Villa H2h Villalobos Remix EP

A supergroup of sorts, Chez Damier, Ben Vedren and Ricardo Villalobos join talent, experience and mindset, in Berlin, to record a 12-inch, four track release. The real-life premise is this: Heart 2 Heart (H2H) is Damier and Vedren’s project. Add the widely appreciated Villalobos to the mix and we get Villa H2h EP.

Jazzy and gloomy, the EP and has an inwards-oriented, contemplative feeling. It starts off simple and familiar, and then it goes more and more into rationally disjointed, dissociative mood, held together by a masterfully shaped atmosphere.  It transcends common sense with some playful tricks like stuttering, repetition of suggestions that lack subject, all to create a hypnotically entertaining experience.

It starts with a Villalobos Remix of No More, a track signed by H2H. The next three are called Villa H2h – Conspiracy, one, two and three.

The first track, No More, sent me thinking about experimental jazz because of the gloomy and slightly disjointed piano chords that can be heard from time to time. I think there’s even a sax playing sometimes, again emphasising a jazz sound. It’s a classy track, playful and bouncy.

The second track, Conspiracy, is ghostly track. The lyrics and words set up a mood more than they are meant to be understood.  It creates a state of… well, angst. It starts up with unintelligible multi-layered vocals. When the vocals grabbed my attention, sort of like getting close to something that you can’t see clearly, I fell for a jump scare.

The third track is faster with a more alert bass line. It’s a self-mentioning track filled with eerie laughs, subtle suggestions. It’s like a thriller or like a ride in a ghost car, at night, through laggy city lights.

The fourth track, Conspiracy Three clears the atmosphere up. There’s an inversion in elements – the vocals become clearer and the background becomes crunchy.

The whole EP is a gloomy and deep thriller that plays with time and one’s interior mind space. It’s elegantly mindfuck (ending the review like a movie review) with some genuinely scary moments.

My experience was a solitary one, headphones. I hope I get the chance to hear this EP in a space full of people.

You can order it at deejay.de.

Artist: Villa H2h (Chez Damier, Ben Vedren and Ricardo Villalobos)
Title: Villa H2h, Villalobos Remix
Label: Perlon
Cat. number: PERLON113
Release date: 22.05.2017
Format: vinyl-only

words by Ioan-George Pancencu