RICARDO VILLALOBOS Vinilo y CD

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***


We're never short of new Ricardo Villalobos material and he's generous with his time as a mixer, but this project offers something different from the Chilean mad scientist of minimal. A Mountain Of One are a duo who deal in Balearic-leaning pop with a subtle charm and an adventurous spirit, and they initially approached Villalobos for a single remix of one of their tracks. As a fan of their sound, Villalobos ran with the project and it wound up as a full remix album of seven different versions. On the earlier tracks Ricardo takes a surprisingly light touch, while the later stages find us knee deep in the mesmerising roll of his minimal house, shot through with dubbed out ingredients from the original songs. It's surprising and satisfying in equal measure, showing Villalobos at his best and quite the scoop for A Mountain Of One.

Review: Given that Ricardo Villalobos was one of a handful of guest producers who featured on Oren Ambarchi's recent Hubris album - a krautrock-influenced minimalist techno exploration that also boasted contributions from Jim O'Rourke and Mark Fell, amongst others - it seems fitting that he's been roped in to provide two new remixes. The Chilean's contribution to the album was largely rhythm-based, and his two lengthy Variations - each stretched across one side of wax - promote undulating, heads-down dancefloor hypnotism above all else. Naturally, his drum programming and use of subtle stylistic shifts is as on-point as ever, with Ambarchi's original textures being manipulated into mind-altering new shapes.

Review: In the sprawling tendrils of minimal mastery Ricardo Villalobos has attached his name to, it's not always easy to pick out the stone cold classics. 2003 album Alcachofa is, however, a stand out moment from his career when he proved to be more than just a club 12" artist. Sure, the record is mainly driven by house rhythms, but this was a demonstration of the creative power within the minimal approach and Villalobos could get creative more than most. Originally released on Playhouse and now repressed on four 12"s by Perlon, it's a fitting tribute to a landmark record, now with added tracks from the accompanying Alcachofa Tools 12".

Review: After a couple of quiet years Ferro's VBX label returns with a bang, as the esteemed Dutch minimal producer links up with none other than Ricardo Villalobos for a run of 'Ferric' jams. Enlightened souls should have some idea of what to expect here, as Ferro's snappy grooves collide with Villalobos' meandering sound collages to create psychoactive termites geared towards twisting out the dancefloor good and proper. This is proper minimal, with the percussion chiselled into fine clicks and pops to leave more space for the trippy elements to weave their magic. The quality comes assured from this new pairing, hopefully paving the way for more collaborations in the future.