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3LP
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RIPATTI 011LP
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Clear vinyl repress forthcoming.... A masterclass in millennial house, Sasu Ripatti aka Vladislav Delay's debut as Luomo returns for a 20th anniversary edition packing the deepest bounce per ounce. Upon its original release in 2000, Vocalcity was a totally unexpected turn from the artist best known as Vladislav Delay, who'd by then established his reputation as a producer of abstract dub techno for Chain Reaction that was ostensibly far removed from deep, vocal-led house music. But prejudices were swiftly assuaged as the Finnish artist's keen knack for shifty rhythm programming was brought in line with Johanna Livanainen's perfectly poised vocals, revealing the core influence of sensuous, soulful deep house and garage on his sound in a similar way to the links between Maurizio's M-Series and the vocal-led Main Street volumes. Twenty years later it's fair to say the six tracks of Vocalcity have withstood the test of time and are bound to weave their slinky magick on 'floors everywhere. With mint copies now near-impossible to find on the second hand market, this new pressing of Vocalcity is perfectly timed for a zeitgeist looking to the late '90s and early '00s for inspiration. Cut a side-per-track, just like the original edition, each of the songs -- ranging between ten and sixteen minutes each -- have plentiful headroom and leg space for dancers, DJs and audiophiles, keeping the album's crucial balance of luxuriant minimalism, and the space between its coiled grooves and burning vocals, perfectly taut and intact. Getting under the skin with the sculpted swing and hair-kissing vox of "Market", and shuffling up close to Moodymann's Detroit house depth in "Class", the album is perhaps best loved for its timeless highlight "Tessio", a rich, warm and writhing beauty that would set the template for myriad House records to come in the following two decades. Along with the mid-tempo lather of R&B vocal inflections on "She-Centre", and the lip-smacking sensuality of "Synkro", this whole lot is an absolute must-have for fans of late night/all day dancing sessions as much as those who like do it quieter. 100% classic material. Listed in Resident Advisor's albums of the decade. 9.7 on Pitchfork. Newly remastered and cut at Dubplates & Mastering.
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12"
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MOOD 107EP
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Good Stuff is the first single taken from Luomo's PLUS (MOOD 016EP) album. "Good Stuff" brings Luomo's pop abilities to top-form, changing between a mid-'80s boogie bass and synthetic yet warm deep house with a positive vocal delivery from the ever-intriguing Chicago Boys. Remixes comes courtesy of Area and Dave DK.
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CD
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MOOD 016CD
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Luomo aka Vladislav Delay, Sistol, Uusitalo -- under a raft of names Finnish artist Sasu Ripatti has in the past experimented with ambient, broken beat, glitch as well as grooves and house music with soulful vocals, working with Scissor Sisters, Black Dice, Apparat, Craig Armstrong, Massive Attack, Robert Owens and Towa Tei. Luomo is about experimenting with pop music, a big influence for Ripatti, and bringing it into a fusion of house, disco and electronica. PLUS is Luomo's fifth album, taking the songwriting abilities of Ripatti to a new level, dwelling deep into first generation Chicago house and the pop sensibilities of '80s London, coupled with his impeccable crossover pop appeal. Never going for a one formula approach, PLUS has a distinct Luomo sound -- hypnotic, sexy and delicately insistent, rhythms following a self-movement and never standing still. Conquering the world of electronics with a hi-tech approach, PLUS grabs the listener mostly because of the soul infused into the works. Sometimes cold and brittle, at other times warm and ductile, the deeply-layered backgrounds make way for outstanding vocal performances which are this time credited to the cryptically-named Chicago Boys, a boy group of more or less known vocalists. Songs like "Good Stuff" and "Shy" are pure pop-bliss, while "Form In Void" and "Twist" shimmer in glacial electronics and gliding synths, all keeping the focus on the organic vocals to extend the album's scope and reach far beyond expectations. The less song-focused, synth-driven tunes like "Medley Through" and "How You Look" are undoubtedly reflecting the early Luomo sound from Vocal City (2000) and The Present Lover (HUUME 70202CD, 2003), and combined with his finest songwriting makes a cohesive album which actually can and should be listened to as one whole piece.
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CD
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HUUME 016CD
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Sasu Ripatti (aka Vladislav Delay, Uusitalo) is the Finnish producer and head writer behind the project Luomo, his musical outfit that has redrawn the very boundaries of what "house music" can achieve. Convivial is his fourth album as Luomo. In addition to long-time collaborator Johanna Iivanainen, Convivial features a semi-underground star cast of collaborators such as Cassy, Sascha Ring (Apparat), Jake Shears (Scissor Sisters), Robert Owens, Sue-C and one anonymous singer who hides behind the name Chubbs. The album in question is not so much an assembly as a series of commentaries, interspersed with contemporaneous studio stylings and entries from travel diaries he kept while working on the album. For the first time there is a real collaboration with the singers; where he didn't write all the lyrics himself but left plenty of room for other lyrics and musical ideas. Cassy participates on a dancefloor-friendly song, while Sascha Ring makes a touching appearance singing a semi-ballad. Jake Shears adds a touch of glamour, while Sue-C takes lead vocals. Classic house vocalist Robert Owens gets a soul treatment, while Johanna Iivanainen vocalizes in experimental pop form. Aside from great production, the charm of listening to Luomo's music lies in his ability to put people at ease even when he doesn't share a common language or theme with them, with vocals becoming like instruments among synthesizers, effects and other machines. More than anything, his Kafka-esque productions come with a wonderful petulance that bring more depth and meaning to dance music in the bigger picture. The Luomo project is nothing less than a great tragedian, holding a mirror before a music society that sometimes would like to hear less stories. Nevertheless, he finds the dance music medium most suitable for his pop explorations, which has earned marked respect for its wide-ranging catalog of unique no-frills releases, with Convivial certainly being no exception.
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CD
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HUUME 010CD
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Vladislav Delay is finally back as Luomo. Widely regarded as one of dance music's most forward-thinking producers, Luomo has recorded for Kinetic/BMG and Force Tracks, done remixes for DFA and Massive Attack and started up his own label called Huume. Paper Tigers is the new Luomo, it is out on his own Huume label, it is brilliantly lush and expansive dance music, and it is here to stay. As the trends of electronic music shift like Saharan sands, there are a few releases which stand as classics. One of those belongs to Luomo: Vocalcity (2000). An impossibly deep record with a smoky vision of the dancefloor, Vocalcity did to house music what Aphex Twin's Classics did to techno -- it accentuates the genre's most developed signifiers until it became art. For Luomo, House music is an aquatic experience, vocals are edited, beats are environments and atmosphere extends outward past the solar system and inwards towards the ear canal, until the two meet at your feet. He continued to pioneer the new House sound with the release of the smooth and sexy The Present Lover (2003) -- but Paper Tigers calculates a future house. House music that is delicately crafted from disco-ball shards. House music that filters vocals through space-age parabolics. House music that transcends the dancefloor and leaps into your eardrums. That Luomo is Finnish cannot be overlooked. Brought up on sound as art, away from the super-clubs of Ibiza or London, he brings a fresh perspective. Using the English lyrics of a famous Finnish jazz vocalist (Johanna Iivanainen), the vocals sound practically Martian. Her technique is signature Luomo and here the magic amplifies on tracks like "The Tease is Over" and "Really Don't Mind." Ambient house begins to enter his pallette as well with songs like the title track and "Make Believe." Luomo also employs the vocals of Wire magazine cover star AGF (Antye Greie) on one track. So Vlad is back as Luomo, and it is as though he has never left. House music will never be the same... until he returns... again.
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12"
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HUUME 011EP
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Huume Recordings presents the first 12" single "Really Don't Mind" from the third Luomo (Vladislav Delay) album Paper Tigers. The release includes the album version of the song and an exclusive vinyl-only club mix. On "Really Don't Mind," vocals are courtesy of Johanna Ilvanainen, a long-time collaborator and one of the most well-known jazz singers in Finland. This first single from the album offers a long-evolving song with a creative arrangement. The song could be chart-hitting hyper-pop if so wanted but in Luomo's world it turns into original and experimental dancefloor beauty few dare to make, or can think of. In addition, the B-side features a brave and minimal club version for the adventurous.
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