Search - Ricardo Villalobos :: Vasco

A minimal techno masterpiece - among Villalobos's best work

Steward Willons | Illinois | 11/06/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Vasco" seems to represent a breakthrough for Villalobos. He's using his ultra-minimal grooves, but combining melody in a way that is new for him - with stunning results. After "Fizheuer Zieheuer" came out in 2006 and confounded listeners with its extreme durations and highly repetitive nature, Villalobos seems to be moving away from pure minimalism. While I always enjoyed his work in that style, I feel like he's given us a lot of it, and thus, I'm happy to see he's exploring a new direction.



"Vasco" features four long tracks ranging from twelve minutes to over thirty. As with his previous work, the duration doesn't feel overstated. Much like Plastikman's best work, the music is so listenable that it can hold the listeners interest easily. The music evokes a similar techno trance that we've come to expect from Villalobos, but now there's more activity and a broader sonic palette.



Usually, I feel like his work could be created on the fly, but that doesn't seem like the case here. On "Fizheuer Zieheuer", there are a limited number of individual sounds and loops, and a significant portion of the musical interest is created by use of delay. On "Vasco", there seems to be a lot more effects processing, indicating that Villalobos must have approached this music differently. Instead of a naturally expanding field of rhythm, we have something more deliberate, more calculated. The ever-present bass drum is still here, as is his effortless musical flow, but there are little touches of a more ornamental style of sound.



I highly recommend this album to all techno aficionados. Although Villalobos releases a lot of material, this is definitely one to buy sooner rather than later. It's one of his strongest artistic statements and worth tracking down."