- Baltra looks to '80s house on his latest jam.
- Since emerging at the forefront of the lo-fi house movement, New York-based producer Michael Baltra has worn a lot of different hats. He got his start churning out retro-leaning YouTube algorithm favorites, then moved on to clubbier fare around 2019. Then he explored earnest strains of dance, trip-hop and downtempo on his excellent 2021 EPs Ambition and Dreaming Of A Disco.
His latest single, "Tell Me," finds Baltra dabbling with ‘80s-tinged production techniques. Pairing plonky Korg M1 bass tones with a driving yet rudimentary 909 groove, a chopped and filtered sample floats in and out over the propulsive beat. Since I first stumbled upon his work, the thing that has awed me most about Baltra’s music is his ability to create nuanced tracks using seemingly straightforward arrangements. "Tell Me" showcases this tendency exceptionally well, and holds up alongside some of his most memorable tracks, as he further carves out a niche somewhere between heart-on-sleeve and detached cool.