First of all I have to say this sound like a big step from his last album. I dont know how to explain it but the overall sound quality is better. All this little bleeps and quirks sound more high quality, more defined. Maybe he got better gear, better mixer, better speakers, better acoustics, a mix of all these: I dont know, it just sounds better.
Second, as John said, this is very ricardo influenced, in his own way of expressing itself but this is undoubtly villalobos sounding. Not that it is bad, but is a fact. You get the classic minimal drums with very little variations, and then stuff happens across all the stereo image. I say "stuff" because it sometimes can be very tricky to describe THAT sound.
Third thing that caught my attention is how analog it sounds. Also some of his drums sound very lo-fi, and I wouldnt be surprise if they all came from the same drum machine.
The tunes
A: Tulip en. It's an opener. Could serve well at the beginning of a set, as a transition or just to fck up with people at really late hours. Powerful low end, pitched down obscure vocals, acoustic but minimal drums, rising pads/drones and something like a siren flying in all contribute to create excitation on the listener. Silence. The kick drum remains and the fantastic and really I dont know how to classify, but sound like a string instrument appears. Really well put. 8,5/10
B: Doae unul. Sounds here sound familiar to Ricardo "Emilio" track. Probably it's Pedro's buchla at work here. Minimal drums, rhythmic kickdrum, pitched down vocals repeating "just wanna inside?" and some recurring sounds that repeats for all the duration of the track. Then you have the classical stuff happening at roughly 40% of the track. It's very subtle mixed so it really doesnt distract that much the attention of the listener. Sounds good but it's not breathtaking. I felt the arrangement a bit boring at times. In fact I think some tunes here could sound way interesting with more thought arrangements, but I think editing music in the computer is not Pedro priority
7.5/10C: Ksses in plic dejune. Pounding kickdrum. Catchy weird groove. Swooshing noises here and there. And a beautiful piano (again mixing is subtle) playing makes this one of my top picks from the album. In fact you get 2 tracks for the price of one in this. Once the clubby track ends you get some classical music ending the track. 8,5/10
D: Napadit de mistic. This is in my opinion the most intimate of the pack. A whole mysterious vibe surounds the track. Very close to a Baby Ford track, I will even believe its a track from him. The kickdrum is pretty straight forward. Only bad thing it¡s the irritating high pitched sound playing for the full duration of the tune. Of course it was put on purpose, very quiet in the mix but it's there. Marimbas-like percussion and flute-ish sounds filigranes in the back complete the song. It takes it time to develop. 8,5/10
E: Pachiuli rose. Feels like a miss. It could be something really, really good but feels like it's not going anywhere. It feature some very low synths that want to flourish and blossom, but as I said it sounds like an unfinished project. The hihat/percussion pattern is rather interesting though. Kickdrum goes pretty low. 8,5/10
F: Ipsilante purces. By far, this is going to be the most succesful. A catchy rhythm consisting of crisp claps, soft hats and quirky synths set the groove of the track. Everything ties together nicely when Atenea Garciu violin appears. Splash cymbals add excitement and help the tracks move forward. I'm loving this one. 9/10
So far so good. This is a really well put album. It tells a story. Great opening, good development and nice ending. Not really groundbreaking, but it has some breathtaking moments. If your looking for a mix of experimental, acoustic and club music, you can't get better than this. I felt all the little noises here and there added nicely to create that third dimension, depth.
Just for the one who said this stuff is unplayable, short answer: no. Long answer: the kickdrums here go pretty low if you ask me, I could expect this stuff doing some serious damage in the club. Yes it doesnt have cheap hooks or melodies, but we wherent expecting that in the first place. I would love to hear from Pedro another "Sakadat" but I knew it was not going to happen. It's like asking Ricardo to make another "Spritzcussion". Not happening, But clever people will know when to play this stuff.
Just going to digitize this and sell it on discogs in two month for 300 €.
Just kidding
