Miguel Angel Ruiz, from Madrid, is one of the main reference names of the Spanish experimental electronic music. Together with artists such as Esplendor Geométrico, Macromassa, Francisco López, Avant Dernières Pensées, Comando Bruno, Diseño Corbusier, etc, he was during the beginning of the 80s one of the pioneers of the riskiest underground electronic creation in our country. Times, by the way, that should be recovered for all the good stuff that was recorded during those years by the artists mentioned before and by many others. And times when, without any minimal recording infrastructure as regards labels, record companies and distribution, only saved by the arousal of small companies such as Discos Esplendor Geométrico or Línea Alternativa, many of the artists resorted to the autoedition using cassettes and creating labels such as I.E.P., Necronomicón, Proceso Uvegraf, Auxilio De Cientos, Clonaciones Petunio, etc, etc.
This was precisely the case of Miguel A. Ruiz, who created in 1986 his own label of cassettes called Toracic Tapes. Since then, in this and other national, European and American labels, he has published an extensive catalogue of recordings using different pseudonyms depending on each project: Orfeón Gagarin (the most famous), Ventral Metaphor, Funeral Souvenir, besides the many works edited under his own name or as Exhaustor from the advanced 90s.
M.A. Ruiz started in 1982 to record in his house musical pieces, centred in the abstract and pseudocosmic electronic music with his new Korg MS-20. In 1986 he inaugurates the catalogue of Toracic Tapes with the legendary first cassette of Orfeón Gagarin, an eclectic combination that presents from environmental sounds to industrial noise, including cut-up exercises and some ethnic contrast. From there, Miguel A. Ruiz's production is non-stop, editing between 1986 and 1992 more than a dozen cassette recordings either signing as Orfeón Gagarin or with his real name or with the alias Funeral Souvenir or Ventral Metaphor. Works such as "KEDR" (Orfeón Gagarin; Toracic Tapes, 1987), "Batan Bruits" (Orfeón Gagarin, shared with Francisco López; I.E.P., 1987), "La Noche del Anhídrido" (Funeral Souvenir; Toracic Tapes, 1987), "El Niño Carburador" (Miguel A. Ruiz; Línea Alternativa, 1989), "Biscuit Circuit" (Ventral Metaphor; Bestattungsinstitut, 1991) or "Vasarely" (Miguel A. Ruiz; Hyades Arts, 1991) are today considered worthy of worship by the Spanish electronic experimentation panorama.
In 1991 a tape sent to Asmus Tietchens will finally give place to what will be his first and magnificent LP "Encuentros en la Tercera Edad" (Miguel A. Ruiz; published by Hamburger Musikgesellschaft, Tietchens' label), recorded in Hamburg with Tietchens and Okko Bekker. Already in 1994 appears "Contestación Capilar", Orfeón Gagarin's compilation CD published by Línea Alternativa / Hyades Arts and two years later, in 1996, with the name Exhaustor, he presents a new sonorous facet orientated towards the most rhythmic and ruthless techno, whose presentation was "Coaxial" (CD, Línea Alternativa, 1996).
Miguel A. Ruiz has collaborated actively with other artists such as Luis Mesa (creator of the cassettes label I.E.P.), with whom he will edit three tapes in between 1986 and 1989 under the name Técnica Material. Also with the German Siegmar Fricke (Efficient Refineries, with several CD-Rs published from 1995 to 2003), Francisco López, Dieter Mauson, etc.
Next to Héctor Hernández he published in 1989 the cassette "Han llegado los robots" (I.E.P.), born as a hypothetic soundtrack and whose source of reference was the book by Rolf Strehl "Die Roboter sind unter uns", from the end of the 50s. "Han llegado los robots" is nowadays back again due to its recent and really cared-after remastered reedition (CD, Bratan Bruits, 2005).

as Miguel A. Ruiz:

• Climatery (K7, Proceso Uvegraf, 1986)
• La Cámara Gamma (K7, Esplendor Geométrico Kassetten, 1988)
  
• El Niño Carburador (K7, Línea Alternativa, 1989)
  
• Vasarely (K7, Hyades Arts, 1991)
  
• Encuentros en la Tercera Edad (LP, Hamburger Musikgesellschaft, 1991)

as Orfeón Gagarin:

• Orfeón Gagarin (K7, Toracic Tapes, 1986)
• KEDR (K7, Toracic Tapes, 1987)
  
• Batan Bruits (with Francisco López) (K7, I. E. P., 1987)
• Batan Bruits II (with Idee du Femelle) (K7, Toracic Tapes, 1987)
  
• Neumotorax S.XX (K7, Toracic Tapes, 1988)
• Halibut / Vaporub (K7, Tragic Figures, 1990)
• Gift Of Fire (K7, Línea Alternativa, 1992)
• Contestación Capilar (CD, Línea Alternativa / Hyades Arts, 1994)

as Ventral Metaphor:

• Syntax III (K7, Weimar Tapes, 1988)
  
• Biscuit Circuit (K7, Bestattungsinstitut, 1991)
  
• Propaganda State (K7, Toracic Tapes, 1992)

as Funeral Souvenir:

• La Noche del Anhídrido (K7, Toracic Tapes, 1987)
  
• Heringsmusik (K7, Old Europa Cafe, 1991)

as Exhaustor:

• Coaxial (CD, Línea Alternativa, 1996)

other works (selection):

• La Primera Aventura de Cekoni y Conike (with Francisco López, K7, Toracic Tapes, 1990)
  
• Han Llegado Los Robots (with Héctor Hernández, K7, I.E.P., 1989) (remastered reedition, CD, Batan Bruits, 2005)

" 'Coaxial' is an album with breed, bravery and might." (SELF)

"Behind 'Coaxial' there are many years of musical productivity with a major avant-garde content. This, together with the quality, originality and creativity proper of Miguel Angel Ruiz, invites to the acknowledgement of his work as an important contribution to Spanish techno scene" (FUTURE MUSIC)

"In theory, Exhaustor was supposed to be Miguel Angel Ruiz' dance project. However, the practice presented in this 'Coaxial' is not- as supposedly it was- very far from the aural odysseys exposed by Orfeon Gagarin in his previous 'Constelación Capilar'. Right, they have certain aspects of being implanted as studies or experimentations around rhythm, but this does not necessarily make them to be dance music. There is nothing wrong on it. On the contrary, it is a consequent assimilation of new contributions to his well-known instinct for the obscure, the tense and the intense..." (ROCK DE LUX)