Baltra
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 forthcoming 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.
The rest of it — one more paragraph
Already a prolific releaser, this year sees a concerted effort by Baltra to unveil his most forward-thinking music yet. Singles ‘Echoes of Us’ fuses tunneling psych with euphoria, while ‘Twisted Ways’ darts between nifty synths and a scuttling low-end bassline.
Their Resident Advisor profile, in full and unedited.
SoundCloud ↗Bandcamp ↗Discogs ↗
Records out on Future Classic, Ghostly International, Mad Decent, Hotflush Recordings, 3024, Figure, Anjunadeep, Fool's Gold, Rvng Intl. and Local Action. — their own list on Resident Advisor
The nights
- Fri 23 OctRefugefirst time · Refuge NYC80 going
2025 — 6 nights
- Wed 31 Dec 2025Elsewheretheir 3rd night
- Fri 21 Nov 2025Paragontheir 5th night
- Sat 4 Oct 2025Industry Cityfirst time · Book Club Radio, House of Yes
- Sat 16 Aug 2025House of Yesfirst time
- Fri 2 May 2025Elsewheretheir 2nd night
- Fri 28 Feb 2025Market Hotelfirst time · Market Hotel Presents
2024 — 4 nights
- Sat 21 Dec 2024Paragontheir 4th night
- Sat 30 Nov 2024Earthly Delightsfirst time
- Fri 2 Aug 2024Elsewherefirst time
- Fri 12 Apr 2024Paragontheir 3rd night
2023 — 5 nights
- Fri 29 Dec 2023Paragontheir 2nd night
- Sat 18 Nov 2023Good Roomfirst time
- Fri 27 Oct 2023SILOfirst time
- Sat 9 Sep 2023Paragonfirst time · RNR (Rumble n The Ramble)
- Thu 17 Aug 2023public recordsfirst time
Their rooms
One tick a night, on the one axis this page has — Aug 2023, where the listings start, to Jan 2027, the last night anybody has announced. The shaded end has not happened yet.
- ParagonSep 2023 – May 20266 nights
- ElsewhereAug 2024 – Dec 20253 nights
- Good RoomNov 2023 – Aug 20262 nights
Once each: Industry City, House of Yes, Market Hotel, Earthly Delights, SILO and public records.
Who they play with
Counted from the bills themselves, over bills of twelve names or fewer. A pair's count includes a night that is announced and not yet played; where there is one, the row says when.
- Physical TherapyParagon ×1, Refuge ×1 · Nov 2025 – Oct 2026 · together again Fri 23 Oct2 nights
- CosmoElsewhere ×1, Good Room ×1 · Aug 2024 – Aug 20262 nights
- bossy bootsParagon ×2 · Dec 2024 – May 20262 nights
The nights, the rooms and the bills are the listings themselves. The biography, the labels and the photograph are Resident Advisor's. Nothing on this page was written for it.