Once a Border Community alumni, Ricardo Tobar has found his own path since the label shifted its focus and sound from its progressive electronica roots. The Chilean artist made a statement with 2013’s ‘Trellis‘, one that signified that he was not content to re-tread familiar ground, unlike other peers who seemingly set their sights at recreating ‘The Sky Was Pink‘ ad nauseam.
Very much influenced by Krautrock and the heady days of eighties synth pop, Tobar is able to turn his hand towards taming the two sounds for dance floor sensibilities – check 2017’s ‘Red Sea‘ EP released via Correspondant for example—as easily as submitting to their wooziest whims—this year’s ‘Continuidad‘ on ESP Institute coming to mind here—with absolute ease.
Here, on ‘Nadivi‘, Tobar appears on Amsterdam-based record label MUSAR, a label already with a fine string of releases from J. Wiltshire, MANASYt and Annie Hall. The title track showcases his love of Throbbing Gristle’s sonics, drawing a parallel with ‘Hot On The Heels Of Love‘ in a track that builds into a dizzying wall of sound.
However, our premiere ‘The Structures Of Summer Are Within Us‘ demonstrates a new influence. The track is very much Gary Numan in tone—with an ever so slight hint of David Bowie ‘Heroes‘—that lends it an end of night reflective anthem quality. Synth virtuoso Danny Wolfers is pulled in to complete the package, giving ‘Nadivi‘ a tough techno stomp to juxtapose the perky house vibes of the original.
‘Nadivi’ is scheduled for release 17 May 2019. Order a copy here.
TRACKLIST
- Nadivi
- Nadivi (Legowelt Remix)
- The Structures Of Summer Are Within Us
Discover more about Ricardo Tobar and MUSAR on Inverted Audio.