Ricardo Villalobos (born 6 August 1970) is a Chilean-born German

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

producer and DJ. He is well known for his work in the

minimal techno Minimal techno is a subgenre of techno music. It is characterized by a stripped-down aesthetic that exploits the use of repetition and understated development. Minimal techno is thought to have been originally developed in the early 1990s by Detro ...

and

microhouse Microhouse, buftech or sometimes just minimal, is a subgenre of house music strongly influenced by minimalism and 1990s techno. History Microhouse has its roots in the minimal techno, bitpop (both developed in the early 1990s), and house (dev ...

genres, and is one of the most significant figures in today's minimal techno scene.

Life and work

Villalobos was born in Chile on 6 August 1970. In 1973 he moved to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

with his family to escape the dictatorship of

Augusto Pinochet Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (, , , ; 25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean general who ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990, first as the leader of the Military Junta of Chile from 1973 to 1981, being declared President of ...

, who had seized power that year. When Villalobos was around 10 or 11 he started to play

conga The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest). ...

and

bongos Bongos ( es, bongó) are an Afro-Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of small open bottomed hand drums of different sizes. They are struck with both hands, most commonly in an eight-stroke pattern called ''martillo'' (hammer). The ...

. He began making

in the late 80s. From a very young age he has been a big fan of

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in Basildon, Essex, in 1980. The band currently consists of Dave Gahan (lead vocals and co-songwriting) and Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, co-lead vocals and main songwriting). Depeche ...

, following their tours around

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

to listen to them. Villalobos began to play his music at parties while he was studying at university, but this was only for his own enjoyment. He started a label, Placid Flavour, in 1993 but this was unsuccessful. His first record was released on the German Playhouse label in 1994 and he began DJing as a professional in 1998. In 2006 Villalobos, along with

Richie Hawtin Richard "Richie" Hawtin (born June 4, 1970) is a British-Canadian electronic musician and DJ. He became involved with Detroit techno's second wave in the early 1990s, and has been a leading exponent of minimal techno since the mid-1990s. He becam ...

and Luciano, played to around 300,000 people at the Berlin

Loveparade The Love Parade (german: Loveparade) was a popular electronic dance music festival and technoparade that originated in 1989 in West Berlin, Germany. It was held annually in Berlin from 1989 to 2003 and in 2006, then from 2007 to 2010 in the Ruh ...

. At the end of 2007, 2008 and 2010, he came first in

Resident Advisor ''Resident Advisor'' (also known as ''RA'') is an online music magazine and community platform dedicated to showcasing electronic music, artists and events across the globe. It was established in 2001. ''RA''s editorial team provides news, musi ...

's Top 100 DJs of the year. Villalobos has released several records on various notable labels, such as

Perlon Perlon is an electronic music record label founded in 1997 in Frankfurt, Germany, now based in Berlin, and run by Thomas Franzmann aka Zip and Markus Nikolai. It is a minimal techno and tech house label which has been characterised as one of t ...

, Playhouse and :rpia:r

Discography

Studio albums

*'' Alcachofa'' (2003) *''

Thé Au Harem D'Archimède ''Thé au Harem d'Archimède'' is the second studio album by Ricardo Villalobos. It was released by Perlon on LP and CD on October 12, 2004. The album's French title, which translates into English as "Tea in the Harem of Archimedes," is a refe ...

'' (2004) *''

Sei Es Drum ''Sei Es Drum'' is an extended play by Ricardo Villalobos. It was released in November 2007 on triple vinyl by Sei Es Drum, Ricardo Villalobos' own microhouse and minimal techno imprint. It was the label's first release. Despite its length, ''Sei ...

'' (2007) *''

Dependent and Happy ''Dependent and Happy'' is the third studio album by Ricardo Villalobos. It was released by Perlon on LP and CD over three dates in August and September, 2012. The album is Villalobos' first solo studio album since 2004's '' Thé au Harem d'Arch ...

'' (2012) *''

Empirical House Empirical evidence for a proposition is evidence, i.e. what supports or counters this proposition, that is constituted by or accessible to sense experience or experimental procedure. Empirical evidence is of central importance to the sciences an ...

'' (2017)

Compilations

*''Love Family Trax'' (2002) *''In the Mix: Taka Taka'' (2003) *''Green & Blue'' (2005) *'' fabric36'' (2007)

Singles and EPs

Remixes

References

External links

Biography at The DJ ListBiography at GTB
*
''Ricardo Villalobos: Sound brotherhood''
Interview (2009) at

Interview (2004)At home in Berlin with Ricardo Villalobos
{{DEFAULTSORT:Villalobos, Ricardo 1970 births Living people Chilean emigrants to Germany German techno musicians German DJs People from Santiago Electronic dance music DJs