Baltra

Baltra’s sound is like stumbling into a dream at 3am – it’s hazy, pulsating and dripping with emotion. He’s been honing it ever since breaking out in the lo-fi house explosion of the mid-2010s. Originally from Philadelphia, Michael Baltra discovered his love of dance music in New York. The raves he lost his mind at in the Meatpacking District took him towards DJing, then production, fascinated by the emotion he could evoke in the listener. Debuting with ‘The Vision’ in 2014, his dusty drums and ‘80s-era vocals quickly brought him a wide fanbase. Baltra’s work within the genres of lo-fi and filter house, though, inevitably led to him being boxed into those genres. He’s always shrugged off any pigeonholing, as his production shows he moves mercurially through dubstep, jungle, electro, ambient and beyond – releasing on labels including Local Action, Shall Not Fade and Future Classic. Alongside new EPs for Keinemusik’s sub-label VOD and Rinse FM, Baltra is dedicatedly building up his 96 and Forever label. Through it, he self-released his debut album, 2019’s Ted – a work dedicated to his late father, who passed away from cancer. His dad had been a keen songwriter, and Baltra sampled his work on the record, which was praised for its engulfing melodies and euphoric synth washes.