The long-running hip-hop trio Dälek has announced their latest album, Asphalt For Eden, and it is set for release on April 22, 2016 on Profound Lore. The group was founded in Newark, New Jersey and are considered pioneers in the underground, DIY hip-hop scene. The group is known for infusing their progressive lyricism with hard-hitting noise and ambient-inspired instrumental tracks, creating a sound that is unlike any other band. The music of Dälek is very difficult to classify because although it has a hip-hop base, layers of sound, dissonance and samples creating music that has been called everything from rap to trip hop, and from metal to shoegaze.
Over the span of 11 years, the group dropped five landmark LPs: first came Negro Necro Nekro in 1998, …From Filthy Tongue of Gods and Griots in 2002, Absence in 2005, Abandoned Language in 2007, and finally Gutter Tactics in 2009. The final four of those releases were released on Mike Patton’s ground-breaking label Ipecac Records, demonstrating the band’s experimental bona fides. Their debut album in 1998 was released on Gern Blandsten. These five full length studio releases were able to carve out a special and unique place in both the hip-hop and experimental music scenes, creating a diverse and rabid base of fans.
In 2011, the band decided to go on an indefinite hiatus, allowing the members to regroup and recover from the rigors of the full-time touring and recording schedule they kept while in Dälek. In the spring of 2015, the group’s mastermind, MC Dälek, aka Will Brooks, revived the group with a brand new lineup of players. This new lineup includes DJ rEk on turntables as well as producer Mike Manteca working the samplers and effects. The group did move on without founding member Oktopus, though he gave his blessing to the revived Dälek continuing without his presence.
Instead of exclusively touring with other hip-hop artists, Dälek has shared the stage with a wide range of artists, including KRS One, Tool, Jesu, Grandmaster Flash, RJD2, Black Heart Procession, Mastodon, Flying Lotus and many others. The trio will hit the road in support of Asphalt For Eden, bringing their intense performances across the country. The group is known for mind-bending live performances, combining the powerful noise of artists like My Bloody Valentine or Merzbow with the deft and witty lyricism of hip-hop stars such as Public Enemy or Rakim.
ASPHALT FOR EDEN TRACKLISTING:
1. Shattered
2. Guaranteed Struggle
3. Masked Laughter (Nothing’s Left)
4. Critical
5. 6dB
6. Control
7. It Just Is
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