Years ago I read an interview with Vladislav Delay where he mentioned that he had recorded a track for a demo CD somewhere. My memory isn’t great at the best of times, but what I recall was that he said that the track was entirely acoustic, and that he was surprised by the outcome and how closely it resembled is electronic works. Being the fanboy I am, I immediately wanted to hear this track – little did I know that it would take me fourteen years to track it down (if in fact, I have the correct recording).
I asked Sasu where I could find a copy, and he had no idea. Couldn’t even remember a track name, nor did he have a copy himself. This left me scouring forums and sites like Discogs.com for
Through a combination of blind luck and worryingly focused perseverance, I finally stumbled up what I believe to be the recording. It is from a demo CD, and it is fully acoustic (minus a Space Echo). However, I was under the impression that it should be a CD that was once included with a magazine, and this track was found on a label sampler CD. Secondly, it’s not entirely Vladislav Delay, it’s a collaboration with someone called Zeitkratzer (you’ll need to excuse me, my noise game isn’t what it should be). Make of it what you will, but I think this is what I’ve been looking for. I’m sure it’s as close as I’ll get.
Asphodel 2003 Label Sampler
Not knowing much (anything) about the Asphodel label, nor Zeitkratzer I can’t say much else. But here is the track, called “Self-titled”, in all it’s scrappy, rough glory. I wasn’t much enamoured with it on first listen (what can live up to a fourteen year wait?), but I like it more and more with each listen. There’s something lovely and raw about the recording that is rarely captured. It has all the magic of an early demo, no bullshit just music in the making.