Search - Uusitalo :: Vapaa Muurari Live

Texture, versatility, idea.

Balazs Bognar | Boston, MA | 11/19/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This album of Delay's (here going by alias Uusitalo) is a reinterpretation of previous work, in a "live" format. One of the interesting things about this album is that it's not just a set of remixes, but music that is a refreshing and yet logical outgrowth of his work to date.The pieces themselves carry recognizeable passages from his previous compositions, though the album as a whole ebbs and flows in and out of new ideas and older textures, constructing a kind of unfolded imaginary narrative. Tones and textures meld into rhythms, and back, but with a consistent dream-like sensibility. The rhythmic structures of Vapaa Muurari/Live certainly make this one of Delay's more accessible works, but no problem: it's nice to see the versatility of Delay's ideas. Those looking to get interested in this Finnish artist's work will find this album a good place to start; Vapaa Muurari/Live should pave the way for the more complex and conceptually deeper soundscapes of Multila (on Chain Reaction) and Entain (Mille Plateaux). Those already familiar with Delay will find this work a satisfying addition to his/her own collection."

A collection of vladislav's more accesible side

nick mcmaster | new york, ny United States | 11/05/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This cd is either a live performance or a simulation of one, in any case the cd is a continuous stream of music (the lp is a different album altogether) in which vladislav takes sounds that any listener of his other albums would be familiar with and arranges them into an interesting dancey mix. the framework here is from luomo & sistol with pretty straight up 4/4 beats and typical house bass, however the rest of the music is textures from entain and his work on various comps. not too much here sounds like multila, as this album never gets as deep as that recording keeping the beat at the forefront with drones/textures in the background. this showcases his more musical side as the melodies and rhythms hinted at in entain are fully explored (for some reason, it's kindof a letdown). some dubby stuff reminiscient of pole's 3 is also present, as well as a lot of vocal samples, whole words this time, not just sighs. overall this record is very enjoyable but not the cerebral orgasm that entain and multila are. i'd say fans of luomo and sistol will like this more than fans of the former 2, but i think anyone who likes delay's work will find this worthy of a listen or two. it's a good record, however delay has a history of amazing records so it is a bit of a letdown."