Sasu Ripatti, the Finnish experimental electronic musician best known as Vladislav Delay or Luomo, debuted his Ripatti moniker and label with a 2013 single that spliced jittery techno beats with fractured hip-hop samples, somewhat resembling a hybrid of Chicago footwork and Mark Fell's work as Sensate Focus. Several years later, after concentrating on work as Vladislav Delay (including soundtracks, collaborations with reggae legends Sly Robbie, and two astounding Rakka full-lengths), he returned to the Ripatti project with the Planet Mu-issued album Fun Is Not a Straight Line. Here, he expands on the footwork and hip-hop influences, but like the title states, there's a very nonlinear approach to what he does. Even if the tempos seem steadier than much of his Vladislav Delay work, the beat patterns are broken and erratic, and there aren't solid basslines that properly hold everything in place and drive the point home that the music is intended for dancing. It often feels like it's in a state of suspended animation, with everything rushing past you at warp speed, but somehow you find a way to latch on and become transported. It's fully in line with Planet Mu's preference for footwork at its most mutated and avant-garde -- still danceable, but challenging and otherworldly. A few tracks have more consistent rhythms and seem a bit more fleshed out and structured, like "speedmemories," which could even work in a highly creative drum'n'bass DJ's set. Recognizable samples of hits by rap heavyweights like Nas and Rick Ross provide fleeting moments of familiarity, but the album is at its most exciting when it plunges further into the unknown and subverts expectations. The sublime "flowers" nervously darts between two anxious, interrupted samples ("stuck," "it was 'sposed to") and pours on layers of noise and static, almost like a hybrid of Ripatti and Rakka material. Other tracks like "movathat" and "girl is hip" seem to have a relatively steady build at first, then quickly get derailed as their samples get flung sideways with delay and other effects. Maybe the most disorienting track is "videophonekitty," a whirlwind of slow vocals and siren-like samples zooming by at multiple rapid speeds. ~ Paul Simpson, Rovi

1		Filthyfresh
2		Monolith
3		Motherfuckyou
4		Speedmemories
5		Flowers
6		Everyday
7		90 Dreams
8		Wants Interlude
9		Videophonekitty
10		Movathat
11		Girl Is Hip

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