Vladislav Delay’s 3rd Chain Reaction LP Multila on Chain Reaction. Despite being a key figure on the label Vlad's work seemed to occupy a particular pocket, given free-reign to explore and pursue his own dub-soaked, delay-drenched bubbling obliterations that place the label's signature grainy atmospherics under the microscope away from the more club-focused / beat-driven works of Porter Ricks / Continuous Mode, Substance, etc. There's a dotted line back to his earlier work with influential Mille Plateaux label, who had just started fleshing out the emergent glitch / electronica style with releases from snd and the great Clicks 'n Cuts comps - sound as micro rather than macro. But those two Chain Reaction 12”s (now increasingly tricky to grip) feel much looser and out than the others in the field, much denser soundscapes that have been heavily composted down to produce a deeper sense of immersion. Revisiting these, it’s easy to see the obvious influence in more recent artists like Huerco S or Manchester’s Space Afrika who continue to expand on this theme of heavily textured, rhythmic dilapidations. Immortal works!
