Fortunately, the test of time shows Anima could be released today handheld its own against any new electronic or experimental release.
Allowing for a deeper dive into a seminal work
With the constant crop of vinyl reissues of CD or digital-only releases from the early aughts, the opportunity arises to revisit the classics, the duds and the lost masterpieces. Vladislav Delay’s Anima (originally released on Mille Plateaux, 2000) is out now in a double LP format. When first released it was one long continuous mix of over an hour and a shorter (just over ten minutes) “Anima (Version).” On the vinyl issue the longer track is split into five parts. If that confuses you, check the track listing to see how five songs go into the two sides of two LPs.
Our review from May 2, 2001 noted that “Vladislav Delay is one of those projects people either love entirely or hate completely.” Time and several subsequent releases have born that out even further as Sasu Ripatti has taken his music above, beyond, in, out, and through his Vladislav Delay moniker to venture into several different genres. The sensual techno of L’uomo’s Vocalcity (Force Tracks, 2020), the dark unblinds of Uusitalo (under his Karhunainen moniker—Huume, 2007) and Sistol (Phthalo, 1999) and his other monikers show a depth and skillset Anima only hinted at. As with any re-release of any kind is how does the music hold up in a contemporary setting. This is compounded not just by the artist releasing more material and developing, but also by the continuing development of music in that genre or elsewhere.
Fortunately, the test of time shows Anima could be released today handheld its own against any new electronic or experimental release. Ripatti had only two releases before this which hinted at somewhat divergent and opposing styles. A post-sophomoric release is perhaps even more important in an artist’s development than their sophomore release (in this case Ripatti’s third release as Vladislav Delay; the second being Multila (Chain Reaction, 2000), although it could also be considered his third due to some discographic discrepancy). Anima holds its own and then some. This is well-deserving of a re-release and format, allowing for a deeper dive into a seminal work.
Anima [2022 Remaster] is available on Keplar. [Bandcamp]
