footwork.


History

Paradinas was born in
Charing Cross Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Clockwise from north these are: the east side of Trafalgar Square leading to St Martin's Place and then Charing Cross Road; the Strand leading to the City; ...
and began playing
keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...
s during the early 1980s, and listened to
new wave music New wave is a loosely defined music genre that encompasses pop-oriented styles from the late 1970s and the 1980s. It was originally used as a catch-all for the various styles of music that emerged after punk rock, including punk itself. La ...
such as
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) are an English electronic music, electronic band formed in Wirral Peninsula, Wirral, Merseyside, in 1978. The group consists of co-founders Andy McCluskey (vocals, bass guitar) and Paul Humphreys (keyboar ...
(OMD),
Heaven 17 Heaven 17 are an English new wave and synth-pop band that formed in Sheffield in 1980. The band were a trio for most of their career, composed of Martyn Ware (keyboards) and Ian Craig Marsh (keyboards) (both previously of the Human League), an ...
and early
Human League The Human League are an English synth-pop band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Initially an experimental electronic outfit, the group signed to Virgin Records in 1979 and later attained widespread commercial success with their third album ''Dare' ...
. He joined a few bands in the mid-1980s, then spent eight years on keyboards for the group Blue Innocence. During this period, Paradinas had been recording on his own as well with synthesizers and a four-track recorder. In 1995, following a performance at "The Orange" in London, Blue Innocence broke up. Paradinas and the bass player, Francis Naughton, bought sequencing software and re-recorded some of Paradinas's older tracks. After the material was played for Mark Pritchard and
Tom Middleton Tom Middleton (born 18 August 1971) is a British electronic recording artist, sound designer, composer, music producer, remixer and DJ. His solo albums include '' Lifetracks'' (2007), ''Glasstracks'' (2011) and ''Sleep Better'' (2018). Middleto ...
—the duo behind
Global Communication Global Communication is an electronic music act, consisting of Tom Middleton and Mark Pritchard. Biography Global Communication's first LP, '' 76:14'', is an acclaimed album from the ambient and 1990s electronic music genres. Beyond their w ...
and the heads of
Evolution Records Evolution Records was a record label operated by the Stereo Dimension Records subsidiary of the Longines Symphonette Society, a unit of the Longines watch company. It was founded in 1969 as the retail arm of the mail-order Longines Symphonette Soci ...
—it was to be released; however, recording commitments later forced Pritchard and Middleton to withdraw their agreement. Fortunately for Paradinas, Richard D. James (a.k.a.
Aphex Twin Richard David James (born 18 August 1971), best known as Aphex Twin, is an Irish-born British musician, composer and DJ. He is known for his idiosyncratic work in electronic music, electronic styles such as techno, ambient music, ambient, and jun ...
) had also heard the tracks and agreed to release their music on
Rephlex Records Rephlex Records was a record label launched in 1991 in Cornwall by electronic musician Richard D. James (aka Aphex Twin) and Grant Wilson-Claridge. The label coined the term ''braindance'' to describe the output of Aphex Twin and fellow artists ...
under the alias μ-Ziq. Naughton then left μ-Ziq to start Rocket Goldstar. A second album '' Bluff Limbo'' was scheduled to be released in mid-1994, though only 1000 copies were published. It was re-issued by Rephlex in 1996 after Paradinas served papers on the label. Paradinas's first major-label release came later in 1994, after he undertook a remix project for
Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldwid ...
: the
remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...
EP '' The Auteurs Vs μ-Ziq'' for the
britpop Britpop was a mid-1990s British-based music culture movement that emphasised Britishness. It produced brighter, catchier alternative rock, partly in reaction to the popularity of the darker lyrical themes of the US-led grunge music and to the ...
band
the Auteurs The Auteurs were a British alternative rock band of the 1990s, and a vehicle for songwriter Luke Haines (guitar, piano and vocals). Several bands influenced by the Auteurs have taken their names from the band's songs. The Polish band Lenny V ...
. The remixes Paradinas offered sounded nothing like the original song, a familiar practice for many experimental electronic musicians in those times. Even though the EP was hardly a high sales success, Virgin signed up Paradinas and gave him his own
sublabel A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...
, Planet Mu, to release his own work and to develop similar-minded artists. (Paradinas later broke with Virgin and in 1998 established
Planet Mu Planet Mu is an eclectic English electronic music record label created and run by Mike Paradinas. The label started out as a subsidiary of Virgin Records then Paradinas set up the label independent of Virgin. After releasing intelligent dance ...
as his own independent label). Written into his own contract was a provision for unlimited recording under different names, and during 1995 Paradinas unveiled three aliases and released many albums within less than a year. The neo-
electro music Electro (or electro- funk)Rap meets ...
label Clear released his debut single under the alias Tusken Raiders (named after the
Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...
species) early in the year. Clear Records also released the first Paradinas alias album, ''Jake Slazenger MakesARacket'', later in 1995. Although they were still audible, the LP ignored the electro influences in favour of some synthesizer figures and the previously unheard influence of
jazz-funk Jazz-funk is a subgenre of jazz music characterized by a strong back beat (groove), electrified sounds, and an early prevalence of analog synthesizers. The integration of funk, soul, and R&B music and styles into jazz resulted in the creatio ...
. Paradinas continued to release solo albums under the above-mentioned names as well as Gary Moscheles, and a one-time collaboration with
Aphex Twin Richard David James (born 18 August 1971), best known as Aphex Twin, is an Irish-born British musician, composer and DJ. He is known for his idiosyncratic work in electronic music, electronic styles such as techno, ambient music, ambient, and jun ...
under the Mike & Rich moniker. In 1997, Paradinas made a style change again, mixing experimental electronic music with
drum'n'bass Drum and bass (also written as drum & bass or drum'n'bass and commonly abbreviated as D&B, DnB, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by fast breakbeats (typically 165–185 beats per minute) with heavy bass and sub-ba ...
, a similar aesthetic path taken by
Squarepusher Tom Jenkinson (born 17 January 1975), known professionally as Squarepusher, is an English electronic musician, record producer, bassist, multi-instrumentalist and DJ. His music spans several genres including drum and bass, IDM, acid house, ...
and
Aphex Twin Richard David James (born 18 August 1971), best known as Aphex Twin, is an Irish-born British musician, composer and DJ. He is known for his idiosyncratic work in electronic music, electronic styles such as techno, ambient music, ambient, and jun ...
. During this year he was also touring with popular musician
Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct three-octave vocal range and eccentric persona, she has de ...
. Björk inspired the 1999 album ''
Royal Astronomy ''Royal Astronomy'' is the fifth studio album by English electronic music producer Mike Paradinas under the stage name μ-Ziq, released on 26 July 1999 by Hut Records and Astralwerks. Critical reception Jon Dolan of '' Spin'' described ''Royal ...
'', with its mixture of unusual vocals, strings and breakbeat. All of his albums until 2003 were released in the US on the more mainstream label, Astralwerks.


Personal life

Paradinas is married to fellow musician Lara Rix-Martin, with whom he has produced music under the alias Heterotic.


Discography


As μ-Ziq


Studio albums


EPs

* '' The Auteurs vs μ-Ziq'' (1994) * '' Salsa with Mesquite'' (1995) * '' Urmur Bile Trax, Vols. 1 & 2'' (1997) * '' Brace Yourself'' (1998) * "The Raft" EP (1999) * ''XTEP'' (2013) * ''Rediffusion'' (2014) * ''Pthagonal EP'' (2017) * ''D Funk EP'' (2018) * ''Hello'' (2022)


Singles

* ''Phi*1700 (U/V)'' (1994) * ''My Little Beautiful'' (1997) * '' The Fear'' (1999) * ''Ease Up'' (2005) * ''Goodbye'' / ''Goodbye Remixes'' (2022)


Compilations

* ''XTLP'' (2015) * ''Furthur Electronix Trax'' (2022)


As Tusken Raiders / Rude Ass Tinker

* ''Bantha Trax'' (1995) * ''Bantha Trax, Vol. 2'' (1999) * ''The Motorbike Track'' (1999) * ''Imperial Break'' (2001) * ''Inchstar Static EP'' (2018) * ''Bantha Trax, Vol. 3'' (2020) * ''Housewerk'' EP Series, Vols. 1–6 (2021) * ''Boundary Road'' (2021) * ''Bantha Trax, Vol. 4'' (2022) * ''Housewerk, Vol. 7'' (2022)


As Jake Slazenger

* ''Makesaracket'' (1995) * ''Megaphonk'' (1995) * ''Nautilus'' (1996) * ''Das ist ein Groovybeat, ja'' (1996) * ''Pewter Dragon'' (2006) * ''Drops a Deuce'' (2020) * ''Ace in the Hole'' (2020)


As Kid Spatula

* ''
Spatula Freak ''Spatula Freak'' is the debut album by Kid Spatula, an alias for Mike Paradinas Michael Paradinas (born 26 September 1971), better known by his stage name μ-Ziq (pronounced "music" or mu-zik), is an English electronic musician from Wimbl ...
'' (1995) * ''
Full Sunken Breaks ''Full Sunken Breaks'' is an album by Mike Paradinas Michael Paradinas (born 26 September 1971), better known by his stage name μ-Ziq (pronounced "music" or mu-zik), is an English electronic musician from Wimbledon, London. He was associ ...
'' (2000) * ''
Meast ''Meast'' is an album by Mike Paradinas Michael Paradinas (born 26 September 1971), better known by his stage name μ-Ziq (pronounced "music" or mu-zik), is an English electronic musician from Wimbledon, London. He was associated with the e ...
'' (2004)


As Gary Moscheles

* ''Shaped to Make Your Life Easier'' (1996)


As Frost Jockey

* ''Burgundy Trax, Vol. 1 '' (2000) * ''Burgundy Trax, Vol. 2 '' (2000)


Collaborations


Diesel M (with Marco Jerrentrup)

* ''M for Multiple'' (1993)


Mike & Rich (with Richard D. James a.k.a. Aphex Twin)

* ''
Expert Knob Twiddlers ''Expert Knob Twiddlers'' is a 1996 studio album by Mike Paradinas and Richard D. James. It was released in 1996 on Rephlex Records and is the only release credited to the two as Mike & Rich. On 14 July 2016, Planet Mu announced that a reissued ...
'' (1996)


Slag Boom Van Loon (with Jochem Paap a.k.a. Speedy J)

* ''Slag Boom Van Loon'' (1998) * ''So Soon'' (2001)


Heterotic (with Lara Rix-Martin)

* ''Love & Devotion'' (2013) * ''Rain'' (2014) * ''Weird Drift'' (2014)


(with Mrs Jynx)

* ''Secret Garden'' (2021)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paradinas, Mike 1971 births Living people English electronic musicians English people of Spanish descent English record producers Intelligent dance musicians People from Wimbledon, London Braindance musicians Planet Mu artists Rephlex Records artists