* En anglais uniquement
The most productive moniker of Finnish electronic musician Sasu Ripatti,
Vladislav Delay constructs fractured soundscapes that evoke the vast, barren Arctic tundra, yet often radiate a warmth inspired by dub reggae. While Ripatti has produced more DJ-friendly techno and house under names such as
Uusitalo,
Sistol, and especially
Luomo, his work as
Vladislav Delay generally consists of lengthy, semi-improvised mutations of dub, ambient, glitch, noise, and avant-jazz. First appearing during the late 1990s with several limited singles and EPs, he received much acclaim for challenging yet rewarding full-lengths like
Multila (2000) and
Anima (2001). Additionally, he reached a wider audience with the more accessible
Vocalcity, his 2000 debut as
Luomo, which was subsequently hailed as one of the best electronic albums of the decade. Continuing to issue solo work under several aliases, Ripatti collaborated with his wife,
Antye Greie-Fuchs, as
AGF/Delay, and as part of
the Dolls with composer
Craig Armstrong. He also played percussion in the
Moritz von Oswald Trio as well as his own improvisational unit,
Vladislav Delay Quartet. Following the 2014 full-length
Visa, Ripatti spent much of the remainder of the decade composing film and television soundtracks, additionally collaborating with Norwegian jazz musicians
Nils Petter Molvær and
Eivind Aarset, and Jamaican rhythm section
Sly & Robbie. He returned to solo work with the harsh, unforgiving
Rakka in 2020, followed by the more optimistic
Rakka II in 2021.
A percussionist first and foremost, Ripatti was trained as a jazz drummer, and additionally became fascinated with dub reggae, grindcore, and Afro-beat, among other styles. Combining these varying approaches to rhythm, he began producing experimental electronic music during the mid-'90s. A brief live recording under the name Bright People was the first release on Ripatti's Huume label in 1996, and 1997's The Kind of Blue EP, also captured live, inaugurated the
Vladislav Delay moniker. In 1999, Phthalo issued a self-titled CD of knotty minimal techno credited to
Sistol, and Kemikoski, a little-known LP of bubbly ambient dub, was released under the name Conoco by Sigma Editions in 1999. The same label also issued
Vladislav Delay's first album, Ele, which consisted of three lengthy, minimalist improvisations. A more beat-driven EP, Helsinki/Suomi, appeared on
Thomas Brinkmann's Max Ernst label, and Huone was issued by Basic Channel offshoot Chain Reaction. Huone and the early-2000 EP Ranta were combined as the full-length
Multila, which became one of
Delay's most praised works. Also in 2000, the year Ripatti moved to Berlin, Mille Plateaux released the album
Entain, which included different versions of material that previously appeared on Ele, and Force Tracks issued
Luomo's
Vocalcity, a club-friendly album that offered a soulful alternative to the clicks 'n' cuts style prevalent at the time.
Vapaa Muurari Live, Ripatti's first release as
Uusitalo, explored elements of his releases as both
Delay and
Luomo.
In 2001, Mille Plateaux released
Vladislav Delay's
Anima, a single hour-long piece recorded with minimal overdubs and post-production. Naima, a live performance of material from
Anima with spoken narration by
Antye Greie-Fuchs (
AGF), was issued by Staubgold in 2002. Following the second
Luomo album, 2003's The Present Lover, Ripatti relaunched his Huume imprint and released an album of dub abstractions titled Demo(n) Tracks in 2004. He and
Greie-Fuchs issued
Explode as
AGF/Delay, and collaborated with composer/pianist
Craig Armstrong as
the Dolls, producing a self-titled 2005 full-length.
Delay's
The Four Quarters, containing four tracks averaging 15 minutes each, also appeared that year. While remaining active as
Luomo and
Uusitalo, Ripatti released the
Vladislav Delay album Whistleblower in 2007, and Semantica Records issued remixes of final track "Recovery IDea" by artists such as
Andy Stott and
Mike Huckaby. A second
AGF/Delay album, Symptoms, was released by
BPitch Control in 2009, after the pair had a daughter together and relocated to Finland. Ripatti began playing percussion in
Moritz von Oswald Trio, with the debut
Vertical Ascent appearing on Honest Jon's that year.
Delay's
Tummaa, featuring
Armstrong and bass clarinetist/soprano saxophonist
Lucio Capece, was released by Leaf, and a collaborative single with Italian techno duo Drama Society closed out the decade.
Ripatti revisited his
Sistol project in 2010, with
Remasters & Remakes (the 1999 debut along with a disc of remixes) plus second album
On the Bright Side both appearing on Halo Cyan Records. A self-titled effort by
Vladislav Delay Quartet, featuring
Capece, Derek Shirley, and
Pan Sonic's
Mika Vainio, was released by Honest Jon's, while Ripatti remained active as a member of
Moritz von Oswald Trio through 2013's
Blue single, subsequently replaced by Afro-beat legend
Tony Allen.
Delay released the Latoma EP on dub techno label Echocord in 2011, and issued the full-length Vantaa on Raster-Noton, remaining with the label for 2012's Espoo EP and Kuopio album. In 2013, the artist formed the eponymous Ripatti label and released a series of singles influenced by Chicago footwork, including solo releases as well as collaborations with
Max Loderbauer (as
Heisenberg) and Teeth.
Visa, a full-length return to the dubby, abstract
Vladislav Delay sound, appeared in 2014.
Ripatti then went silent, taking down his online presence and refraining from live performances. He sold most of his hardware equipment and continued making computer-based music, isolated in the Arctic wilderness. He composed soundtracks to the films QEDA and Borg McEnroe, both released in 2017, and scored the first season of the Finnish-German crime drama Arctic Circle, which premiered at the end of 2018.
Nordub, a collaboration with pioneering reggae duo
Sly & Robbie as well as trumpeter
Nils Petter Molvær and guitarist
Eivind Aarset, was released by Okeh the same year. Ripatti reunited with
Sly & Robbie and produced
500-Push-Up, a warped dub album that was issued by Sub Rosa in 2020. It was preceded by
Rakka, an intense, punishing
Delay solo effort, which came out on Cosmo Rhythmatic.
Rakka II, brighter and more beat-driven than its predecessor, arrived in 2021.
Fun Is Not a Straight Line, a full-length inspired by footwork and hip-hop credited simply to Ripatti, appeared on
Planet Mu soon afterward. ~ Paul Simpson