tiaaaa

Been thinking about techno tracks with strings recently, and one of the old gems that instantly came to mind was a little number called "Tia" by Richard Wolfsdorf, aka Ricardo Villalobos. With his earlier, more jacking style on full display, Mr. Villalobos crafts a track where the strings subtly build until they become the track. Not an amazing trick, but a truly pleasant and effective one. Would love to hear this on a huge system sometime, as I'm sure the mids and hi-frequencies are just brutal by the track's end.

Richard Wolfsdorf- Tia

Tomorrow, thinking something new!

the park

A bit of older minimal for you today, featuring the inescapable DJ and the always-lovely DJ Minx. Here, Mr. Villalobos is in fascinating territory, especially if the listener knows the original-- an old-school Detroit techno stomper. Villalobos stretches the track by almost 300%, emphasizes a strange vocal track that harmonizes nicely with the excellent bass-line, and puts in his trademark percussive flourishes and bits of background squelch in for good measure. Villalobos at his most soulful, I think, and certainly one of his better remixes from the first five years of this decade.

DJ Minx- A Walk in the Park (Villalobos 'Til Thursday' Rmx)

Tomorrow, a bit of campy fun with the pre-eminent shit-eating transvestite, Divine.

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.

coming...

I'm out of Ohio for a bit, and still without computer-- I'm typing this from my old 2003-era Dell Inspiron 5100-- but tomorrow, I'm going to give you one of the best DJ sets I've ever heard, from the ubiquitous Mr. Villalobos. If you're familiar with the Awakenings set from early 2006, then you know what I'm talking about. If not, be prepared to have your mind blown. Also, I'm happy that the Shonky and Anja Schneider have been well-received!