Theory Therapy 97: Earth Trax
Finding shade in Warsaw
Theory Therapy 97 comes from Warsaw's Bartosz Kruczyński, better known as Earth Trax. His productions have long occupied the space between deep, dubby house and immersive ambient, pairing weighty low-end with a quiet sense of melancholy. His latest album, Everlasting Flame, continues that thread – a beautifully restrained record that drifts between downtempo rhythms, glacial textures and expansive atmospheres.
Recorded in the middle of a Warsaw heatwave, Bartosz's mix heads in the opposite direction. Built from ambient and downtempo favourites alongside a handful of new productions, it's an hour of icy pads, cavernous basslines and slow-moving electronics – the perfect antidote to soaring temperatures.
“There's a brutal heatwave in Warsaw at the moment, so I picked out the coldest ambient and downtempo tracks I could think of. The mix offers a glimpse into some of the inspirations behind my new album – Everlasting Flame, alongside a few new tracks. For fans of glacial pads, ominous whooshing and sub-zero basslines. Recorded using a classic setup: two CD players, two turntables and a two-channel mixer.”
Photo by Filip Preis
Hey Bartosz. How are you today?
I’m great, thanks! It’s Monday, 10 AM, and I’m having my first cup of coffee.
What was the last record or song you listened to?
Tangerine Dream’s ‘Stratosfear’, which, surprisingly, I’ve never listened to in full before. I have a bunch of their soundtrack albums - I love ‘Miracle Mile’ (both the soundtrack and the movie) – but I only bought this one recently. I think ‚ ‘The Big Sleep In Search Of Hades’ is my favourite cut on the album.
Where do you most enjoy listening to music when you're not DJing or making it?
After all these years, I’ve finally bought a hi-fi setup. Other than that, I listen to a lot of music on basic Airpods when I’m on the train. I’ve loved doing that since childhood – being on a train, looking out of the window, and listening to albums.
What's the best music discovery you've made recently?
I love this album by Prolapse. I can’t remember exactly how I came across it. It might have been while browsing Bandcamp. I love its ephemeral blend of post-rock, dub and ambient. I especially love the opening track, ‘Essence of Cessna’.
Is there an artist or album you keep returning to that people might not expect based on your own music?
It’s probably The Prodigy. I used to be a huge fan when I was growing up. I love tracks like ‘Speedway’, ‘Skylined’, ‘3 Kilos’, ‘Break & Enter’, ‘Ruff In The Jungle Bizness’ or ‘Medusa’s Path’. I love that they’re all so different, but you can hear Liam Howlett’s vision every single time. He’s an amazing producer. I love how adventurous his tracks are – from sampling hip hop, funk breaks, grunge, techno, to using sound modules, presets, sample CDs, and movie samples. It’s like a jigsaw puzzle, but the final tracks feel so coherent. Amazing!
You've released music under a number of aliases over the years, each exploring slightly different territory. How do you decide whether an idea belongs as Earth's Trax or one of your other projects?
I think the main difference now is the methods I use. Some aliases are pretty much focused on cut and paste and pluderphonics. With Earth Trax I’m exploring synthesizers, VSTs and some sampling, and the music is DJ-adjacent, even if it’s ambient. It’s very varied genre-wise, but this has always felt natural to me. I love this kind of world-building – when you can explore the maze of different singles and albums. I obviously love artists like Terre Thaemlitz, Actress, Donato Dozzy, John Beltran, Lary Heard, Wolfgang Voigt. Ryuichi Sakamoto, Haruomi Hosono, Brian Eno, Holger Czukay. I’m definitely more interested in this way of expressing yourself than staying true to a single genre.
Your records often balance deep, dancefloor-focused moments with more ambient, introspective passages. Has that balance always come naturally, or is it something that's evolved over time?
I think hints of it were always there. This mix starts with one of my early tracks. When I was growing up, I always loved some of the deeper tracks on big ‘90s albums, like ‘The Private Psychedelic Reel’ by The Chemical Brothers. Since then, I’ve come across many albums that strike a similar balance, like Robert Hood’s ‘Nighttime World Vol. 2’, with both techno cuts and jams like ‘The Key To Midnight’
Warsaw has a rich electronic music scene but a character all of its own. Has living there shaped your musical identity, or do you think your sound would have developed the same way anywhere?
I wouldn’t really say it’s Warsaw, to be honest. I grew up in a small town, and I was a pretty shy kid. At the same time, I was downloading RealAudio rips of DJ mixes via Napster. So I think I brought both that excitement about music and that shyness with me wherever I went, Warsaw included.
Your productions have a warmth and sense of space that's become instantly recognisable. Are there particular sounds, textures or production techniques you find yourself returning to?
I think most of these are pretty obvious - I love all kinds of shimmer reverbs. I like that bittersweet feeling in my music, so I often use a lot of contrasts in melodies and textures. I enjoy pairing sweet melodies with clanging, piercing metallic effects. I like adding breezy pads here and there that feel like a gust of wind. I love tracks like God Within’s ‘Raincry’ for example.
What does your current studio setup look like? Has it changed much over the past few years?
Not that much. Obviously, new gear or VSTs give me plenty of inspiration, but my main setup is very basic, and I still use software that’s over 20 year old from time to time. There should be a name for this – like sticking with your favourite paintbrush, or a pocket knife, but for digital software like Cool Edit Pro.
Talk us through your Theory Therapy mix. Where did you record it, and what kind of mood or journey were you hoping to create?
I recorded it during a brutal heatwave in Warsaw, so I picked out the coldest ambient and downtempo tracks I could think of. The mix offers a glimpse into some of the inspirations behind my new album, Everlasting Flame, alongside a few new tracks. It’s for fans of glacial pads, ominous whooshing and sub-zero basslines. It was recorded using a classic setup: two CD players, two turntables and a two-channel mixer.
Looking ahead, what are you most excited about over the coming months? Whether that's new music, live shows or something completely outside of music.
Definitely new music. It takes so much time to produce and release records, and there are always so many things that can go wrong, like broken lacquers or bad test pressings. So it’s always a huge relief – and a very happy moment – when a record finally comes out. The latest is Everlasting Flame on Lapsus Records. Two more are planned for Companion and 42far (the new label from Warm Winters Ltd.).