Vladislav Delay Tummaa

Sasu Ripatti, who records under the names Luomo and Uusitalo as well as Vladislav Delay, was originally trained as a jazz percussionist. This background is more evident on Tummaa than any of his other work under the Vladislav Delay moniker. It features Ripatti on percussion, Lucio Capece on clarinet and saxophone, and Craig Armstrong on piano and Rhodes. Capece improvised along with Ripatti's drum tracks, then Ripatti added Armstrong's solo piano to the mix. As Ripatti says, "I avoided as much electronics as possible, wanting to bring myself closer to my background as a drummer and percussionist." The Finnish composer worked on the album on an island in the Baltic Sea during "kaamos," when there are only a few hours of light during the day--thus the albums title, which translates to "darkness."

Abstract by Matthew Blackwell