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µ-ziq Unleashes Rocking Alter Ego Onstage

British electronica musician — Mike Paradinas — departs from mellow sound to get packed house dancing.

NEW YORK — British electronica superhero µ-ziq brought his rocking secret identity — Mike Paradinas — with him onstage at the Bowery Ballroom on Wednesday night.

The result was a far more rocking show than might have been expected by fans of µ-ziq's albums.

"I was dancing the whole show," said Ido Mizrahy, an 18-year-old Israeli who had never heard of µ-ziq before he accompanied a friend to the show.

As µ-ziq, the unassuming, 29-year-old performer touring behind last year's release, Royal Astronomy, he was content to stroll onstage before the house lights dimmed to adjust the wiring and controls on his sampler and mixer, unrecognized by all but a group of die-hard fans down front.

But as Paradinas, — a veteran DJ who's issued five albums in the past seven years under a series of non-µ-ziq aliases such as Kid Spatula and Jake Slazenger, as well as dabbling in side projects with Richard D. James of Aphex Twin — µ-ziq showed the people in the packed house he could get them to burn the floor as much as the most demanding disco diva.

Whatever you want to call him, µ-ziq/Paradinas was in full-bore dance mode for the show, showing few signs of the mellowing trend in his recordings. Forsaking the headphone-friendly sound of the album, µ-ziq delivered urgent dance beats and samples that almost made your ears burn.

"Autumn Acid" (RealAudio excerpt) was one such number, aimed at the gut and eardrums, with corrosive keyboards rising in both pitch and volume over a kick-drum backbeat.

For "Carpet Muncher," which sounded like a TV theme song, Paradinas added an extra tone so low it shook the walls. In an old ballroom with masonry balconies such as those in the Bowery, most sound techs find the resonant frequency during the afternoon sound check, then avoid it in the evening. µ-ziq found the note and kept going back to it.

Next was the rubber-band sound of "The Motorbike Track" (RealAudio excerpt), joined by a rock drumbeat and some sampled rap dis. It was dance music, pop, rock and hip-hop all at once. A few audience fists punched the air, and a few crowd war whoops punctuated the music.

Damien Napoli, 23, from Staten Island, said he liked the way Paradinas improvised a little, playing around with the arrangements even though the samples are all prerecorded. Like an orchestra member waiting for his part to come up, µ-ziq stood over his sampler, waiting for the right moment to add another drumbeat or melody. "A sampler is an instrument," he said. "It makes a sound whether it's a string or a machine."

Then he started making a little noise, twiddling a few knobs to lay down a basic kick-drum beat. After mixing in a hi-hat rhythm up top, he added some keyboard sequences for the middle. The crowd began to move to the beat, when suddenly, he pulled it all away, leaving only some sound effects for a moment.

"People ... stare at the guy like they're waiting for him to do backflips or something," 23-year-old Yonkers resident Niles Cockrill said.

Then Paradinas pushed a button and back came the beat — and the dancing.

The over-the-hill ravers in the crowd got a chance to stretch their muscles and wipe their brows during "The Fear" (RealAudio excerpt), which, with its delicate vocals from Japanese singer Kazumi, floated by like a sweet pop song.

Tim Mahoney, 27, from Brooklyn, said his favorite selection of the night was "Brace Yourself Jason," the lead-off track from Lunatic Harness (1997), which came late in the set.

"I've been a longtime admirer of µ-ziq, and I was quite impressed," Mahoney said. "He started off a little rough, but the dude takes risks."

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