Vladislav Delay - Best To Worst
A beginner's guide to the vast and cryptic catalog of Vladislav Delay. |
| 20 |  | Vladislav Delay
Kuopio
Delay's only truly terrible record. Ostensibly an attempt at making an ambient record
but more of a very annoying industrial record. Not good for ambient, casual, or
focused listening. Maybe it'd be good drunk, but I've been unable to enjoy it sober or
high--the latter state of mind conducive to a good listening experience with most of
Delay's catalog. |
| 19 | | Sistol
Sistol
Generic microhouse that could have been made by anyone but Delay. Not
unlistenable but nonetheless clearly the work of a developing artist. |
| 18 |  | Luomo
Convivial
Though Luomo's not a misanthrope, he's too mysterious and off-the-grid to get away
with an "and friends" record. He also disappointingly doesn't do as much with his
guests' vocals as he does with his own vocals or his wife Antye Greie's on his other
Luomo albums. |
| 17 |  | Vladislav Delay
Demo(n) Tracks
Too harsh for ambient listening and too static for focused listening. |
| 16 |  | Luomo
Plus
Practically EDM. I might enjoy it more if not for the baggage of the Luomo name. |
| 15 | | Sistol
On The Bright Side
Better than the first Sistol album but still lacking anything distinctly marking it as a
Delay album, especially as its surprisingly retro rave sound brings it closer to pastiche
than anything else in the Delay canon. |
| 14 | | Uusitalo
Karhunainen
A solid album with absolutely nothing over Tulenkantaja. |
| 13 |  | Vladislav Delay
Vantaa
Vantaa marks the point where the increasing sterility of the Luomo project begins to
bleed into his ambient work. Though it's not a bad album, there's nothing truly
memorable or evocative here. |
| 12 |  | Vladislav Delay
The Four Quarters
The percussion is too intrusive to render this good ambient listening, but there are
some incredibly pretty moments on this record. |
| 11 | | Conoco
Kemikoski EP
Similar to Entain but shorter and more mechanical-sounding than organic. Forgettable
but enjoyabe while it's playing. |
| 10 |  | Vladislav Delay
Anima
Though Anima is pleasant background listening, it doesn't change enough to justify its
hour-long running time and would have worked better as a shorter track on one of his
other ambient albums. |
| 9 |  | Uusitalo
Tulenkantaja
Though Tulenkantaja is as clean as The Present Lover, it's much more harmonically
rich and contains some of the best chord porn in the Delay discography.
Unfortunately, it contains more filler than most Delay records. |
| 8 | | Luomo
Paper Tigers
An underrated work that combines the styles Delay honed on the first two Luomo
albums. It's more organic than The Present Lover, as well as much more ambient. |
| 7 |  | Luomo
The Present Lover
The Present Lover marks the point where the Luomo project (and Delay's output as a
whole) settles down rather than exploring new territory. Though the clean MIDI
sounds of this album are nowhere near as interesting as the organic textures of
Vocalcity, it's nonetheless one of Delay's strongest dance albums. |
| 6 | | Vladislav Delay
Tummaa
Tummaa finds Delay working with live instruments, and the result skews closer to
doom jazz or nu-jazz than anything else under the Vladislav Delay moniker. |
| 5 | | Uusitalo
Vaapa Muurari Live
Vapaa Muurari Live is the album where Delay first zeroes in on his trademark sound.
This album could as easily be a Delay or Luomo album--it's got the dubby textures of
the former and the rhythmic accessibility of the latter. |
| 4 | | Vladislav Delay
Whistleblower
Whistleblower is Vladislav Delay's most comfortable listen. The drones are pillowy
and soft rather than muffled and ominous, and the dub effects are less textural than
percussive. Perhaps the best Delay album for lightweight ambient fans--these songs
could pretty easily be slotted next to, say, Tycho. |
| 3 |  | Vladislav Delay
Entain
This is the toughest Vladislav Delay album to get through due to the massive length of
the individual tracks, which don't change much. But for those with enough time to
make a dent in it, it's an incredibly rewarding listen. "Ele" is Vladislav's best ambient
track. |
| 2 |  | Vladislav Delay
Multila
One of the finest and most bizarre ambient albums ever. Multila and Entain are
roughly tied in my opinion, but I find Multila generally more listenable due to the
individual tracks being shorter as well as covering more ground in their runtime. |
| 1 |  | Luomo
Vocalcity
Easily the best vocal house album ever made and possibly electronic dance music's
best album-length statement. |
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