[alphahouse]

Though their time together didn’t last as long as the career of the subject of their pun-based pseudonym, Ricardo Villalobos and Dandy Jack’s cheeky venture into experimental house and minimal techno is unquestionably of higher quality. Their few official releases together were arguably overshadowed by an incendiary live PA, much of which never became available for sale, though thanks to the people at Alphahouse we get to revisit a piece of Ric Y Martin history. Originally released on the Episode label as “Cerro San Cristobel” and “Teiwass” in 2000, these two slices of Chilean, minimal funk breathe life once more, with the A side now christened “Camino Ensenada.”

Showing a little bit more sign of wear and tear, “Camino Ensenada” is a dense collage of glitchy, minimal business that stutters and crackles with the all of the familiar tropes indicative of turn of the century minimal techno. Subtle chords play out in a slight progression over the knot of brittle percussion, with equally demure pads gently rounding off the unforgiving edges of the jerky, jumbled groove. “Teiwass,” with its more spatial, uncluttered approach, is less in the style of Ricardo; its laconic touches of cello manage to mine a deep pocket of feeling while a simple two note, plucked bass line adds a further sense of organic rhythm. Neither of these tracks have so much of a narrative arc to their structure as they do a hypnotic, relentless groove. And although “Camino Ensenada” does show a few signs of age both sides are imbued with a timeless quality that ten years of shelf life cannot dilute.