- Ricardo Villalobos and Jorge González have had a well-documented love affair since Fabric 36, in which the techno superstar and Chilean pop superstar teamed up for an ode to four-wheel drive. Things took a turn for the political with "Bank Brotherhood," but the duo's first release on González's new Nice Cat imprint sees them returning to transportation: "I've seen you driving nowhere in the middle of the night," González tells us as Villalobos offers up his usual soup of rapidly-shifting techno underneath. The best line? "You're the kind of person I'd like to share my absence of humor." I have no idea what it means exactly, but I think that's probably the point.
The track isn't better or worse than "Bank Brotherhood." Instead, it occupies the same space. (If it didn't come from the same sessions, I'd be surprised.) Far away from the mainstream of what's going in the genre right now—and defiantly hi-fi in a world full of Ableton-created tunes—it can only be judged in relation to other recordings by Villalobos. On that scale, it sits somewhere firmly in the middle. Audio George and Flat600 vs Los Updates turn in remixes on the B-side and, surprisingly, they're nearly as good as the original. The George mix relies on bass tremors and plenty of open space occupied by swirling winds, while Flat600 vs Los Updates' take has those same irritable bowel bass but surrounds it with plenty of popping percussion and González's cut-up voice. "Ah." "Oh." "You're the kind of person I..." That last utterance may fade off into the distance, but you'll have a hard time forgetting the music going on around it.
Tracklist A Driving Nowhere (Original Valencia edit)
B1 Driving Nowhere (Flat600 vs Los Updates remix)
B2 Driving Nowhere (Audio George Rather Respectful remix)