µ-Ziq

Planet Mu label boss returns for his latest outing, Grush. Where Magic Pony Ride and 1977 explored the bubblegum synth textures and melodic ambience that have become staples in Mike Paradinas’s expansive output, his latest µ-Ziq album Grush brings it all together by returning to his signature coursing breaks and drums. Tested on the road and in his 2023 Mix For Bleep, the tracks on Grush contain all the exhilarating qualities of a µ-Ziq live set, and crush all of his musical eras into one white hot joyride.

Paradinas is constructing a rhythmic feast here, drawing contrasts between bubbly sci-fi chirps and an array of hardcore beats. After a cinematic opener, ‘Hyper Daddy’ gets right into it: drums ricochet with resonating, booming low frequencies while breaks slosh under icy, crystalline keys and alien right-angled synths. His familiar vocal synths colour these percussive workouts, like on the staggered sequences of techno drum machines in ‘Fogou’, or the distended voices melting into the bassline of the title track while angelic vocals rise to the top.

‘Magic Pony Ride, Pt. 4’ continues where its previous instalment on Hello left off as harps and acid synths taking turns to stab over the bursting breakbeat flow, meanwhile ‘Imperial Crescent’ is an inferno ablaze with zipping synth-wave arpeggios and splattered trills of trap beats. Wildly searing synths and window shattering stomps build up to the frothing, elasticated drum and bass of ‘Manscape’, with tactile metallic plucks and an awe inspiring vocal sample that hits a sweet spot between reverence and rave chaos.

Since stepping back into new µ-Ziq in 2021, Mike Paradinas has been providing refreshingly modern updates to his sound, and Grush is his most exciting release yet.