FUN IS NOT A STRAIGHT LINE

Finnish producer Sasu Ripatti has been torching the fringes of electronic music since the mid 1990s. From the skeletal jazz deconstructions of his 1997 Vladislav Delay debut ""The Kind of Blue EP"" to the blurred dub techno variations of 2000's ""Multila"", Ripatti has betrayed a restless, voracious passion for soundFun is Not A Straight Line"" builds on this impressive legacy, retaining his sonic signature and adding a playfulness that harks back to his beloved deep house smash, Luomo's ""Vocalcity"". The tracks cross into the same continuum as Chicago footwork, with stuttering samples that build thick walls of bass and flurries of wordless rhymes amid a narcotic haze of beats. By drawing a crooked line between DJ Premier, DJ Screw and DJ Rashad, Sasu Ripatti has emerged with the most accessible and unashamedly enjoyable album he's produced in years.