Patricia

North Carolina-based Max Ravitz produces hissy lo-fi techno and house under the name Patricia. His experimental but always danceable tracks generally feature scuzzy, distorted beats and lush ambient textures, and are typically composed and recorded on the spot using analog equipment. In addition to releases on Opal Tapes/Black Opal, such as 2013's Body Issues and 2015's Bem Inventory, he has issued music through Spectral Sound and Ghostly International, including 2017's three-part Several Shades of the Same Color and 2020's IDM-tinged Maxyboy. Ravitz had been producing hip-hop and electronic music since his early teens, but he started using the moniker Patricia during the early 2010s after he moved to New York from his native city of Chicago. He began playing gigs with fellow underground dance producers such as SFV Acid and Terekke, and British label Opal Tapes released his debut Body Issues on cassette later in the year. Its popularity led to a vinyl reissue on sister label Black Opal the following year, as well as international gigs. Ghostly International's dancefloor-centric imprint Spectral Sound released Patricia's Side Piece EP in 2014, and a second Opal Tapes release, Bem Inventory, appeared in 2015. In addition to his busy touring schedule, Ravitz released material as M.Rav on Ron Morelli's L.I.E.S. (Long Island Electrical Systems), and participated in collaborative projects with fellow Opal Tapes and L.I.E.S. artists such as Jahiliyya Fields, Terekke, NGLY, and Bookworms. He returned to Spectral Sound in 2017 with Several Shades of the Same Color, an ambitious full-length issued as three separate 12" records. 2018's Free Lunch was released by Nona Records, and Heavy Merging appeared on Black Opal in 2019. By this point, Ravitz had relocated to Asheville, North Carolina, to work as a product specialist at Moog Music. Full-length Maxyboy, drawing from IDM, acid, and electro, was released by Ghostly International in 2020. ~ Paul Simpson, Rovi