Micah Baxter reflects on joining forces with HG for Pound 4 Pound, developing his minimal tech house sound and working with Lee Foss on a house music classic
Collaboration appears to work best when it grows from something that already exists for Micah Baxter, like a shared musical language, a genuine relationship or an instinctive understanding of where another producer is coming from.
That is the story behind Pound 4 Pound, his first collaboration with 19-year-old Manchester producer HG and the pair’s debut on Lost Culture. Built around a rolling bassline, tight percussion and a recurring vocal hook, the record finds a natural intersection between Baxter’s stripped-back minimal and deep tech foundations and HG’s contemporary take on house.
HG had been sending Baxter music long before they decided to work together. “HG has been sending me promos for a while now and ever since the first track he sent over, I’ve always been a fan of what he’s doing,” Baxter explains. “If you listen to both of our standalone tracks, you’ll hear the similarities in the basslines driving the tracks and that deeper, minimal sound we both bring. We both had the feeling that combining our sounds and bringing those elements together could result in something special and that’s exactly what we’ve done with our new single, Pound 4 Pound.”
There might be a considerable difference in where the two producers currently sit in their respective careers, but Baxter says HG’s age was never reflected in the standard of his productions. “HG is an insanely talented producer and that’s something I recognised from the very beginning,” he says. “Like many of the younger producers I’ve worked with and come across, I could already hear the quality in the tracks he was sending me, and the standard was always incredibly high.”
That understanding translated quickly once they began working together, with Pound 4 Pound completed in only a matter of days. “The whole process was incredibly smooth and it felt like we were naturally working together and building on each other’s ideas simultaneously,” Micah says. “There were certain ways HG approached things that made perfect sense compared to how I would normally work and I’m sure he found the same from my approach. That exchange of ideas and knowledge made the whole experience even more rewarding.”
The resulting record is intentionally lean. Rather than relying on oversized breakdowns or obvious melodic hooks, Pound 4 Pound generates its pressure through the relationship between bass, kick and percussion, an approach that has become central to his productions. “This has always been the style of music I’ve made and you could say it’s become a big part of the Micah Baxter sound,” he says. “I’ve always approached my tracks with the idea of creating a strong impact through the bass but pairing that with a punchy kick and a tight, driving drum groove.”
For Micah, restraint does not mean sacrificing impact. Eventually, all the technical considerations come down to a simple instinctive test. “I feel the low end needs to have enough impact to really hit when it comes in and out of the track,” he explains. “At the same time, I think it’s important to consider the melody and movement within the low end, making sure it carries the track with groove and energy without becoming too repetitive. Ultimately, I always come back to one simple question: if I heard this being played on a dance floor myself, would it make me want to dance and move? If the answer is yes, then I know I’m heading in the right direction.”
There is already evidence that Pound 4 Pound translates beyond his studio. Ahead of release, the record attracted support from Marco Carola, SOSA, Joseph Capriati, Paco Osuna, Solardo and Lee Foss. “Having the backing and support of these DJs gives me a real sense of confidence and belief in the tracks I’m producing,” he says. “These are artists who have been around for a long time and have a wealth of experience when it comes to knowing what makes a great record and, more importantly, what’s going to have an impact when they play it in their sets.”
Micah’s relationship with HG also demonstrates how his position within the scene is changing. Through Gritty Records, he is increasingly on the receiving end of music from emerging producers, helping provide an outlet for records that connect with his own musical philosophy. “HG’s tracks have always really resonated with the sound I personally make and love, but also with the style and sound of music I play within my own DJ sets,” he says. “Since he first started sending me his music, we’ve always maintained a strong relationship and I personally think these kinds of connections are incredibly important within music.”
Running Gritty has simultaneously exposed Baxter to different interpretations of the minimal sound around which he built his identity. “What I really love now is the much wider range and personal touches that different producers are bringing to the style,” he says. “Hearing all of this has definitely influenced and shaped my own productions.”
His own music has consequently evolved. “Over time, I’ve started incorporating more energy into my tracks rather than sticking to the much more stripped-back records I was making a few years ago. By bringing more energy and a stronger sense of my own sound into the productions, I’ve found that the tracks now work across a much wider range of audiences.”
That progression has taken place alongside releases for Nervous Records, Repopulate Mars, Deeperfect, Criterio, Dosmundo and Short Circuit. Yet Micah repeatedly returns to relationships rather than catalogue credits when discussing the moments that have moved his career forward. “The one that really stands out to me is the relationship I’ve built with Lee Foss, which eventually led to us collaborating on a track together,” he says. “I’ve had a lot of great conversations and learned so much from their experience, and that has genuinely helped shape both my sound and the way I approach my music today. For me, those relationships have become an important part of the journey.”
Maintaining an identifiable sound is increasingly important to Micah in a house landscape where minimal and tech house productions frequently share similar ingredients. “I really believe in staying true to your own sound rather than simply jumping on the bandwagon whenever a new trend or popular style comes along,” he says. “Personally, I’ve found that developing my own take on the minimal tech house sound has given me a much more distinctive identity as a producer. When people hear one of my tracks, I want them to be able to recognise that it’s my sound without necessarily having to see the name attached to it.”
That does not mean ignoring feedback. Micha remains conscious of how DJs and audiences respond to his records, particularly once unreleased productions leave the controlled environment of the studio. “I’ve always tried to stick to making the music that I genuinely enjoy, because I find that’s when I produce my best work,” he says. “I’ll always experiment and try new things, whether that’s introducing different elements into my tracks or exploring slightly different styles, but I never want to lose the core of what I enjoy making.”
Touring provides another important testing ground. With shows across Italy, Malta and the UK, Micah regularly gets to hear productions through different club systems and in front of different audiences. “You can spend hours in the studio mixing and fine-tuning a track, thinking it sounds right, but hearing it through a club system gives you a completely different perspective,” he explains. “There have been plenty of times where I’ve gone back into the studio afterwards and made adjustments to get the track sounding even cleaner and more powerful.”
It is not only about engineering. “Playing tracks to different audiences also gives me a much better understanding of how the breakdowns, builds and drops affect people on the dancefloor. You can actually feel how the track builds energy within a room.”
While Pound 4 Pound connects him with one of the youngest producers emerging from UK house music, another project places him at almost the opposite end of the genre’s timeline. Alongside Lee Foss and Chicago house pioneer Marshall Jefferson, Micah has revisited Jefferson’s Move Your Body as the record celebrates its 40th anniversary. “This opportunity really came from the strong relationship I’ve maintained with Lee Foss,” he explains. “As crazy as it sounds, we actually met up in Ibiza, where we had a conversation about the track and started working on it from there. For me, this will always be one of the greatest achievements of my music career and it’s something I’ll always be incredibly proud of.”
There is a personal connection too. Move Your Body was a track I grew up with and I remember playing the Solardo remix countless times when I was first starting out as a DJ. To now be part of the history of that track is something that still feels pretty crazy to me.”
Revisiting a record carrying that history presented a very different challenge from starting something new with HG. “The original has such an iconic piano melody, but it’s also the soulful vocals from Marshall Jefferson that make the track instantly recognisable,” Micah says. “For us, it was important to preserve those iconic elements and stay true to what made the original so special. At the same time, we wanted to bring the track into a more current 2026 sound, giving it a fresh energy and production style that translates to today’s dancefloors while still respecting the character and identity of the original.”
Taken together, the two collaborations place Micah Baxter at an interesting intersection. In one direction is Jefferson and a record reaching back to the formative years of Chicago house; in the other is HG, a 19-year-old producer whose career is only beginning. “I think the way house music is evolving at the moment makes it one of the strongest genres, not just within dance music but across music as a whole,” he says. “We’re seeing so many incredibly talented producers coming through at such young ages and I think that’s a real testament to how strong and exciting the house music scene is right now. There’s a huge amount of creativity coming through from the next generation of artists, while established producers are continuing to evolve their sound too. For me, that combination is what makes the current house music scene so exciting and gives it such a strong future.”
For Micah himself, the ambition now stretches beyond accumulating releases and bookings. Between his productions, collaborations, touring and Gritty Records, he is attempting to build something with a longer lifespan. “For me, it’s about establishing a strong and loyal fanbase, not only around myself as an artist but around the label as well,” he says. “It’s been really rewarding to see the music reaching more people overseas and to feel that I’m continuing to grow as an artist on an international level.”
And Pound 4 Pound will not remain an isolated meeting point between Micah Baxter and HG. “We’ve actually continued working together beyond this track, staying in close contact and working on more music together,” Baxter reveals. “So hopefully, in the near future, you’ll be hearing some more new music from Micah Baxter and HG.”
Micah Baxter & HG – Pound 4 Pound is out now on Lost Culture.
Grab it on Beatport HERE.