Vladislav Delay is back with Rakka, his first new album in five years.

Delay, real name Sasu Ripatti, released Visa in 2014, and has been almost silent ever since. We’re told that he’s filled this period with study, exploration, and reconstruction, and that over this time he has evolved his sound, his methods, and his practice, leading him to Rakka, out February 27 on Cosmo Rhythmatic, the label of Shapednoise, Ascion, and D. Carbone.

Ripatti makes it clear that Rakka is not a “nature recording,” though it is inspired by the time he spent in the wilderness above arctic circle and tree lines, and the feelings and thoughts that traversed him while there. The music is directly inspired by the arctic tundra, the elemental struggle to survive or thrive, and the living creatures’ fight for existence.

Ripatti “remakes these values into music,” we’re told, and the “sounds feel like they’re carved off the flesh, leaving the bones bare.” The label adds: “Beats emerge as ripples, as the motion of isolated forces, thwarting with the icy textures and backgrounds and trembling with strenuous energy.”

Ripatti has been an influential figure in the electronic music scene since the late ’90s and early ’00s, with cult classics such as “Entain”, “Multila,” and “Anima,” and over 20 albums under various guises like Uusitalo, Luomo, Conoco, and Sistol. His collaborations include Ryuichi Sakamoto, Scissor Sisters, Massive Attack, and Norwegian jazz musicians Nils-Petter Molvaer and Eivind Aarset.

Last year, Ripatti contributed a track, an early version of “Rakkine,” to XLR8R+ alongside work from DVS1 and Convextion.

Tracklisting

A1 / 1. Rakka
A2 / 2. Raajat
A3 / 3. Rakkine
B1 / 4. Raakile
B2 / 5. Rampa
B3 / 6. Raataja
B4 / 7. Rasite

Rakka LP is out February 27. Meanwhile, you can stream “Raajat” and a video teaser below, and pre-order here.