Dälek


dälek is an American experimental hip hop group formed in Newark, New Jersey in 1998. The group is composed of MC dälek and Mike Manteca .

History

The group originated in the New Jersey DIY scene of the mid-1990s, based around a studio lineup of Dälek, Oktopus 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, 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. In 2016 the group released a full-length LP Asphalt for Eden on Profound Lore Records.
In December 2016, Ipecac Recordings announced that they had re-signed Dälek. Their most recent album, Endangered Philosophies, was released in August 2017. Spyros Stasis of PopMatters described it as an 'enticing and alluring' mix of 'hip-hop, krautrock, noise and shoegaze'. Paul Simpson of AllMusic found it 'equally abrasive and hypnotic' and 'bracing yet beautiful'.
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, Cult of Luna, Zu, Blackie, The Gaslamp Killer, Earth, The 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.

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:

Discography

Dälek Albums, EPs and Singles