By Madyson Martinez
Oftentimes, there is more to people than meets the eye. The Starbucks barista who makes your coffee could sell their original paintings at art shows on the weekends. The professor teaching your advanced physics course could lead a beginner ballet class in the evenings. Or the IT engineer working in San Antonio could host a weekly radio show featuring techno music. Today, we get to hear his story.
Zach Smith is the host of KRTU’s Hexa: Beyond Digital Environs.
“Hexa: Beyond Digital Environs is strongly rooted in the intersection of ambiance and techno focusing on cutting edge productions,” he said. “[It also highlights] various voices in the Texas community who may not have a chance to be broadcast for various social, economic or various other reasons.”
Smith likes to feature a variety of music in his sets. He may begin with ambient music, then transition into faster and darker projects.
“I follow many labels online and catalogue a lot of physical releases I’ve picked up and save rave fliers from my travel and use websites such as Discogs and Resident Advisor,” he said. “Recently I’ve started the past year reaching out to artists over Instagram to get unreleased recordings. Some of my favorite labels include my online teacher Erika’s IT label (Detroit), Ewan Jansen’s Red Ember label, Svreca’s Semantica label and finally the heavyweight Delsin Records from Amsterdam, Netherlands.”
Attending South by Southwest in Austin for years gave Smith the opportunity to network with international crews like the Red Light radio group. His experience going to warehouse events in Detroit also influenced his decision to host local artists and guests back home in Texas. However, Smith’s first experience with techno music was in 2016, and he has since learned much about the history and inner workings of the genre.
“To me techno is chaotic and organized somehow,” Smith said. “But socially these raves and events have given me connections that may have only been possible with the beating, click track (repetitive) soundtrack.”
Labels such as Rudiment and Natural Sciences have featured Smith’s recordings and tracks under his artist name Mt. Borracho. Last year, he appeared alongside artists like Stanislav Tolkachev, Speedy J, Surgeon, and Dasha Rush.
“To me 2023 is a very special crossroads of electronic because so much is being produced and technology is at an intersection of affordability and often esoteric design since many techniques are more accessible such as time stretch/algorithmic sequencing,” Smith said, “and because of salient sequencing from manufacturers such as Elektron with the model series, Digitone and Octatrack products.”
Aside from hosting his show, Smith has an affinity for electronic music and photography.
“My room is filled with various Roland, Korg and Akai gear, as well as analogue and digital cameras, including the rare Hassleblad 500cm and a Fuji 100XT,” he said. “I use my photography for digital art, rave fliers and other projects, including silver gelatin print making. It is a subtractive process: building up and building down with my art.”
A lifelong listener of KRTU, Smith believes the station is a great community resource for both music and news. He hopes KRTU will continue its program of excellence in the future, including outreach projects and creating opportunities for Trinity students.
“It is a historic voice in the San Antonio musical landscape and will be forever with its dynamic jazz and indie overnight programming,” Smith said. “It is a central source of pride for native and non-native San Antonians.”
Hexa was first broadcasted live on KRTU in the summer of 2022. Now, listeners can catch Zach Smith and his show Wednesdays from 11:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m. on KRTU. Check out Mt. Borracho’s latest mix here, and stay tuned for upcoming announcements about a live Hexa for the public coming soon.
