Vladislav Delay – Espoo review

Raster Noton isn’t an obvious place to turn to if you’re looking for some laughs, but there is no doubting its ability to twist new shapes and possibilities for techno music. Of all the label’s artists, Vladislav Delay has shown consistently that he’s most at home when operating at the fringes of dance floor electronic music –  the brief dalliances as Luomo excepted –  and in that respect Espoo is no different to most of his back catalogue.

“Olari” starts with blasts of atmopsheric textures with a melancholic tone in the background. Like much of his work, it’s a gradual process and the eneveloping textures give way to the sound of sadness which comes to the foreground. In turn it too finally yields to lazy dubby beats. “Kolari” evolves from a similar base: it starts with repetitive stabs, looped ad infinitium, like a spool of thread that catches on a nail, unravels and is then rolled up again. Like “Olari”, it too eventually gives way to a dance floor rthythm of sorts, this time clanging and metallic rather than dubby and indistinct. Delay fans will also be happy with the inclusion of the alternate versions of both tracks. These versions focus on layers of atmospheric sound and chiming chords. In the case of “Kolari Versio”, only the dead-paced beats will rouse the listener from an ambient-induced torpor.

Richard Brophy 

Tracklisting:

1. Olari
2. Kolari
3. Olari Versio
4. Kolari Versio