I hear ketamine is big in Germany. Maybe that explains why it sounds like he fell asleep on his synths? His music is so boring. There's nothing going on in his tracks. Maybe he's got nice gear. Maybe he's a nice guy. But he's not a good producer.
I remember a video where he's pretty stoned rambling about how he can spot a track made in Ableton because it's engine sounds so bad. Yes, but those tracks were made by beginners who warped way too much and with the wrong settings and mixed the "hi-quality" and "normal" setting within the same chain.
Although he's doing quite well, so he must be doing something right.
Sometimes ricardo makes self indulgent 8 to 30 minute long tracks that don't really go anywhere and that are the perfect moment to gain back some lost sleep!
Other times Ricardo has been responsible for some of the most forward thinking music of the era
And with the same measure yes he does produce some awful mixes but then
he also makes some very well produced pieces
A lot of it i wouldn't bother with and consider mostly pointless wastes of vinyl
but then he's not by far the only artist guilty of filling up waste disposal units
full of vinyl
(i used to work in a major record chain in london and you would be shocked to know how much of it ends up in the skip! because it wont sell and not just bad records either)
But you can't judge him for that the noughties represent the last point where
analogue waste is viable from an economic and environmental perspective.
The closure of many many record shops is clear proof of that AND there are big positives to this, that a lot of people are overlooking at present
in that because there is so much music about now (due to the digital age)
Producers are going to have to step up there game and only release the best of what they have made as well as emphasis back to live music
I believe
We are inadvertently entering an era of never-see-before-quality
of course there will continue to be a stupid amount of music released
every day, but think only the best will be worth selling before long and
fillers just won't be sell-able the populous are getting smarter (Slowly)
and so to must the artist!
This is a good thing. after all there are always lots of tracks on most artists
hard drives that they know they could get a couple of hundred quid out of
even though there not really that great, I don't think that's going to
happen for much longer.
I might be wrong but then im usually not about these things so the next few years will tell but i do think it's started to happen
like that already although browsing through pages and pages of beat port and juno releases trying to find a record that's interesting would probably convince you otherwise YAWN
Yeah - I've never liked to label and classify music when it comes to artist but more when it comes to eras and/or style.
However, anyone who collects and plays vinyl is always classifying it and putting it into categories by what they hear, what sounds good with what. As for what many people would consider the era or the genre of "minimal", I think that became very overplayed around 2004-2006. It produced the "copy-cat" effect in releases just like the loopy minimal techno sound was overplayed around 1997-2000. Labels like Drumcode were very innovative in the beginning but many people, including myself, got very sick of that stuff during that time period. Where the music, on the whole reached a point where there was very little innovation. Minimal, to me, really happened from 1998-2004. But that doesn't mean that a good minimal or minimal techno track, or something innovative, combining the two, could not be released now, or at any point in the future. I believe good music is good music; good music transends every genre or stereotype.
Here's how I would separate minimal techno from minimal sound-wise:
Minimal -
1. A softer, rounder, boomier kick and a housier rhythm - 120-130 bpm
2. Patterns of glitchy, strange organic samples played back in a funky way
3. Clicky / clacky, snappy percussion
4. 80% of the time the snappy/verby snare will be the emphasis
5. bassline is bubbly and funky but quirky and deep
Minimal Techno -
1. Harder Kick that's stiffer, more ridgid in it's rhythm - 130-140 bpm
2. Repetitive arpeggios, thick stabbing synths
3. Dark and sometime tribal percussion
4. 80% of the time a dark hard clap will be the emphasis
5. Bassline is hard, funky and aggressive or stuck to/inside the kick
I agree that Ricardo is more on the house side in DJ and production. Especially over the past few years. He is an amazing DJ though, in my opinion, whether he plays straight up house, minimal or a harder techno set. He has a great sense of very complex rhythmic structure.
I'm asking some friends who know Ricardo much better than I do, which is only as an acquaintance, to come and comment on this thread. I think it's up to Ricardo if he wants people to know exactly what gear he used or uses now. I think it would be cool to know but the music speaks for itself, in my opinion. I have confirmed with people who know him that he is 100% his own producer and knows his gear extremely well. I'm sure you are correct that he mixes on an analog console but we'll try to confirm this.
Ricardo's classic production work for me includes:
Easy Lee (on the album, Alcachofa)
Villalobos - Dexter
Señor Coconut Electrolatino (Ricardo Villalobos' 'Lecktro Cariño Mix)
Tony Senghore - Where Is The Love ? (Ricardo Villalobos Rmx)
white label (ricardo and luciano) - something bad and you wanna start
Thanks, Anna LogG, for your comments!
Craig Richards tyrant and fabric had 90% to do with the minimal scene hitting England in the way it did defiantly the main catalyst in the uk.
no one had heard of perlon,traum etc so until fabric got going over here unless
you where into the berlin scene, breaks and progressive house dominated until fabric and Craig got there awe in
One thing is for sure the idea was never to create a genre to be pigeon holed
but to introduce sounds that where different and interesting to what was being played by the majority
Fabric got big and trendy and so did (Minimal) no longer new and interesting
because every body started making records in the same way
Ironically this was exactly the opposite point and intention of the scene back then I remember the tyrant mandate of eclecticism
You would here all sorts of minimal/tech/house/breaks/electro genres being mashed to perfection on a tyrant night
This is what it should be about play the best of everything that's going at the time don't be lazy and search for the best records you can find new and old
tom ravenscroft and his old man john peel have always stuck by this attitude
There is good music in every genre why play one?
Sometimes ricardo makes self indulgent 8 to 30 minute long tracks that don't really go anywhere and that are the perfect moment to gain back some lost sleep!
Other times Ricardo has been responsible for some of the most forward thinking music of the era
And with the same measure yes he does produce some awful mixes but then
he also makes some very well produced pieces
A lot of it i wouldn't bother with and consider mostly pointless wastes of vinyl
but then he's not by far the only artist guilty of filling up waste disposal units
full of vinyl
Of course from time to time he produces some boring track (especially when it comes to remixes lately). But if you look his full catalogue one can say it has been more "hit" than "miss". Super prolific and creative producer imho, but I'm biased as I'm a complete sucker for his universe of sounds
That's a fantastic track. Been listening to him on and off for 6 years or so. I'm not always in the mood for him but when I am his stuff can be blissful.
Cool. Al most every box named on this thread costs crazy money. He has spent more on 2 single fx processor than I have on my whole setup! Now I start to realize where all these strange sounds come from, fx play a major role in his sound.
^ his studio is pretty well documented, there is even a 2h film where he goes in length about his modular and esoteric boutique stuff, anyways here is what 3phase who's collaborated with him had to say not long ago:
Quote:
He has all kinds of drum machines, looks a bit like that the machine drum and 808 are getting a bit dusty these days.. But he also uses cheap ones like the mfb 522 or a 606..whatever sounds nice.. he is therefore no equipment snob but wants the best possible soundquality he can get..so maybe he is a sound snob ;-).
He heavily uses his analog modulars which play the main role in his music theese days.. no samplers i ve seen ..
Quote:
he uses logic..but drum samples? maybe in older tracks? maybe i have seen a mpc there once..but i am not sure.. he uses a nord wave a s master keyboard.. but he is not really teh guy that programs drum in the computer.. more a synth drum hardware sequencer guy. And in the logic there are not many tracks, often just one stereo rec of a life runoff.. maybe one or 2 dubs or loops/ vocal..whatever.. its pretty minimalistic maximal and live improvisation based.. but also the live performance aspect is minimalistic.. a little here.. a little there.. bassdrum off.. bass drum on again, nothing that would stress him..what is the main prinziple of his impressive workflow. a straight forward no doubt tactic with emphasis on the sound design. A day of sound design and jamming ends with a final take.
This is perhaps the most fun way to work. Especially if you're working live with a collaborator.
This is pretty much how I work with a friend of mine, and it's the most fun. Spend a few hours beforehand selecting and setting up gear. Have a beer, run over the setup, start jamming, once something starts sounding good start multi-tracking into the computer. Add markers when new ideas come up. Later on, listen, edit and finalize, or discard.
Not a single drum machine to be seen on the pictures... After all these years, where does he gets his snares, claps, hihats, etc still remain a mistery to me.
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