Music / μ-Ziq

Mike Paradinas, also known by his stage name μ-Ziq (pronounced "music"), is an English electronica musician and founder of the Planet Mu record label.

Considered one of intelligent dance music/braindance's mainstays alongside Aphex Twin and Squarepusher, he is known for creating unique and innovative Genre-Busting music while managing to maintain a distinctive style and be accessible at the same time. His musical career started in the 1980s most notably as keyboard player for Blue Innocence, a role he kept for eight years. When the band broke up, Mike and bandmate Francis Naughton decided to make music together as μ-Ziq on Aphex's Rephlex label. Francis left not long after, leaving μ-Ziq a solo project. Mike continued (and continues) to make music, and eventually founded Planet Mu, which still operates to this day as one of IDM's biggest labels alongside Warp.

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Discography:

Under μ-Ziq

Studio Albums

• Tango N' Vectif (1993)
• Bluff Limbo (1994)
• In Pine Effect (1995)
• Lunatic Harness (1997)
• Royal Astronomy (1999)
• Bilious Paths (2003)
• Duntisbourne Abbots Soulmate Devastation Technique (2007)
• Chewed Corners (2013)
• Scurlage (2021)
• Magic Pony Ride (2022)
• Hello (2022)
• 1977 (2023)

EPs

• The Auteurs vs. μ-Ziq (1994; remix EP)
• Salsa with Mesquite (1995)
• Urmur Bile Trax Volume 1 (1997)
• Urmur Bile Trax Volume 2 (1997)
• Brace Yourself (1998)
• the-raft.com EP (also known as The Raft EP; 1999)
• XTEP (2013)
• Rediffusion (2014)
• Goodbye (2022)
• Goodbye Remixes (2022)

Compilation (including archival releases)

• Somerset Avenue Tracks (1992-1995) (2013; archival)
• XTLP (2015; combines tracks from XTEP and Rediffusion)
• Aberystwyth Marine (2016; archival release of material from 1996-1998)
• RY30 Trax (2016; archival release of material from 1995)
• Pthagonal EP (2017; archival release of material from 1992-1995)
• Challenge Me Foolish (2018; archival release of material from 1998-1999)
• D Funk EP (2018; archival release of material from 1995-1996)
• Further Electronix Trax (2022; archival EP of material from 1993-1998)

Under other aliases

Tusken Raiders/Rude Ass Tinker

• Bantha Trax (1995; EP)
• Bantha Trax Vol. 2 (1999; EP)
• Inchstar Static EP (2018; archival compilation of material from 1994)
• Bantha Trax Vol. 3 (2020; archival compilation of material from 1998)
• Housewerk EP (2021)
• Housewerk Vol.2 (Deep Clean) (2021; EP)
• Housewerk Vol.3 (2021; EP)
• Housewerk Vol.4 (2021; EP)
• Housewerk Vol.5 (2021; EP)
• Housewerk Vol.6 (2021; EP)
• Boundary Road (2021)
• ''Bantha Trax Vol. 4 (2022; EP)
• Housewerk Vol.7 (2022; EP)

Jake Slazenger

• Makesaracket (1995)
• Megaphonk (1995; EP)
• Nautilus (1996; EP)
• Das Ist Ein Groovy Beat, Ja (1996)
• Drops a Deuce (2020; archival compilation of material from 1993-1999)
• Ace in the Hole (2020; archival compilation of material from 1994-1999)

Kid Spatula

• Spatula Freak (1995)
• Full Sunken Breaks (2000)
• Meast (2004)

Frost Jockey

• Burgundy Trax Vol 1 (2000; EP)
• Burgundy Trax Vol 2 (2000; EP)

Gary Moscheles

• Shaped to Make Your Life Easier (1996)

Collaborations

Mike & Rich (with Aphex Twin)

• Expert Knob Twiddlers (1996)

Slag Boom Van Loon (with Speedy J)

• Slag Boom Van Loon (1998)
• So Soon (2001)

Heterotic (with Lara Rix-Martin)

• Love & Devotion (2013)
• Weird Drift (2014)

Other

• μ-Ziq & Mrs Jynx
  • Secret Garden (2021)

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Tropes N' Vectif

• Bilingual Bonus: "Die Zweite Heimat" is German for "the second home".
• Epic Rocking: A recurring feature of Mike's μ-ziq. The longest track featured on a studio album is "Ethereal Murmurings" (10:20) from Bluff Limbo.
• Genre Roulette: Some tracks are jungle, some show more of a jazz-funk influence, some are orchestral...
• Gratuitous German: His Jake Slazenger album Das Ist Ein Groovy Beat, Ja, which means "this is a groovy beat, yes".
• I Have Many Names: μ-Ziq, Jake Slazenger, Tusken Raiders/Rude Ass Tinker, Kid Spatula, Frost Jockey, and Gary Moscheles.
• Lucky Charms Title: "Phi * 1700 (u/v)", "Nettle + Pralines", and "On/Off", not to mention that μ-Ziq itself is one.
• Miniscule Rocking: A small handful of songs are noticeably short in length, the shortest on a studio album release being Bluff Limbo's "27" (1:18).
• Multi-Part Episode: Lunatic Harness has "Secret Stair Pt. 1" and "Secret Stair Pt. 2". Bilious Paths also features "Grape Nut Beats (Pt. 1)" and "Grape Nut Beats (Pt. 2)".
• Obsession Song: "Wannabe"'s only lyrics are "Wanna be your lover/baby I don't wanna be your friend" over and over again set to an unsettling mechanical sample and drones of dread.
• Orange/Blue Contrast: The 2001 re-release cover for Tango N' Vectif.
• Portmantitle: "Dirtylush Stinkwife".
• Remix Album: The Auteurs vs. μ-Ziq is a remix EP of The Auteurs' album Now I'm a Cowboy.
• Shout-Out: His Tusken Raiders alias refers to the Tusken Raiders of the Star Wars franchise, with Bantha Trax a reference to the Bantha creatures used by Tusken Raiders as mounts. Most of the songs on the first EP feature Star Wars references in their titles as well.
• Significant Anagram: His Rude Ass Tinker alias is an anagram of "Tusken Raiders".
• Singer Namedrop: Tango N' Vectif has an instrumental track titled "μ-Ziq Theme".
• The Something Song: "The Wailing Song" and "The Hwicci Song".
• Title by Number: "27", "56", "2CV", "Eggshell 2", and "Houzz 10".
• Title Track: "Tango N' Vectif" and "Lunatic Harness". "Pine Effect" and "Duntisbourne Abbots" are partial examples.
• Word Salad Title: Many of his songs have odd and seemingly nonsensical titles, for example "Commemorative Pasta", "Hasty Boom Alert", and "Acid Steak Night".

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