tech

Stefano Noferini - Giocotto (Original Mix) [Deeperfect]

When we established Balmat in 2021, neither of us could have imagined that within two years, we’d be putting out an album by one of our musical heroes: Mike Paradinas (@mikep), aka µ-Ziq. The British producer has been an inspiration to label co-founders Albert Salinas and Philip Sherburne since the 1990s. In fact, his album-length remix project The Auteurs Vs µ-Ziq was one of the very first pieces of electronic music that Philip bought, way back in 1994. To have the opportunity to release his music now feels like a real full-circle moment. 

Paradinas, of course, needs no introduction. Under a slew of aliases, chief among them µ-Ziq, the British artist revolutionized leftfield electronic music in the 1990s—coincidentally, this year marks the 30th anniversary of his debut album, Tango N’ Vectif, for his friend and sometime collaborator Aphex Twin’s Rephlex label—and his label Planet Mu (@planetmurecords) has built up a formidable catalog of visionary, forward-looking records, mapping virtually every corner of the electronic spectrum. With 1977, he turns the clock backward in a sense, and not just with the album’s title: Rooted in classic ambient and electronic sounds, these 15 tracks evoke the anything-goes spirit of the early ’90s, before the tools and tropes had calcified into cut-and-dried styles.

There’s no shortage of familiar sounds on 1977. There are echoes of raves and chillout rooms and transmissions from the fringes of techno; there are detuned synths and glistening reverb tails and, above all, gauzy vox pads, the eerie glue that holds it all together. The title, he says, is meant to invoke a general sense of nostalgia, bookmarking a year in his boyhood when he became more self-aware. More than anything, 1977 sounds like µ-Ziq distilled: Stripped of his signature breakbeats and customary chaos, Paradinas’ first-ever strictly (well, mostly) ambient album presents the essence of his music in a whole new light.

Along the way Paradinas touches on dark-ambient drones (“Marmite”), horror-film themes (“Belt & Carpet”), jungle breaks (“Mesolithic Jungle”), and even house music (“Houzz 13”), which marks the first bona fide dance-floor moment on Balmat to date). Yet the album never—to our ears, anyway—feels expressly retro. Rather, Paradinas plucks timeless sounds out of the ether and gives them a gentle tap, spinning them into unexpected new orbits. At times, 1977 feels like an experience of extended déjà vu: When we first listened to it, we had the sense that we already knew this music. It was as though we had heard it years ago, perhaps on a battered cassette tape lent to us by a friend, and been searching for it ever since. We hope you feel the same.

1977

µ-Ziq - 1977 [BALMAT05]

Techno/house track with trashy drums

Featured in the Arc'teryx bouldering movie 'Keep It Real'

Feet Fight

Mixtape Alpha Dials

A broken soldier who's on his way to heal from the traumatic past, finding the purpose of what his life is all about, the wounds are there but the hope of finding a better life drives him.

is that his purpose? being a soldier who blindly has to follow orders to kill people to serve the dream one commander? he's nothing but a stairstep in a long way to heaven.

he realized that this is not what his whole life should be all about, so he leaves everything and everyone behind to be alone to follow his mission of finding the power within & the purpose of life.

“If you meet god, tell him to just leave me alone!” 
- Kentaro Miura

Golden Age

Gatsu ガッツ

BUY <3

Black Swordsman 黒い剣士

BUY IT <3

AAAA — X Scroll Era
Umor Rex / catalog UR152 
LP vinyl, digital and streaming 
Release date: September 13, 2024 

Through X Scroll Era, Gabo Barranco, aka AAAA, conducts a rigorous overhaul of the aesthetics and statements of low-profile IDM, trance, and progressive-acid music typical of the early 2000’s. In addition to this inherent and undeniable veneration for the era, the pieces on this album — which originated from recordings and experimental exercises with gear and accidentally became an album — serve also as a kind of retrospective inspection of Mexico City's suburbs (Lomas de Sotelo), with landscapes full of indiscriminate concrete, highways of two and three levels, factories, and parking lots that have supplanted nature with their own detached beauty. It is a sound memory, a specific melancholy that praises skate squads of the area, friends from the past, parties, and substances. It reviews the decline of rave culture but also its resilience and capacity for transformation. What AAAA offers us with X Scroll Era is an almost multigenerational soundtrack, a memory that feels collective and recollects euphoria, ecstasy, and nostalgia.
After several LPs and EPs (Acid Test, Omnidisc, Janushoved) and several years active in the dance and contemplative electronic music circuit (MUTEK, BERGHAIN, iii Points, RBMA), X Scroll Era is the first album by Gabo Barranco, aka AAAA, published on the Mexican label Umor Rex.

All music composed, produced and mixed by Gabo Barranco aka AAAA in Centro Histórico, Mexico City, between January and April 2024. Mastered by Rafael Anton Irisarri at Black Knoll Studio, NY.
Photos by Mateo Barbuzzi. Design by Daniel Castrejón.

Umor Rex Records © Mexico 2024 / UPC: 796520479906  
Press & general inquiries: editor@umor-rex.com 
Worldwide distributed by Morr Music Distribution GmbH

X Scroll Era

AAAA - X Scroll Era

Este mes regresamos con un mix muy especial que nos preparó Gabo Barranco (AAAA), una hora de texturas melancólicas y envolventes para escapar hacia el interior. ♡

AAAA - Lapi + Filia Music Series 018

TASCAM DR-05X

Daniel Avery B2B Richard Fearless "GOO" 26.10.24 @TheBerkleySuite

Pacing the Platform 26 w/ upsammy on NTS (20.02.25)

Overland invite AAAA : Liminal CORE - 1er Mai 2025

Gabo Barranco, also known as @gabobarranco is a Mexican electronic music producer and performer, who works with an 'out of the box' approach. Barranco’s work is driven by analogue hardware, creating intense music pieces, varying from melancholic melodious ambient to undeniably heavy acid assaults.

Throughout a relatively short career, he has performed and been part of events such as MUTEK MX, SXSW, BERGHAIN, FREEDOM (COL), Institut fuer Zukunft (GER), Comunite (MX) and Red Bull Music Academy Montreal.

Tracklist:

Eutrop - Y’a de l’Acid Sur le Trottoir
Moma - Ready This version may go off
John Haven - Dame Eso
Luke Vibert - Heard it all 
Dan Newman - Moving
Robbie N4HC - Breakbeat XTC
Breakout - The Beat Goes on
Guchon - Piano Bros
1OO1O - Boogie Wax
Delrow Edwards - Always
DJ Technics - Burnt UP (Chicago Style)
Gerome Sportelli - Acid Rock
AAAA - Functional Acid
Luke Vibert - Jack
Guchon - Funky AI
Pluralist - Touch
Priory - Infinity 
Private Taste - First (Ashtrax Ambient MIX)
Dos Ritmos - Serpiente de Agua
Ploy - Eyez on U
Dj Haus - hot city bass
Dj Technics -  Party People
Breakout’s Compression
Rodman - Misdeed ( Soos Celestial Mix)
Foans -  Word Problem

Selección Dura: AAAA

Djsintonika

It is Monday the 28th of January 2013 and we welcome back a returning guest on this week´s CLR Podcast. Luis Flores is one of Mexico´s most popular Techno producers and live acts, who is widely known for his diversified and groovy style.

A minimal use of elements results in a rich spectrum of textures and a dark and trippy dance floor pull. Live shows, improvisational in nature, can last anywhere from one to three hours, resulting in a hypnotic exploration of the possibilities of electronic production.

He has been a Techno activist at the forefront of the Mexican scene for the past 15 years and has worked as the artistic director of the highly influential label Nopal Beat Records, providing a stage for local producers.

Luis Flores has had several original tracks in the playlists of many of the biggest players in the scene and has played his much-loved live sets at countless renowned clubs and festivals worldwide.

We are very happy to present you one hour of his Live PA recorded at the Time & Space Festival in Tulum on December 21st as this week´s CLR Podcast.

1) “Trauma” – Impact Unit/Silent Steps
2) “Helvenum” (Luis Flores Remix) - Plankton + M.A.D.A/Unreleased
3) “Drowning” (Luis Flores Remix) - Litschke + Hammer/Naked Lunch Records
4) “Excision Alternate” /Droid Recordings
5) “Ritual” (Luis Flores Remix) - Knobs + Splatter/Kaputt Musik
6) “New Flesh Alternate” /Droid Recordings
7) “Beta 01” (Luis Flores Remix) – The Plant Worker/Blank Code
8) “Engineers Revenge” (Luis Flores Remix) – Dax J + Gareth Wild/Ear To the Ground
9) “Veron” (Luis Flores Remix) – The Advent + A. Paul/Onh. Cet Records

Luis Flores - CLR Podcast 205 Live @ Time + Space Festival (Dic. 21 2012)

Due to great demand, MAETRIK's futuristic techno DJ Set in the pouring rain (WET & NASTY!!)  May 27 - 2013 @ Movement Festival DETROIT!!

Maetrik aka Maceo Plex DJset@Movement Detroit 27-5-13

Bodies in Pawn is a compilation constructed from a foundational sample set created by Detroit producerLen Bartush aka Mutate. Featuring original versions crafted by Mutate himself, as well as by Project 313, Audio Injection, Luis Flores, and Joel Morgan.

Bodies in Pawn represents another critically functional techno release sure to find its way into the record crates of DJs from LA to Berlin.The Luis Flores version exemplifies a masterful techno workout driven by thick layers of shakers and hi­hats, paired with energetic glitched percussive hits.

Luis Flores - Null

Umor Rex, Acid Test, Omnidisc, New York Haunted, Antime.

North America: joe@surefireagency.com
Europe: leo@awesome-agency.com
Mexico: marco@borninmexico.tv

2018
05 May 18, CDMX LIVE, Volvox, John Barera
12 May 18,  CDMX Dj set, w Danny Daze
02 Jun 18, Peru, Red Bull Festival Cultura Libre
13 Jul 18, Por Detroit, Cdmx
22 Jul 18, Elsewhere, New York
3 Aug, Garage Noord, Amsterdam
9 Aug, Institut fuer Zukunft w/Resom, Leipzig
17 Aug 18, BERGHAIN, Berlin
23 Aug 18, New York, Ext, Bossa Nova
13 Oct, Pervert CMDX
23 Nov-MUTEK MX w/ Itaru Yasuda
2019
19 Jan Pervert x EXT.
26 Jan New York UNTER
1 Feb, Dj set, San Francisco
15 Feb, Live, They're here, San Francisco
17 Feb iii Points Festival Miami
22 Feb DOVS CDMX EXT. TBA
4 May, YUYU CDMX, w/ Arpnet
24 May, CDMX Foro Roma, w/ ANNA
17 Aug Terminal w/PLOY DJ Unfollow
23 Aug EXT. Legowelt, CDMX
24 Aug, Hellow Festival, Monterrey
6 Sept, EXT CDMX w/Courtesy, Nico.
7 SEPT, CDMX Japan w/ BRUCE

2020 RIP

2021 

Floyd Miami, Sept 9
EXT CDMX, Oct 22
Sunday Sunday 12 NOV
EXT CDMX, NOV 20
Common Sense, 26 Nov, CDMX
Oaxaca, 4 Dic.
EXT 11 Diciembre
YUYU 31 Enero

2022
Day Zero Tulum, Jan 10
17 Enero Comunite x Jeff Mills x Dj Stingray 
5 Mar EXT x Aurora Halal
18 Mar Ensenada, Beer Fest
20 Mar Teotihuacan
25 Mar Ensamble, CDMX
1 Abr SPEED MOMENT ACID - DOVS, CDMX
30 Abril Anomaly Fest CDMX
28th May, EXT. Schacke CDMX
4 Jun, EXT. x Where are my Keys Miami, w/ Paranoid Lonon & Danny Daze
----
10 Sept Bar Americas GDL
16 Sept Indie Rocks w/ Gus Gus CDMX
17 Sept Topaz Club Monterrey
23 Sept, HHH - Industrial Juarez.
24 Sept, HHH - Industrial, El Paso TXS
28 Sept, Centro Cultural España, CDMX

2023

14 Jan Comunitext, Juan Atkins, Skee Mask
20 Jan, Los Ángeles 
21 Jan, Acid Varsity, San Diego
24 Feb, Texture Detroit X EXT
17 Mar, EXT D. Tiff
15 Abril, Funk
13 May, EXT 
20 May CDMX w/ Ben KIock
17 Junio Leon, 
28 Jul Guadalajara Bar Americas
25 Aug MUTEK Montreal Festival (live)
26 Aug Algo Bien Matrix (DJ Set)
01 Sept EXT - Speed Moment 5 (live)
02 Sept BRUTAL w/ Slam (Dj Set)
15 Sept Pervert CDMX (Dj set)
16 Sept San Luis Potosí DeepArt (Dj Set)
22 Sept Okzy Club Colima w/ Patricia 
22 Sept Funk w / Legowelt  
30 Sept MTY TBC 
14 Oct Boiler Room CDMX (Dj set / Offline)
20 Oct EXT x T4T LUV NRG
28 Oct Hidalgo, Pachuca FPF Live
04 Nov Morelia, Femme la Nuit (Dj Set)
10 Nov TJ, (Dj set)
18 CDMX MGNT
08 Dic Campeche TBC
09 Dic Bar Oriente

2024
24 Feb CDMX

Mixtape Alpha Dials

AAAA

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