- It sounds like Ricardo Villalobos was in a party mood when he made the A-side of his latest 12-inch: it's among the fastest tunes he's produced. Close to 130 BPM, the "Villalobos Inretro Baby Rmx" of Beaver Sheppard's "Tornado Brain" hovers in that magic tempo range home to timeless tracks like "Any Ideas," "Que Belle Epoque" and "Heike (Villalobos Mood Mix)." Years after release, they're some of the Villalobos productions you're most likely to hear in a club. The added pace gives the percussion extra spice, a big reason why this A-side is another bonafide party rocker. It's a shame most house DJs will pitch it down.
The latest in a long line of Villalobos vocal tracks, the "Inretro Baby Rmx" lays a nasally refrain from the little-known Canadian artist Beaver Sheppard over a rhythmic bassline and percussion that steadily builds in intensity. Villalobos has the golden touch when it comes to choosing vocals, so Sheppard's whine—like Jorge Gonzalez's goofy Spanish on 2009's "Baile"—slots into the percussion, wailing over the leaner passages while taking a back seat during the busier sections.
The "Hastenix Und Obenix Rmx" lands closer to the sludgy sound of Villalobos's only other significant release of 2017, Empirical House. The bassline is muddy and the singing is more ethereal, which creates a heady atmosphere. There's a hint of classic house in the spoken vocal—not heard in the A-side—buried in the mix, which livens the mood when it takes centre stage alongside the sampled guitar in the second half. If the "Inretro Baby Rmx" was the happy bomb, this is the drift into space.
TracklistA Tornado Brain (Villalobos Inretro Baby Remix)
B Tornado Brain (Villalobos Hastenix Und Obenix Remix)