Matias Aguayo

On his first two solo releases (2005's Are You Really Lost? and 2009's Ay Ay Ay), Matias Aguayo experimented with his voice, building rhythmic techno tracks from verbal ticks, affects, yelps and oddball melodies. On The Visitor, the third full-length from the Chilean/German maximalist, Aguayo finally finds that sweet spot between his latest ventures into rhythmic phrasing and his early microhouse beginnings as one half of Closer Musik. Working with a number of collaborators, most notably Deadbeat, who helped mix the album's 12 tracks, The Visitor comes off as much leaner and more heavily structured than his earlier material. Although tracks like the rubbery, bass-heavy "Rrrrr," South American percussion-influenced "El Camarn" and the Neptune-ian click-clacker "Las Cruces" are brimming with his wildly character-driven delivery, Matias's beats have been given the space to properly breathe and pulsate. The Visitor works as a great example of an artist honing his craft in reverse, expertly inserting his distinctive style into a tried-and-true blueprint.