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Peterborough producer Micah Baxter has been building his name around the deeper side of house music. His catalogue includes releases on Nervous Records, Repopulate Mars, Short Circuit, Criterio, Dosmundo and Deeperfect.
Baxter is also the founder of Gritty Records. The imprint focuses on stripped back house and minimal deep tech. Meanwhile, his productions have gained support from Jamie Jones, Michael Bibi, PAWSA, The Martinez Brothers, Marco Carola, Seth Troxler and Joseph Capriati.
His latest release sees him join forces with 19-year-old Manchester producer HG. Their first collaboration, ‘Pound 4 Pound’, landed on Lost Culture Records on 18th September.
The track centres on a rolling bassline, tight percussion and a recurring vocal hook. It combines Baxter’s minimal and deep tech influences with HG’s modern take on 90s-inspired house.
‘Pound 4 Pound’ has already gained support from Marco Carola, SOSA, Paco Osuna, Joseph Capriati, Solardo and Lee Foss. The release also arrives during a busy period for Baxter, both in the studio and behind the decks.
Following the release of ‘Pound 4 Pound’, we caught up with Micah Baxter to discover five things you might not know about him and five tracks currently shaping his sets and sound.
5 Facts
I learnt to DJ while I was living in Greece in my late teens.
I worked as a chef in a Chinese restaurant.
I played football up until three years ago.
I played the drums as a teenager.
I have been DJing for eight years and producing for four.
5 Tracks
Michael Gray – The Weekend
What can I say? This is an absolute timeless classic. Any set, any country, any venue, this track gets an insane reaction wherever you play it.
Before the vocals even kick in, everyone already knows that instantly recognisable melody that runs throughout the track. The crowd starts singing along before the actual vocals even come in.
It’s one of those absolute classics that can slot perfectly into any set and still have the same impact every single time.
The Base Boys – Can You Feel The Bass? (Local Dub Remix)
This is without a doubt one of my favourite releases of the year. As someone who leans more towards darker, tech driven production, I really love the use of the spoken word vocals. They work especially well when paired with such a heavy, minimal groove.
Local Dub have absolutely nailed that combination here. However, what really stands out is the incredibly catchy synth hook. It keeps the track instantly recognisable even when the vocals drop out.
James View – Licky Licky
For me, this track really acts as a bit of a curveball. James has taken the iconic ‘Licky Licky’ vocal and completely flipped expectations by dropping it over such a heavy, garage influenced bass groove.
It’s that unexpected combination that makes the track work so well. The first time I heard this track was actually on the dancefloor, and from that very first listen, I knew it was going to become a staple in my sets going forward.
It’s one of those tracks that catches you off guard, but once it drops, you immediately understand why it works so well.
Saigon (UK) – Shaken
This track is all about pure energy. The combination of those skippy drums, punchy rap vocals and rolling bass makes it, to me, the perfect peak time weapon.
It has everything you need to keep a set moving and the energy levels rising, no matter where you drop it. It’s one of those tracks that instantly lifts the room and keeps the momentum going from start to finish.
Michael Bibi – Devil’s Candy
This was one of the first tracks that really inspired me to get into producing music. Michael had a huge influence on both my DJing and production, and this was a track I absolutely rinsed in my sets from the very beginning.
The groove of the bass, combined with the simplicity of the drums, is what makes this track so effective. On a big sound system, it just hits exactly how you want a minimal track to hit.
It’s stripped back, powerful and all about the groove, everything I love about that minimal sound.
‘Pound 4 Pound’ by HG and Micah Baxter is out now via Lost Culture Records.
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