The 20-something Madrid-based producer Baby Pantera has worked in many modes. From trancey club tracks to banging dembow to hard-hitting Michigan-inspired rap beats produced for the vocalist Gloosito, the producer brings a varied, ever-changing bag of tricks to the table. Baby Pantera’s newest single is “Puskás,” a collaboration with the Madrid DJ and producer Merca Bae. The track, a taste of his forthcoming album BCM VOL.II, is an uplifting rave-ready anthem that is perfect for peak time club play. We sent over some questions to Baby Pantera.

Could you talk about the direction you've headed in on your upcoming project?

I felt like my beats were turning into a melodic-euphoric thing, so I just went with the flow and that led into what I’m doing right now. I feel good about it because I’m not doing it in a try-hard way at all. I guess if I had to say a genre, I’m trying to reinvent trance, mixing it with industrial/cinematic elements. Feels like a consistent idea for me. Also I’m trying to replace music in Spanish clubs, at least in Madrid [laughs]. Most of the music played there is boring and superficial, not interesting at all. People who make big parties here should think more about the possibilities a club has—new proposals.

We love "Light Sprite," your collaboration with Isabella Lovestory. How did that come about? What was the process like making it? 

I started talking on Instagram with Isabella Lovestory in 2019, I think, so it was in 2021 when she came to perform in Madrid that I met her. We tried to make a song back in 2019 but that one never came out, afterwards we resumed contact again and the process was so fluid, I just sent her a rhythm and some nights later she sent me some vocals. Then I remixed the original song we made because the beat didn’t fit with the rest of the songs on the project, which was so fun to do. In this period and now, I’m really into decontextualizing things and bringing them together to get a whole new different flavor.

Name three artists that have been inspiring you lately. 

Poshgod, Caterina Barbieri, and Gideo.

What's the most consecutive hours you've ever spent in the studio?

One day I spent 18 hours in a row, maybe more, and it got me completely fucked up, really felt like a caveman when I came out, sunlight hurt my eyes lol. Trying to work smarter not harder.

When you are working, is there a kind of food or beverage that really fuels you?

I had my munchies producer era back in the day, but now I just drink beer in the studio. Beer is inspiring and enjoyable for me.

What's your favorite sound? 

As I said right now I’m so into industrial and trance, so I guess it’s something between these two. But to be honest, I don’t really care about genre at all. If something is good, pleasant, or interesting, that’s it.

How did you get into American rap? Is that still an inspiration in your music?

I started producing a weird inaudible kind of electronic music (?) just messing around, having fun. Then I’d be taking acapellas from famous rap songs and making new beats for them. By that time, I was really into rap, I used to listen to 50 Cent, Eminem, and Big Sean, and after that I got into Raider Klan, Chris Travis, Lil Ugly Mane, Twiggy Rasta Masta. It was so weird to listen to this kind of music where I grew up, it didn't make sense at all [laughs]. 

All of the music from that universe made me start to explore that way of producing, but to be honest my first rap beats were too weird to jump on [laughs]. S/O Gloosito, he was the first person who used one of them. After that, I think I just saw potential and I was just evolving with music in general, things got more serious and I worked hard. But sometimes evolving means taking a step back, things now go too fast. Sometimes I feel like nothing really changed, like these elements have been there forever. Here in Spain we say, nothing new under the sun.

What's the scene like right now in Barcelona in Madrid? Any favorite clubs?

There’s a lot of motion in Barcelona right now. Julietta Ferrari has been doing a lot for the club scene in general. Also Razzmatazz promoters and Cero en Conducta. People are making a big effort to try to uplift local people, booking them every weekend. The problem, I guess, is that it feels like most Spanish DJs and producers just want to blow up and forget their country to be a cool international influencer character, covered in a political social supportive skin in the beginning. 

I’m interested in communities, in communication, just trying to make it with BCM, here in Madrid, but for real [laughs]. Giving opportunities to local people to revive an electronic music scene here. Looks like people easily forget what Spain was back in the day. Sadly, I think that La Ruta del Bakalao gave a shitty name to electronic music here, even if now outside in Europe people are playing makina. Spain has a lot of traumas but recovering an identity is important for me, as well as slowing down a bit on the timeline to make big and solid things, not ephemeral and adapted to our country or to this social media era.