Ricardo Tobar

His first vinyl calling card to be released into the world was his Agoria and James Holden supported debut 12” 'El Sunset' on Border Community. The haunting, spine- tingling 'El Sunset' came backed with the equally striking electronic-rock bombast of the newgazey 'Made' and the cascading melodies of 'Tickets': a neat snapshot of Ricardo's musical diversity. A second EP of music which you can dance to awaits imminent release on Border Community in 2008, continuing Ricardo's mission to fuse noisy genre-busters with heady, uplifting new-shoegaze.
Enviably unfettered by the minimal spell which has currently entranced the world's dancefloors, Ricardo's own influences come from a less predictable place, joining the unlikely dots between Goa trance and the UK shoegaze movement. Identifying a common atmospheric feel in the two seemingly disparate genres and combining this with his own overriding love of melody has given birth to Ricardo's own sound: sometimes warm and fuzzy, sometimes devastating on the dancefloor, and always intensely musical.

First dabbling in the world of music production aged 16, Ricardo's early explorations in “nonsense trance music” gradually matured into the sophisticated blend we know today after embarking on a course in sound engineering. Ricardo's own musical tastes have also gradually evolved, from the in your face antics of Guns N Roses and The Prodigy of his teenage years, through the indigenous Chilean Psy-trance scene which first switched his ears into the electronic mode, to the psychedelic chill and modern electronic composers that he listens to today.

Ricardo is a firm believer in the “You don't need money to make good music” school of music production expounded by the band of bedroom computer punks who form his Border Community labelmates. Thanks to the global nature of today's electronic music scene, Ricardo and his trusty PC set up are able to put the hitherto little- known Viña del Mar on the musical map with their extraordinary homebrewed production finesse.

Ricardo has also recently unveiled the obligatory matching live set, playing his first gigs in his homeland of Chile in early 2008. The big leap across to the European club scene comes in June, when Ricardo will be heading out on tour with his musical benefactor James Holden, including appearances at the Border Community Sonar week showcase at The Loft in Barcelona, and a special one-off We Love Border Community party in the woods on the outskirts of Paris.

Also on the cards for 2008 are a new collaboration with a Spanish label, and a suitably surprising remix of the forthcoming 'I Need Medicine' single for Ricardo- main-fan Fairmont. And with his unbridled enthusiasm, he is sure to go a long way.