GENRE; Electronic

LABEL; Terminal 

REVIEWED; 22 November, 2025

RATING; 7.4

EL PLVYBXY’s Retrospective Frequencies feels like a late-night transmission from a club that remembers its grandparents’ rhythms. Across ten tracks the Argentine producer Gregorio Da Silva reframes guaracha, tribal house and raptor-tinged techno into a palette that’s equal parts nostalgic and forward-leaning, an album that preferentially reshapes memory rather than simply recreating it. 

The record’s production is tactile: organic percussion and flute-like motifs slip under sculpted modular synths and sub-heavy throbs, so moments such as “Asuntos Subacuaticos” or the kinetic “Venga” unfold like brief ritual scenes before dissolving into new textures. That tension between restraint and club payoff is intentional; Da Silva often opts for slow morphs rather than the expected peak-and-release, which makes the album more introspective than a straight dancefloor banger. 

Collaborations add local color without diluting the core identity guests such as ROOi and Imaabs punctuate pieces with contrasting energies, from misty, forest-like interludes to glitchy, rave-scarred assaults. The sequencing reads less like a narrative and more like vignettes in which each track reframes a regional rhythm through electronic processing. 

Where the album truly succeeds is in its textural storytelling: analog crackle, distant field recordings and chopped vocals act as memory fragments that give the work emotional depth beyond club utility. At times the deliberate avoidance of big drops makes sections feel unresolved, but that same choice allows Retrospective Frequencies to hover between ceremony and party, an intentional ambivalence that rewards repeated listens. 

In short, EL PLVYBXY has crafted a confident debut that negotiates heritage and contemporary club sonics with curiosity. It’s an album for listeners who want their dance music to carry history in its pulse.