With Luomo's second full-length, The Present Lover (tellingly on BMG-distributed Kinetic Records), Delay plunges deeper into mainstream-house waters. Sickly sweet female vocalists coo trite lyrics above shimmery beds of synthesizer, campy keyboard vamps, and protuberant bass lines that make your pelvis swivel lewdly (bass is by far Lover's best, most expressive feature). The transformation is akin to a rumpled math professor ditching his tweedy duds for an Armani suit and diamond-studded cane.
Is Luomo's music mainly geared to set the mood for romance and sex? That seems obvious, but maybe I'm reading too much into it. (By the way, that's as noble a reason to create music as anything else.)
"No," Delay replies via e-mail. "It's personal music and helps me analyze my shit and even to say things I can't say in person to people I'd need to. I guess it's a shy and introverted person using whatever language he can to express his feelings. Of course, it touched sensuality and romance, as well, but it ain't the driving force."
There's a certain banality to the new disc's lyrics that seems indebted to house-music conventions. Are the lyrics meant to be merely another instrument in the mix?
"I wrote The Present Lover like I do most of my lyrics. My girlfriend [Antye Greie-Fuchs, AKA producer AGF] collaborated with me on a few tracks; otherwise all lyrics are mine. I try to explore the vocal as an instrument capable of telling things which no other instrument can."
What's the rationale behind the epic track lengths? Is Luomo striving to hypnotize listeners? Or is it for deejays' benefit?
"Actually, my tracks are getting shorter and shorter, as I learn to produce and compose and say what I mean rather than to just fuck around meaninglessly. Also, I try to challenge deejays rather than giving them the easy bread they strive for. But in the end, I'm not into entertaining or easy shit."
It's been awhile since Delay's released anything under his own name. Is he working on new material or does he plan to focus his energies on Luomo until further notice? Where does he see his music going?
"Actually, I'm just about to release a new Vladislav Delay album, Demo(n)tracks, on my own label, Huume Recordings. I definitely don't plan to put all my energy in Luomo, even though there will be more works coming under that [name], as well. I plan to exercise my rights to work on various styles of music I feel necessary and interesting. I'm always on the verge of a musical change and new directions. Where it'll go is to be seen.
"I like pop music, I like experimental music, many kinds of music. There will be experimental works, jazz, pop, dub, hiphop, and stuff I'll produce, cuz I enjoy working and experimenting with various styles of music." DAVE SEGAL
With Bruno Pronsato and Codebase. Wed March 17 at Chop Suey, 1325 E Madison St, 324-8000, 9 pm-2 am, 21+, $10 adv.
