The man: Vladislav Delay, a/k/a Luomo
(photo: Marc Hohmann)

New York has plenty of legendary DJs and producers, but many of the musicians doing the most in recent years to push house and techno forward are from overseas. Lucky for us, they visit often. Like the best of New York's classic house producers, Finnish producer Vladislav Delay as Luomo crafts actual songs on the second Luomo disc, The Perfect Lover. And like many of his contemporaries, he now lives in Berlin (it is also where the label Kompakt is based).

Shot through the seemingly limited lens of minimal house, the eight- or nine-minute-long tracks are not the simple loops found on most minimal 12-inches. Delay's tunes are more fully realized, in part because he uses singers who employ breathless repetitions and hushed phrases. The record's pop-oriented structure could be attributed to the fact that Delay doesn't go clubbing—nor does he listen to electronic music in his spare time, preferring jazz and reggae. Delay's dance music netherworld is the place that mainstream labels were searching for years ago, but never found.

Luomo, a/k/a Vladislav Delay (Tronic Treatment) March 15, Sullivan Room, 218 Sullivan Street, 212.252.2151