Website deadverse.com Members Will Brooks, Alap Momin | Past members StillOktopus | |
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Years active 1998–2011 (hiatus), 2015-present Associated acts Iconaclass, Fill Jackson Heights, Destructo Swarmbots Genres Alternative hip hop, Shoegazing, Industrial hip hop, Experimental hip hop, Noise music, Ambient music Albums Profiles | ||
D lek absence full album
dälek (pronounced 'Die-a-leck') is an American experimental hip hop group from Newark, New Jersey. The group is composed of MC dälek (vocals and co-producer), Mike Manteca (electronics and co-producer), and DJ rEk.
Contents
- D lek absence full album
- D lek speak volumes
- History
- Style and influence
- Studio albums
- Collaborations EPs and compilations
- Songs
- References
D lek speak volumes
History
The group originated in the New Jersey DIY scene of the mid-1990s, based around a studio lineup of Dälek (Will Brooks), Oktopus (Alap Momin) and Joshua Booth.
The group recorded and played live with several DJs, including DJ rEk on from 1998 to 2002, from 2002 and 2005 with still (Hsi-Chang Lin), and from 2006 to 2009 with Motiv. With this core, the group released four full-length LPs on Ipecac Recordings, and a string of EPs, singles and remixes on various independent labels.
Booth left the group to complete his doctorate in 2009, and Oktopus had relocated to Berlin by 2010. Dälek released a single LP, Untitled, with Brooks and Momin as the sole members, in 2011. From 2011 to 2015 the group was on permanent hiatus.
In 2015, Brooks reunited with DJ rEk and Dälek collaborator Mike Manteca (Destructo Swarmbots). In 2016 the group released a full-length LP Asphalt for Eden on Profound Lore Records.
Dälek have often shared the stage with artists covering a wide range of genres, such as Godflesh, Isis, Prince Paul, The Melvins, Tool, De La Soul, RJD2, The Young Gods, Meat Beat Manifesto, Jesu, The Pharcyde, Grandmaster Flash, KRS-One, Dub Trio, Charles Hayward, Zu, Blackie, Gaslamp Killer, Earth, Dillinger Escape Plan, The Bug, Mastodon and Lovage. Oktopus and MC dälek collaborated with experimental metal/hardcore punk band Starkweather on their 2010 album This Sheltering Night.
In December of 2016, Ipecac Recordings announced that they had re-signed Dälek, and will release their next record in 2017. https://deadverse.com/2016/12/dalek-announces-2017-album-ipecac-recordings/
Style and influence
Dälek's music is dark, noisy and atmospheric, equally inspired by industrial music like Einstürzende Neubauten, the layered noise of My Bloody Valentine and the dense sound collages of Public Enemy. Their sound is often constructed through sampling and a musical base atypical of most hip hop, making it difficult for people to classify their sound. They have been described as trip hop, glitch hop, metal, shoegaze, and hip hop, as well as being criticized for their broad range of sound.
MC dälek described the duo's music to the Chicago Sun-Times:
Studio albums
Collaborations, EPs and compilations
Songs
Guaranteed StruggleAsphalt for Eden · 2016
Masked LaughterAsphalt for Eden · 2016
Classical HomicideFrom Filthy Tongue of Gods and Griots · 2002