Ricardo Villalobos left his native Chile for Germany ages ago to DJ and produce. He lands before us now on the cusp of a new techno-a techno that’s clean as the minimal sound of Thomas Brinkmann or Cabanne, yet more sculpted than John Tejada or Akufen. We got a taste of it earlier this year, when Villalobos released his comp CD Taka Taka on Cocoon, but the real goods are on Alcachofa. Villalobos emphasizes the discreet space between individual sounds, resulting in sonic depth unencumbered by time (e.g. Plastikman’s Consumed). It makes the digitized vocals on “Easy Lee” float spectrally over unrelenting techno rhythms. It mercilessly throws the glitch-like machinations of “Bahaha Hahi” off quaking bass. And it positions the longing pulse of “What You Say Is More Than I Can Say” as zeitgeist for modernity’s rapacious love affair with technology. Highly recommended. “