- During last year's Dekmantel Festival, I received multiple videos from friends recorded during Ricardo Villalobos's main stage set. Funnily enough, they were all of the same track, which obviously seems to have made a good impression. Ricardo rides the fader, cutting up long, looping circles of rising pitches, before a fill precedes a deliciously swinging house beat. Madness ensues.
It's called "No Time To Explain," which is also the name of this three-tracker from Mexican producer Sakro. It also marks raum… musik's 100th release. The track is dead simple, as if it's aware of its own strength, shuffling along on a no-frills but highly effective bedrock of ducking sub and skipping garage rhythms. The ever-rising synth screams "Where's the drop?" without feeling manipulative or corny, allowing the drums and bass to come in and out with tireless efficacy. It's a bona fide destroyer that should find traction in big rooms and small basements alike.
"Nyctophilia" plays a similar trick. The drums are textbook house classicism presented with a supercharged modern edge, while a queasily descending pad droops down as the bassline climbs ever upward. The simple contrast of rising and falling pitches in combination with the dependable groove makes it another resolutely driving slab of house. "Life's Too Short" is a hair straighter and brighter, with a swelling string sample gliding atop yet another cannot-fail drum and bass combo. These two productions aren't in the eternal smasher category of the title track, nor are they exactly remarkable, but they're hardly filler. They could create their own moments in the dance, and round out an EP that's worth the cost of entry for the B1 alone.
TracklistA1 Nyctophilia
B1 No Time To Explain
B2 Life's Too Short