ARTIST Tony Allen, Ricardo Villalobos
RELEASE TITLE Dekmantel 10 Years 10.1
LABEL Dekmantel
CATALOG DKMNTL10YEARS101
GENRE Minimal, Afro House
QUALITY 320kbps CBR
RELEASE DATE 04/30/2018

1 TRACK:

1. Tony Allen – Asiko (In a Silent Mix) (Ricardo Villalobos Remix) 29:07 120bpm A♯min

As part of the ten-year anniversary Dekmantel presents the final record in a ten-part-EP series. Split into two parts due to its immensity, the final instalment is a re-issue of Tony Allen’s ‘Asiko (In A Silent Mix)’ originally released in 1999 and remixes by Motor City Drum Ensemble and Ricardo Villalobos. The first part features a grandiose 29-minute Ricardo Villalobos version of the Afrobeat master’s cut. A true collaboration of giants. Having been a regular at the festival for several years now, Villalobos delivers a remix, one of his longest to date, that only he can produce. Allowing the percussion to breathe into a monumental rhythm, Villalobos warps the vocals, restructuring the bass and drums into a rolling dub-fusion of techno that is characteristic of his remixes to date, yet still breathtaking in its execution. Afrobeat-minimalism, with dub-infused fire, and near psychedelic ambience that perfectly synchs the worlds of Tony Allen, and Ricardo Villalobos, two legends who’ve helped re-shape the face of music. Highlighting the diversity of sounds that have come to represent the Dutch label and festival series, the EPs to date have encompassed a range of artists and genres, featuring label favourites, as well as whole bunch of debuting artists. The EP series kicked off in March 2018, and over the course of a year featured the likes of Gigi Masin, Lena Willikens, Burnt Friedman, Donato Dozzy, The Egyptian Lover, Palms Trax, and more.
Review:
The celebration of Dekmantel’s tenth anniversary draws to a close with a memorable release. Originally released almost twenty years ago, Ricardo Villalobos’ interpretations of Tony Allen’s “Asiko (In A Silent Mix)” have not lost their lustre. Taking the Afrobeat pioneer’s organic drums and uplifting horns down a hollowed out pathway, Villalobos throws in rickety percussion, reverberating effects and warm washes of guitar over a lopsided, lazy rhythm to give Allen’s sound a magical, voodoo sensibility. It says a lot about Villalobos’ abilities that he can make these free-flowing psychedelic grooves work in his DJ sets – for us mere mortals, hearing this release in its full 29-minute glory is a spiritual experience in itself.
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