Ripatti

Sasu Ripatti, the Finnish electronic musician best known for making abstract dub techno as <a href="spotify:artist:5E3H2KyR31E2Dj3K6vIUe9">Vladislav Delay</a> and left-field house as <a href="spotify:artist:1eDJci45Pb42HLWeYP5SSF">Luomo</a>, deconstructs hip-hop with his footwork-inspired work under his surname. Ripatti releases such as 2021's Fun Is Not a Straight Line contain hyperkinetic tracks that dice sampled rap vocals over fast, jittery beats and noisy textures.

Ripatti has been an avid fan of hip-hop since the 1990s, but his work had rarely reflected the genre's influence until he began releasing material under his own name. He debuted the Ripatti solo project and label with a 2013 single containing two lengthy tracks filled with broken uptempo rhythms and dislocated samples. Two more singles, one in collaboration with Teeth, appeared in 2014, and both edged closer to the Chicago footwork sound. <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Planet+Mu%22">Planet Mu</a>, a longtime champion of the genre's more outlandish, experimental side, signed Ripatti and included his track "Flowers" on the 2020 compilation PlanetMµ25. The project's 2021 debut full-length, Fun Is Not a Straight Line, contained shorter, more immediate tracks than the previously issued singles. ~ Paul Simpson, Rovi