invisible pour les yeux

What a wild couple of days! Went to New York to hear Digitaline and Luciano do sets at Cielo, paid a visit to Halcyon, and then hiked uptown to see the fantastic Gordon Matta-Clark exhibit at the Whitney. Worth mentioning that I'm doing a bit of writing for Big Shot Magazine now, and you can read my review of the Cielo sets here.

As promised, this post deals with names that need little introduction: Ricardo Villalobos and Luciano.

If you were to hear our first track with no previous knowledge of it, you'd assume it to be some wildly minimal track from early 90's Detroit, and you'd be mistaken: it is the 1995 work of Roland Leesker (aka DJ Carrera) and Ricardo Villalobos. Taken from a forgotten DAT and re-released in 2005 by the mysterious ER und ER label (uh, guess who?), the track utilizes an incredibly simple and distorted descending bass loop for its entirety. After beginning with this loop, the track layers high-frequency harmonic stabs, hi-hats, snares, and hand-claps to build to a nice peak around the two-minute mark, when it becomes a real banger. Also punctuating the track throughout are piano strikes reminiscent of Derrick May. The only quiet moments arrive when a sample from Le Petit Prince is brought in sporadically. It is quite hypnotic, and certainly gives some insight into Villalobos' later work, particularly his more soulful tracks. Another thanks to the lfam for this great slice of history.

R & R- L'Essentiel



The next track is on a bit of a chill-out tip: a demo version of "La Ondita," a collaboration between Luciano and Cassy Britton that originally appeared on the Blind Behaviour record released on Peacefrog in 2004. The track highlights what makes both of these artists so special: their versatility. Luciano can pack a dance-floor as well as he can create dubby, slow sex jams, and Cassy's superior DJing skills are mirrored by her mysterious, gorgeous singing voice.

"La Ondita" is marked by the high-frequency, watery squelches that Luciano is known for, along with a smooth, muted bass-line. Occasional bells, claves and wood-block hits emphasize the sweltering and tropical feel of the track. The differences between the demo version and the final cut are subtle, yet I believe that they render the demo version a bit more sexy. Other than track length (the demo version is almost two minutes longer), the essential difference between the two is found in the vocals: the demo version contains sublime moments when Cassy's voice is overdubbed, creating harmonies, and Luciano himself joins in on the track's chorus. It is this juxtaposition of male and female vocals that eroticize the demo version to a point that the final cut doesn't reach. Of course, the version on Blind Behaviour is excellent, but after hearing this demo, I'm sure you'll agree that the track could have remained more as it was in its infantile stages and been much more effective upon its eventual release.

Lucien-N-Luciano (featuring Cassy)- La Ondita

Look out for the next post, which will yield some great newer tracks for your listening pleasure.