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Combining a probing, experimental nature with a prankster's sense of humor, Mike Paradinas' work as Mu-Ziq is a perfect case study in the trajectory of cutting-edge '90s electronic music. Drawing inspiration from points as far afield as Krautrock, old school hip-hop, Industrial noise and Drum 'n' Bass, his records are at times maddeningly inconsistent, but always intriguing and often influential. Early albums like Tango N'Vectif deftly juxtaposed harsh mechanical beats with quirky, circular melodies, while later records under aliases like Kid Spatula and Jake Slazenger delved further afield into Soul Jazz, easy listening, Electro and Jungle. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Paradinas approaches his sonic bricolage with a tongue-in-cheek attitude, injecting an air of whimsy into what is often a stiflingly po-faced style. Although the genre-hopping diversity of his early work has become more smoothly integrated with each album, it is this playful aspect of his experimentation that has continued to set his work apart. |
