Sasu Ripatti is normally a reliable producer, a rock-solid talent who can always deliver the goods even when he’s dividing his attentions between three or four different projects. Unfortunately, he seems to be slipping a bit here lately.
His last album as Luomo, Convivial, was a lackluster effort that found him steering the project into some seriously schmaltzy waters, while Symptoms, the product of his latest sessions with AGF—who co-produced Ellen Allien’s Sool album and is an accomplished sound-artist in her own right—is adrift in the same tepid territory. Operating in a strange middle ground between hip-hop, techno and ghostly ambient, Symptoms plays like an album searching for its own voice, with the singular visions of Ripatti and AGF failing to ever coalesce into a coherent whole. It’s a strange outcome, especially considering that the two are one of electronic music’s few power couples. Shelve this and hold out for them both to release new solo albums.
Carl Ritger
File under: Ellen Allien, Vladlislav Delay/Luomo/Uusitalo, AGF