Ricardo Villalobos

[Shadi Megallaa]

I'm definately with Jesse on this one.. thats what makes music so great, as well as any form of art and almost everything in life. If everyone made the same music, or wore the same clothes, or looked the same it would be very monotonous and boring. I think the stupidest thing someone can say is so and so is the best Dj or so and so is the best producer. Musc as is any other art form is subjective. There is no right and wrong, everyone has their different interpretations. Personally for me, I think Ricardo's productions are filled with intricate details and are very well producer, but I would hardly drop one of his tracks in a club because I think I think its more suitable for an afterhours environment and for mix cds (headphone music). I think he's good at what he does and I definately think he's a good Dj and holds his own in that department. If Richie enjoys playing with him and is comfortable tagging with him he can't be all that bad

[o'sè]

great artist.... i love this man !!!!!!!
"what you sayyyyyyyyyyyyy...........
......... is more than i can sayyyyyyyyyyyyyy !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
:twisted:

[phonudja]

I don't think all the discussions of his 'character' (or whatever you want to call his personal affairs discussed here) don't really add anything to an evaluation ricardo as artist. That he misses his flights is not exactly a new thing related to some kind of superstar syndrome - it happened earlier as well. And if you see how he will stay at parties til the afternoon and play without getting paid, just for the funny of having a party - you might understand that this kind of non-professionalism might be a good thing, too. I prefer that to someone turning up at the club 10 minutes before going on, playing from 1-3 and then retreating to the hotel. Of course, this is the kind of behaviour expected if you are big business - but it is not exactly the mark of the artist. Of course, living this kind of life for years will not go by without costs, but that's a personal matter and the connection to missing flights is not exactly obvious. Stop gloating over the 'ricardo-of-the-month', it's not funny.

The man has dedicated many years of his life to doing his own thing in and for electronic music and has created his own style like not many others have managed to do - not just a string of a few releases, but you can hear the personal style in rough form on early releases on placid flavour and you will find many of those typical elements in today's production (even if of course the whole sound design has evolved a lot).

The case that not everyone likes his style, or the way he plays records, never seemed to influence him a lot. His style is quite chaotic, but if you catch him on a good night (and not only a good night for him, but for you too - a night where you have time and dedication to seriously listen to what you hear) you will realise that all the irregularities as compared to a run-of-the-mill set do make sense and exhibit a deep understanding of the music played. He always knows the records he's playing inside out, and not just slaps on the latest white label blabla - there's a difference between forward-thinking and privileged.

ps: I can't believe someone said he liked 'easy lee' and 'dexter', but thinks all other villalobos productions are too much pop music. Get a life!

[MicrominiKev]

I don't think all the discussions of his 'character' (or whatever you want to call his personal affairs discussed here) don't really add anything to an evaluation ricardo as artist. That he misses his flights is not exactly a new thing related to some kind of superstar syndrome - it happened earlier as well. And if you see how he will stay at parties til the afternoon and play without getting paid, just for the funny of having a party - you might understand that this kind of non-professionalism might be a good thing, too. I prefer that to someone turning up at the club 10 minutes before going on, playing from 1-3 and then retreating to the hotel. Of course, this is the kind of behaviour expected if you are big business - but it is not exactly the mark of the artist. Of course, living this kind of life for years will not go by without costs, but that's a personal matter and the connection to missing flights is not exactly obvious. Stop gloating over the 'ricardo-of-the-month', it's not funny.

The man has dedicated many years of his life to doing his own thing in and for electronic music and has created his own style like not many others have managed to do - not just a string of a few releases, but you can hear the personal style in rough form on early releases on placid flavour and you will find many of those typical elements in today's production (even if of course the whole sound design has evolved a lot).

The case that not everyone likes his style, or the way he plays records, never seemed to influence him a lot. His style is quite chaotic, but if you catch him on a good night (and not only a good night for him, but for you too - a night where you have time and dedication to seriously listen to what you hear) you will realise that all the irregularities as compared to a run-of-the-mill set do make sense and exhibit a deep understanding of the music played. He always knows the records he's playing inside out, and not just slaps on the latest white label blabla - there's a difference between forward-thinking and privileged.

ps: I can't believe someone said he liked 'easy lee' and 'dexter', but thinks all other villalobos productions are too much pop music. Get a life!

^^^^I really can't say it any better than this. PRECISELY!!!

In years to come, people will compare every other piece of electronic music from this era to Ricardo's productions. The same way that Arthur Russell is now the standard for the no-wave/post-disco era, Ricardo will be for the "post-minimal" era of music. Imitators will never capture the fluidity and grace of his productions.

I only hope that he takes care of himself better, so we can get more incredible visionary music from him.

[leecurtiss]

i cannot easily get my head around the fact that people have turned a thread like this into a "beat on ricardo" session, thank you for everyone that has lent insite to those that may not grasp the importance of what this man is doing. and to pick on him for drug use or missing planes.....are you a bunch of fucking geeks? does anyone remember how the rock stars of the earlier decades behaved? with his kind of mind and lifestyle, things that seem incredibly important to you are nothing to a man like him. so he misses a plane and is all fucked up at some after party.... does anyone remember Jim Morrison? Hendix? Zepplin? ARE YOU SERIOUSLY GOING TO BUST ON SOMEONE FOR BEING A PARTY ANIMAL? go ahead and bust on me to then. i'm not making his partying into a positive point but for god sake, do any of you know what some of your favorite producer/DJs drug habits are.... and does it really matter?

if you don't like his music, maybe it's not for you then, maybe you're not ready for it yet, maybe someday you will learn to appreciate it. a classicly trained percussionist, a visionary and a genious. if his tracks go nowhere then i wish i could figure out how to get my tracks to go nowhere to.

[gillsans]

i cannot easily get my head around the fact that people have turned a thread like this into a "beat on ricardo" session, thank you for everyone that has lent insite to those that may not grasp the importance of what this man is doing. and to pick on him for drug use or missing planes.....are you a bunch of fucking geeks? does anyone remember how the rock stars of the earlier decades behaved? with his kind of mind and lifestyle, things that seem incredibly important to you are nothing to a man like him. so he misses a plane and is all fucked up at some after party.... does anyone remember Jim Morrison? Hendix? Zepplin? ARE YOU SERIOUSLY GOING TO BUST ON SOMEONE FOR BEING A PARTY ANIMAL? go ahead and bust on me to then. i'm not making his partying into a positive point but for god sake, do any of you know what some of your favorite producer/DJs drug habits are.... and does it really matter?

if you don't like his music, maybe it's not for you then, maybe you're not ready for it yet, maybe someday you will learn to appreciate it. a classicly trained percussionist, a visionary and a genious. if his tracks go nowhere then i wish i could figure out how to get my tracks to go nowhere to.

Agreed!

This thread needs to be removed and started again. (in a positive way)

[MicrominiKev]

Lee is totally right. I think Ricardo is no different from any artist who goes to the edge. It's the way artists are. Accept them as people, and don't confuse their demons with their talents.

I actually like seeing threads like this happen. Better to have a debate that ultimately highlights an artists' merits rather than one thread with everyone agreeing with each other.

[seth]

In years to come, people will compare every other piece of electronic music from this era to Ricardo's productions. The same way that Arthur Russell is now the standard for the no-wave/post-disco era, Ricardo will be for the "post-minimal" era of music. Imitators will never capture the fluidity and grace of his productions.

I only hope that he takes care of himself better, so we can get more incredible visionary music from him.

i like this aurthur russell and ricardo comparison