µ-Ziq: "XT"

Mike Paradinas has made a lot of different kinds of music over the years, from opalescent techno to serotonin-flooded drum’n’bass, and with all manner of loopy detours in between. (Between his hyperkinetic drum programming and his gem-toned melodies, there’s no doubting Paradinas’ commitment to sparkle motion.) And that doesn’t begin to encapsulate the range of his Planet Mu label, which will celebrate 20 years this fall, and whose catalog spans everything from breakstep to Chicago footwork. But I can’t recall ever hearing Paradinas do anything that sounds quite like “XT”, the lead track from his new album XLP, which gathers two vinyl-only EPs from 2013 and 2014. 

From the first few measures’ jaunty piano chords, you might mistake it for a cover of a song by the Beatles, or Randy Newman, while a winking little Casiotone horn melody sounds suited for Saturday-morning cartoons. In the background, a softly spiraling synth arpeggio leads us back towards more familiar ambient territory, but not before plucked guitar adds an unexpected dose of rubbery funk; it almost sounds like Paradinas has been listening to Haim. That’s pretty much all there is to the song—well, that, and a crisp, snapping drum-machine groove that conjures Double Dutch games at dusk. For six and a half minutes, he slides faders back and forth, toying with the balance between all the moving parts like a kid stacking blocks. A sweeter, more gently playful tune would be hard to imagine. But then, maybe that shouldn’t be so surprising, coming from a guy who once teamed up with Richard D. James for an album inspired by Milton Bradley games.

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