Ricardo Villalobos - Fabric 36

Who says it has to be banging in order to make you move?
Great stuff from mr. Villalobos, especially when one takes into consideration it's a DJ mix consisting mostly of his own tracks. I am really digging Fabric 36, and have been giving it regular spins ever since I first bought it. First of all, the track selection and arrangement is immaculate. Due to Ricardo's superb mixing abilities, it sure is a pleasure to get lost inside his world of constantly shifting drum rolls, beats, melodies, and wicked & playful vocals, which are used to great effect on "4 Wheel Drive" and "Andruic & Japan", while the singing on "Primer Encuentro Latino-Americano" continues Ricardo' exploration of the south american tradition and culture through his music. Remarkable stuff!
During the whole time, one idea is expanded upon the other, there is a constant sensation of progress and evolvement, but it's all meticulously glued into one large piece, so you can barely pin point the exact track positions! Each track is special in its own way, but it's only after you've gone through the whole thing that you can get the whole picture. And what a frame it is!
The entire mix has an undeniable groove to it, and regardless of the fact it never really picks up in pace and reaches explosive climaxes and what not, it possesses true dance floor potential. It's a DJ mix after all, sure, but being composed mostly of his own material, it comes across as a note worthy artist album, and a gargantuan one too! In fact, I consider Fabric 36 to be up there with Thé Au Harem D'Archimède, his unforgettable 2004 release. It exposes the listener to both, Ricardo's production skills and his invincible powers when behind the decks. Being a combo of the two, and really taking the best out of all the tracks, while cutting and pasting them all together, Fabric 36 is an output well worth owning. Rather then covering old territory, Ricardo wants to push even further what he has accomplished thus far. And what better way to do it but perfectly blending his own production goodies into an out of this world mix?
I'm loving it, and I'm sure you'll feel the same if you've admired even a fraction of the man's work up to now. Enjoy!

The label created by the London’s club Fabric, and known for their mix CDs, featuring sounds from some staple names like Carl Craig, Adam Beyer, and even John Digweed, brings you its 36th installment of minimal tech house by Ricardo Villalobos. Born in Santiago, Chile, Villalobos moved to Germany at the age of three. At the age of 24 (1994) he released his first EP on Playhouse, followed by a debut LP almost 9 years later, titled Alcachofa, on the same label. Since then, Villalobos has been enjoying a stream of consistent quality minimal, micro, and tech house releases. Villalobos’ three other aliases are Bispeed Black, Richard Wolfsdorf, and Termiten; his most notable collaborations include Social Being with Justin McNulty, and Ric Y Martin with Santiago born Martin Schopf (aka Dandy Jack). Fabric 36 is a continuous mix, compiled of mostly Villalobos’ tracks and mixed by himself - it thus can be treated as an album. The rhythms are simple, light and groovy, and I loose myself in the hypnotic sound over and over, as the tracks effortlessly blend into one another, and ride on. This may come off counter-intuitive for some critics of techno, but I often use such minimal sound as a tool: to relax, clear my mind, and on occasion even cure a headache. Recommended if you like Matthew Dear (False), Dominik Eulberg, Marc Houle and Gabriel Ananda.

I'm ashamed to say that this is the first Villalobos CD I have bought. Hearing one of his tracks, 'Easy Lee', a few years back it didn't work for me but then hearing his epic remix of Shackleton & Appleblim's 'Blood on my hands' I realise it is not a good idea to judge an artist one one track alone.

This mix, which is in effect an artist album, really is something special. This is challenging, innovative electronic music. Constantly shifting, multi-layered effects, fragments of rhythm and melody and surreal vocal snips make for a mix which is packed with ideas. He maintains restraint, resisting any temptation to head towards linear, banging Techno. Each of these tracks is packed full of more ideas that entire sets of others DJ's out there.

I read that Ricardo is a big fan of legendary Jazz label ECM and the cerebral nature of the music exemplifies that. The world of electronic music needs people like this and while the Villalobos sound will either thrill of bore depending on your prespective I know which side I am on. Now time to seek out his back catalogue...