awakening

I am one of the unlucky citizens of the U.S. who has never witnessed a live set by Ricardo Villalobos; even his last performance in North America, at Mutek 2006, was out of my reach. However, it is easy enough to find some great live sets bumping around, and these have taken up quite a bit of space on my various hard drives. Though the seven-hour-long set from Fabric last year is often lauded as the best-- and most leftfield-- I believe Ricardo's set from the Netherlands' Awakenings festival, recorded in early July of 2006, displays his best work. Here is my reasoning:

1) According to my own research, it is the first readily available DJ set where his remix of "Sinner in Me," as well as "Fizheuer Zieheuer," are heard.

2) It builds to a colossal peak perfectly, and doesn't just drop out to some beatless valley. Rather, it does a nice slide downward, ending with the "Fizzy Zizzy," as some like to call it.

3) The first 45 minutes are absolutely fucking unstoppable. I had always liked Ricardo before I heard this set, but the work in this first half convinced me that he is a higher-caliber musical gem. All the hyperbole aside, it is an undeniably slamming set, with rhythm changes and melodic surprises throughout.

4) At almost one hour and forty minutes, it is a perfect length for just about anything. Be forewarned, though-- it takes up approximately 90.25 MB of space.

Okay! Without further ado, here it is:

Ricardo Villalobos- Live at Awakenings Festival, Netherlands (01.07.06)

Tomorrow, who knows? I am going to the Vox Populi record fair here in Philadelphia, so perhaps my senses will be stimulated there.