In the Spring of 2008, Cosmo D had to quickly vacate his apartment due to unexpected structural damage to the 100-year-old Brooklyn walk-up he resided in. What should have taken a week, however, ended up taking many months due to a shady trans-Atlantic contracting deal, a complete overhaul of the pipes and electricity wiring and a last-minute decision by the landlord to install a Jacuzzi in the basement. Meanwhile, Cosmo D’s sense of displacement grew quite intense. During this period of couch surfing and guerrilla subletting, Cosmo D wrote the music and programmed beats for his band, playing songs that would eventually evolve into Ricardo, Move.
“Ricardo," recorded in June 2008 in Toronto (and away from Sauce’s Brooklyn home base), finds Cosmo D and the Sauce aiming for a visceral, dance-oriented musicality, rather than the jazz and experimental leanings of its self-titled predecessor. In addition to the Matmos-inspired found-sound rhythmic textures, Sauce also features live drum samples and synthetic beats. These samples have been twisted, mangled and programmed for maximum emotional and rhythmic punch on songs like “Ricardo & the Van, “Leaded Leaves" and “New Sense." Myk Freedman shows off his trademark lapsteel crying on “Charm City,” sax player Pat Breiner merges soulfulness with mathematical exactitude on “Ovah the Brijjj” and Cosmo lends his mournful cello to Josh Myers’ electric bass undulations throughout to entire 34-minute disc.
Simultaneously pulverizing and massaging the ears with musical urgency and determination, Ricardo, Move provides yet another distinctive window into Cosmo D's unique sound-world.
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