Isoviha

Since starting out in the late ’90s, the Finnish producer Sasu Ripatti—aka Luomo, aka Sistol, aka Uusitalo, and, most prolifically, Vladislav Delay—has carved out an implausible space at the intersection of house, ambient music, dub, and noise. A thematic companion to his *Rakka* LPs and 2021’s *Fun Is Not a Straight Line*, *Isoviha* is both one of his harshest albums and his most hypnotic, a landscape of static, sputtering engines and Arctic wind carved into neat, looplike shapes (“Isosusi,” “Isoteko”). Lighthearted, no. But there’s a persistent sense of wonder to Ripatti’s boundary-blurring that makes even the most forbidding sounds feel liberating: difficult art for everyday use.

Isoviha continues in the harsh, blistering vein of the Finnish producer’s 2020 album Rakka and its sequel. But while the sensory onslaught once felt purifying, the new LP is deliberately disruptive.

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Vladislav Delay is in an enviable position. He is one of a very few electronic musicians who can claim sireship over dozens of consistent, high-quality releases over the span of 30 years. Along the way, the Finnish artist has employed several genre-specific monikers, each fitting a certain mood. Behind it all stands the ineffable Sasu