- Ricardo Villalobos meets Hot Creations.
- Let's talk about the elephant in the room: Ricardo Villalobos has done a remix for Hot Creations. For those who stake a lot on the distinction between minimal and big-room tech house, this move probably represents an unholy union that's meant to boost Hot Creations' credibility with Villalobos's underground chops. For Hot Creations, it's probably a good fit. For Villalobos, it's probably an easy ask, because he can "Villalobosify" anything.
This time the task was to remix "Back & Forth," a single by DJ Sneak and the Miami-bred Hot Creations alumnus Jesse Perez. The original is a booming breakbeat tool embellished with '90s hip-hop flair that gets the job done (if you can hot cue your way around the vocal, which Villalobos doesn't deem necessary). Perez has featured hip-house verses on his tracks before, and on this one KE's stilted deadpan overpowers the corniness of the lyrics, which touch on haters, their negativity and making music. Luckily, at three-and-a-half minutes long, "Back & Forth" seems built for auto-looping and hot-cueing, so with a little creativity it could add a nice bump to the mix.
DJ Lukke's "Deep Energy" version packs more punch than Villalobos's meandering remix, which—no surprise—is easily the most subtle and quirky rework. But Villalobos's does seem a little thrown-together, as if he has hours of clicky beats with muffled, irregular kicks ready to go. The vocal comes in and out. It first appears as an indistinct murmur that allows Villalobos's weird giggles, quiet burbles and percussive developments to take center stage, and then later as a more straightforward loop that diverts attention from the rhythm and texture. But even if it's not Villalobos's most inspired work, this remix adds more range to Hot Creations' most diverse record in a while.
TracklistA1 Back & Forth feat. KE
A2 Back & Forth feat. KE (DJ Lukke Vocal Remix)
B1 Back & Forth feat. KE (Ricardo Villalobos Remix)
Digital: Back & Forth feat. KE (DJ Lukke Deep Energy Channel Dub)