The Echio Quizz with Baltra

How did you learn music and did you have mentors?

I didn't have any mentors, I learned to make music by doing some deep dives into tutorials on YouTube. Started off working in Garage Band and then I moved on to Logic Pro.

If you were not making music what would you do?

Woa it's hard to imagine a life where I'm not working in music, but I I might be a fashion stylist or maybe working for some sort of nonprofit organization.

If you could spend a day in the studio with one of your heroes, who would it be?

I think it would be between Mike Millrain and Armand Van Helden. Yeah, definitely. I mean, there are so many people that I would choose to spend the day in the studio with, but let's go with those two.

What is your secret weapon ?

If I tell you, it won’t be a secret anymore a plug in that I like to use quite often, that just helps sort of mesh my my drums and my bass together is called the LFO Tool. So sort of it's like a ducker that allows your kick drum to come through and the bass to sort of duck when the kick is coming through. Yeah, it just gives you quite a bit of control and it’s quite nice.

Any special object you can't live without ?

There is not much that I can't live without. And I actually like to switch things up because it sort of sparks my creativity. But I in that way I have one of those little OP1 synthesizers and if I'm ever stuck, I like to throw some samples into there and then just sort of play around on the on the keyboard there. That's that can be quite helpful.

Any ritual before creating music?

Kind of just go off with the feeling of being inspired and feeling creative or writing in a creative wave. If I'm not feeling that wave, I try to do other things that just help me become more prepared and organized for the next time that I do have that wave and when I'm gonna have a session And that could be anything from organizing samples to watching some tutorials on something that I would like to improve on. some area It's EQ, mixing or mastering something like that.

What was your worst / funniest performance experience?

There are way too many. But I do remember a specific one. I think it was believe it was a Tuesday night party in Belfast. So I remember correctly somewhere in Northern Ireland and it's generally a uni night, yet the promoters booked a night during a week of springbreak or holiday break, there might have been three people there. It was a really, really good one.

What would you say to your younger self?

Don’t worry about the little things too much. Trust your heart, trust your passions, trust your motives. keep your head down. Be humble. Foster, really beneficial relationships that are genuine and, you know, be aware of what you want. Want to get out of life overall in general, and just be true to yourself. And things will work themselves out in one way or another.

Baltra

Born and raised in Philadelphia but currently based in New York, Baltra has spent the last decade honing a sound that’s rich both in romance and melancholy. And always with warm, nostalgic melodies. Releasing his first music in parallel with the lo-fi house explosion of the mid-2010s, Baltra racked up millions of plays across YouTube and key streaming services with definitive releases on, Shall Not Fade’s sub-label Lost Palms, Of Paradise, and his own 96 & Forever Records imprint. The first half of 2023 has seen him return with his ‘Where I End’ mixtape which was released via the label head’s very own 96 And Forever Records that came out of the digital gates with top tier Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer & Amazon Music playlist placement as well as covers, support from RA, Mixmag, DJ Mag, The Ransom Note, and key dance radio support on BBC stations Radio 1 and 6 Music as well as Rinse FM & KEXP. 2023 has also seen him remix Gus Dapperton on Warner and 'DJ Q & Todd Edwards on Local Action.

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