Vladislav Delay
Anima
Mille Plateaux (2001) / Huume (2010)
Available here

Originally released in 2001 with the legendary Mille Plateaux label, Vladislav Delay’s Anima marked a shift for the noted electronic whiz kid with the many monikers. Gone, in large part, were the well-choreographed, sequencer-led compositions of old, replaced by live instruments, long takes, and a minimum of post-production and overdubs. The CD re-release is scheduled for may 2008 with a tantalizing new extra. Delay took to the studio earlier this year to craft a ten-minute remix of Anima’s single track, paring the hour-long original down to a more manageable size.

“The word ‘anima’ is a psychological term meaning essentially ‘an inner feminine part of the male personality’. Both the artwork, a pastel enshrouded woman, and music, demure and beautiful, perfectly reflect these qualities. The disc is indexed as a single 62 minute track, a continuous organic flow that constantly, unpredictably shifts gears while retaining recurrent themes and coherence. Delay’s sound set is a vast, atmospheric sonic sandbox of arctic synth pads, low end blips and throbs, fragments and smears of fractured audio and an expansive selection of percussive minutiae. Melody and rhythm are sometimes more implied than expressed, allowing for your brain to fill in the blanks, and at other times coalesce effortlessly, flawlessly and gracefully all on their own. Stagnation is the enemy as a few notes of wash background are about the only element allowed to loop for any great length of time. The piece ends by gradually, almost unwillingly, dissolving and fading away finally concluding with a crash and sampled dialogue … “I might never go to sleep again, I might stay awake forever!” Absolutely gorgeous. Pure genius. Yet another masterpiece.” (Brainwashed)