Five reasons why Ricardo Villalobos is still king

At the weekend Sven Väth took his stellar record label to Leeds for the annual Cocoon In The Park festival. Naturally he brought his friends Dixon, Carl Cox, Seb Zito and Enzo Sirigusa to the shindig but it was one set from a certain Ricardo Villalobos that everyone's talking about.

Never one to shy away from playing weird and obscure cuts, his set has been widely slammed by those in attendance. The Cocoon FB page lit up with disgruntled punters who felt he 'killed' the vibe and delivered one of the 'worst sets' they'd ever heard.

While we don't necessarily disagree with the hoardes of angry festival-goers, we do think people are calling his music 'complete shit' is pretty unjustified. Anyone who's seen Ricardo in action before knows he doesn't stick to the 'bangers' and rarely does he play exactly what the crowd wants. Whether you love or hate what he does, the selector has given dance music so much since his domination started.

Yeah he probably played a few tracks that threw the audience. Of course he wasn't facing the crowd the entire time, he's busy picking his next vinyl record and dancing like nobody's watching. He didn't fit well in between Carl Cox and Papa Sven? That's the programmers fault, not his.

Anyway, here are five reasons why Ricardo is still one of the biggest dons in the game. Trust us.

Now when King Ricardo rolls up to Fabric, the game changes. Bearing in mind the club usually stays open till around 8am, Villalobos doesn't even start till around 6am and his sets have been known to carry on through till 1pm. Never have we seen a busier main room than when Ricardo is in session. Of the numerous times we've seen him play a marathon set at Fabric, it's been a colossal experience, littered with rolling house, trippy synths and the occasional tangent, but then it's not a Ricardo set without a tangent or two.

This video taken earlier in the year sums up what a night at Fabric with Ricky V is like. Oh and he played this track at Cocoon in the Park as well ;)

Who can forget Ricardo's now-legendary Fabric 36 CD from 2007? It won huge plaudits across the board and remains one of the best mixes in the series. As far as mixes go, there are loads online recorded from his gigs that are worth a few hours of your time at least. Some on his own, some with his friends. Check these badboys out.

Come on, who wants another boring 4/4 house remix that you could create in five minutes on Fruity Loops. Ricardo's responsible for some absolute stormers. Here's a selection of our favourites.

It's all well and good for a DJ to provide an amazing set when you go and see them play, but for their sets to be so mesmerising that they influence your sound as an artist, that's rare. Villalobos has been been dazzling crowds for decades and until you've seen him a few times, you may not see the attraction.

In our recent cover feature with Jamie Jones, the Hot Creations world-conquerer claimed that seeing Ricardo on the terrace at Amnesia for Cocoon in 2005, was a life-changing experience.

"I knew that the music Ricardo was playing was not new. He twisted house and techno in the way that I have never seen before – and still haven't seen to this day."

Alongside Damian Lazarus, he was blown away by Ricardo's track-selection, stamina and stage presence. Read the full feature here.

Also his releases and work with Cocoon and Perlon, two of the best techno and tech-house labels in the world has not only brought us some amazing tracks but has also heralded a new wave of artists to the forefront.

The fact that people didn't like Ricardo's set at Cocoon In The Park is testament to the musical legacy he will leave. Even in a peak-time slot, he challenges the audience, he plays tracks that are going to make you stop and think and while this isn't for everyone's tastes, it doesn't matter, it's Villalobos.

He's been breaking down barriers and warping minds since he started and he's not going to stop anytime soon. Maybe putting him in-between Coxy and Sven was a bad idea but that was never going to affect what he played.

His career is a phenomenon and although it's one that's not widely understood, it's one that has stood the test of time. We salute you Ricardo for all your weird tracks, your dreamy interludes, your hit-and-miss days, your dancing, your hair flicks, your song-selection, your marathon sets and most of all, the fact you just don't give a fuck.

[Lead Photo Credit: Jos Kottmann]