EL PLVYBXY: Retrospective Frequencies

"Scrolling EL PLVYBXY's Instagram, you'll find a scowling bad boy, smoking blunts in the streets of Buenos Aires and DJing sweaty queer parties across Latin America. But read his interviews, and you'll note an entirely different side of the Argentinian producer (real name Gregorio Da Silva). He speaks of decolonizing South American dancefloors through a return to Indigenous rhythms and honoring his grandfather, folk composer Ariel Ramírez."

"Retrospective Frequencies (released on the scrappy Mexico City label Terminal) combines both sides of Da Silva's practice: It's quintessential EL PLVYBXY-complex, ravey, and unapologetic-yet newly refined. The 10 tracks reimagine nostalgic dance sounds through a sensual, ever-morphing palette where organic and digital tones blur and change is the only constant. Though Da Silva's past work spans numerous genres, here he sounds more focused: Hard house, tribal house, raptor, techno, and bass cohere easily."

Gregorio Da Silva performs as EL PLVYBXY, balancing a confrontational social persona with a commitment to decolonizing South American dancefloors and honoring his grandfather, folk composer Ariel Ramírez. His releases on underground labels showcase compositional precision, merging techno, footwork, cumbia, and raptor house into meticulous arrangements that energize the dancefloor. Retrospective Frequencies, released on Terminal, condenses those approaches into a focused ten-track record that reimagines nostalgic dance sounds through a sensual, ever-morphing palette where organic and digital tones blur. The album centers on guaracha transformed into post-techno textures, using electric guitar, modular synths, and sub-bass to render folk rhythms through circuitry.

Read at Pitchfork