Salvador

Album review

After an onslaught of singles and full-lengths -- culminating in the 40-minute epic Fizheuer Zieheuer in 2006 -- it was only a matter of time before an audience would be scrambling for Ricardo Villalobos' early works and paying premium prices on eBay. This compilation captures his finest moments from that first batch of minimal tracks from 1998 to 2001 originally issued on Frankfurt, Germany's Frisbee Tracks imprint, as well as a Villalobos remix of Señor Coconut released on Multicolor Recordings in 2002. These tracks, while not far removed from the epic percussive jams that would become the hallmark of his full-length albums, are extremely straightforward in comparison. They're dancefloor-friendly and at points even foreshadow the brilliance of his anthems "Easy Lee" and "Dexter" from his 2003 Alcachofa release for Playhouse. Having caught the attention of such DJs as Richie Hawtin and Dan Bell -- who both became instant champions of Villalobos before starting their minimal love commune together in Berlin, the European techno capital of the decade -- these tunes made Villalobos a staple of every minimal techno DJ set and spawned thousands of imitators.
© Rob Theakston /TiVo