Minimalicious Intent

^Title taken from Phillip Sherburne's article in the Wire.

I guess there's some controversy over this release. Some see Ricardo Villalobos as extremely pompous to put out a fabric of all his own tracks. If you read the press release though, it makes perfect sense. As much as I would love a standard Villalobos mix, full of tracks that I've never heard and promos, I think a mix of all Villalobos productions only ever heard in his live sets is even better.

It's different from this year's other artist album/mix Matthew Dear's 2007 in that with 2007 it was clear that Dear had made a bunch of tracks and then mixed them together like any other DJ mix (this is not a bad thing, mind you, it's definitely in the top 5 for this year). Here though it seems Villalobos is not mixing tracks but rather parts of tracks. It's so fluid that listening to it on bad speakers or in the background, it wont seem like very much is changing at all. However, with a good pair of headphones and some concentration, fabric 36 reveals it self and keeps evolving and shifting throughout its 74 minutes. But while it is definitely a headphone album, it is also one which is rather danceable (a 74 minute Fizheuer Zieheuer this is not). I think he says it better himself:

"I’m more known for head-y, trippy music, so of course it is still very trippy and monotone, in the monotone way of delivering always the same tone and doing something to your brain. But it is more dancey and housey and summery. I always think of the dancefloor when I create music, so it’s a projection, a vision. And it’s not one track after another after another, it develops very subtly.” - Ricardo Villalobos

That's not to say this is the big crossover record that will unite his fans and enemies under one banner; already some praise it as the most ambitious project of all time (which it's not) while others say it's a dud that goes nowhere and proves his pretentiousness (which it doesn't). However, as a new Villalobos album (which has been long overdue, regardless of all the recent album-length singles) it may be his best.

READ: The Month In: Techno on Pitchfork by Phillip Sherburne

And what would be a record review if you couldn't sample a bit for yourself? [Sample is 4 Wheel Drive].