@ Grog Shop, Cleveland, February 28
by Andrew Clayman
Published (with edits) in The Scene, February 2008
If you’re one of the audiophiles who spent the majority of 1991 killing your turntable with repeated spins of Fear of a Black Planet and Loveless, consider Dälek the unlikely lovechild of those halcyon days.
Respected veterans of New Jersey’s hip-hop underground, MC Dälek and producer Okotopus have shunned rap’s pre-teen party trends in favor of a dense, atmospheric, and politically conscious sound— informed as much by industrial rock, electronica, and bee-bop jazz as it is by Public Enemy.
“You can’t be limited by a genre. It doesn’t make sense,” says Dälek. “For us, My Bloody Valentine happened to be a band that moved us and was something we could relate to. I mean, that’s the beauty of music. It’s a sound that goes beyond language, beyond where you’re from. It allows people to connect.”
This philosophy carries over to Dälek’s choices in touring partners, which includes the post-rock outfit Russian Circles on this leg.
“Personally, if I was going to a show, I’d feel better about spending my money if I heard four totally different bands instead of four bands that sound the same,” Dälek says. “But that’s me. I’m also the kid who likes digging through record crates for hours and listening to all types of shit.”
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