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Alex Medina
MaHa Maya

Album ES 2019 on Mumbai Records label
Dance (Deep House, Deep Techno, Leftfield)

Mumbai Records 008 Alex Medina (Maha Maya) album Review by John Thorp (The Guardian,Vice, Thump) Spanish DJ, producer and founder of Mumbai Records, Alex Medina has been an enthusiastic contributor to nightlife for over twenty-five years. Having previously been based in Madrid, Barcelona and Berlin, Medina has since made the lush archipelago of the Canary Islands his home. Here, he lives a leisurely but deeply creative life in the shadows of the breathtaking volcanic landscape, dedicated to surfing, organising parties and producing music. On ‘Maha Maya’, his first-album since 2011, and the first self-released on his own Mumbai Records, Medina sculpts together a playful electronic journey, combining shades of his ongoing, uncompromising live techno project, Ävalanche, his daily, post-surf studio sessions, and of course, a quarter of a century immersed in electronic music. Opening track ‘Maya’ immediately finds Medina’s analogue studio whirring into pulsating life, eeking out a slow acid jam that sets the record’s unpredictable tone. ‘Parvana’ declares his ability to mix esoteric instrumental samples, in this case, a fractal sitar, with waves of burbling acid. He perfects this ability over the album’s opening half, lacing ‘Parvana’, ‘Alepo’ and ‘AraDub’ with traditional percussive elements, which often give way to heavier, raw electronics. Drawing on samples from distant genres and cultures, Medina ensures the fusion between each is always delicate, and never a novelty. Still, particularly in the record’s second half, Medina dutifully engineers several moments of deeply satisfying dancefloor catharsis. On ‘Borneo’, spectral and earthy drum patterns slowly reveal a wide-eyed, utterly cosmic breakdown, ‘Yeke Halal’ dials back the electronics to showcase Medina’s knack for distinct, traditional melodies, while the journey resolves with elasticated electro on ‘Wei Yambu’, alongside just a hint of the balearic styles best associated with Spanish paradise. A colourful, celebratory listen, ‘Maha Maya’ is a personal and assured full-length, awash in character, and certain to resonate far beyond the sun-drenched shores of its native Canary Islands. Release Date: March 7th, 2019

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Alex Medina , ES album by

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