Posts Tagged ‘Experimental hip-hop’

dälek share a new track ‘The Essence’ ahead of European tour dates this May. The experimental hip-hop pioneers are currently in the studio working on their follow up to Precipice and have given fans a taste of what’s to come in this new single.

“The Essence is a window to where me and Mike are at right now.  We quite literally took it back to the essence on this joint. Straight up me on the  MPC 3000 and Mike on Processed guitar, playing off of each other as we created the track. Lyrics and flow are central to the joint and dictated the direction of the production and how we sculpted the arrangement.

As always there are layers to the meaning but I also wanted to be crystal clear on what I was spitting. There are minimal to no overdubs. We somehow kept the heavy “wall of sound” feel but stripped away superfluous layers to just the parts and pieces that were needed to complete this as a “dälek” song. This is just a taste of what is coming.” – Dälek

The lyrics of ‘The Essence’ are full of defiance and energy, something which the band will no doubt bring to their live shows; "We had civilizations interconnected throughout history/Our art and architecture composed with sacred symmetry/I’m seeing these past lives vividly/Refuse to let them kill our joy wit bigotry."

dälek live 2025:

May 20th – Berlin, DE – Neue Zukunft
May 21st – Vilnius, LT – Kirtimai Cultural Center
May 22nd – Tallinn, EE – Paavli Kultuurivabrik
May 23rd – Helsinki, FI – Sonic Rites Festival
May 24th – Budapest, HU – Instant-Fogas
May 26th – Prague, CZ – Palac Akropolis
May 27th – Brno, CZ – Kabinet Muz
May 28th – Vienna, AT – Flucc

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Backxwash, aka Ashanti Mutinta, is a Zambian-Canadian rapper & producer based in Montreal, Quebec. She is most noted for her 2020 Polaris Music Prize-winning album God Has Nothing To Do With This Leave Him Out Of It.

Her work includes a culmination of themes around the intersection between faith, identity, and queerness. The poetry of her lyrics are the beginning of a cathartic healing process in which she is granting herself permission to be angry.

Backxwash’s critically acclaimed trilogy—God Has Nothing to Do With This Leave Him Out of It (2020), I Lie Here Buried With My Rings and My Dresses (2021), and His Happiness Shall Come First Even Though We Are Suffering (2022)—has cemented her as a visionary in experimental hip-hop. The trilogy reflects different points in her life and delves into themes of identity, spirituality, and personal struggle, blending haunting beats with unfiltered, introspective lyricism.

Backxwash emerges from the shadows of her trilogy with Only Dust Remains, a new direction that showcases her evolution into a broader and more diverse sonic landscape. The record details the experience of life and death all occurring at once, while embracing a more melodic and complex soundscape.

Lyrically, the verses on Only Dust Remains are more complex, word-heavy, and poetic. The album touches on themes of mourning, reflection, and hope, exploring them with a sincerity and depth that deepen her storytelling. This is a work that balances light and shadow, crafting a narrative that is as introspective as it is outward-reaching.

Only Dust Remains stands as a testament to Backxwash’s ability to evolve while maintaining the raw emotional power that defines her music. This is an album that demands to be felt as much as heard, inviting listeners to engage deeply with its intricate layers and striking themes.

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Dälek share a brand new video for ‘Echoes Of…’, the opening track from their upcoming new album, Endangered Philosophies (1st September, Ipecac Recordings). The video was directed, animated, and produced by Chris White (EAM – Electric Action Messages).

Watch below, and check out their recently announced European tour dates further down.

ENDANGERED PHILOSOPHIES TOUR DATES:

Thu. 2-Nov-2017 FR Grenoble – La Bobine w/ Labrats Bugband
Sat. 4-Nov-2017 FR Lyon – Bizarre! w/ Dead Obies
Sun 5-Nov-2017 CH Martigny – Les Caves Du Manoir
Mon 6-Nov-2017 DE Esslingen – Komma
Tue 7-Nov-2017 DE Nuremburg – Musik Verein
Wed 8-Nov-2017 DE Berlin – Urban Spree w/ debmaster 
Fri 10-Nov-2017 DK Copenhagen – Stengade 
Sun 12-Nov-2017 BE Kortrijk – Sonic City Festival, curated by Thurston Moore, with Moor Mother…
Tue 14-Nov-2017 UK Colchester – Colchester Arts Centre
Wed 15-Nov-2017 NO Oslo – Bla with Moor Mother
Thu 16-Nov-2017 UK London  – Underworld Camden
Fri 17-Nov-2017 FR Paris – Batobar
Sat. 18-Nov-2017 FR Brest – Festival Invisible at La Carene with Action Beat and Camera

SUMMER TOUR DATES:

Fri. 18-Aug-2017 Club Cafe – Pittsburgh, PA
Sat. 19-Aug-2017 Double Happiness – Columbus, OH
Sun. 20-Aug-2017 Mac’s – Lansing, MI
Mon. 21-Aug-2017 Reggies – Chicago, IL (w/ Cult Of Luna)
Tue. 22-Aug-2017 Mod Club Theatre – Toronto, Canada (w/ Cult Of Luna)
Wed. 23-Aug-2017 Corona Theatre – Montreal, Canada (w/ Cult Of Luna)
Thu. 24-Aug-2017 Worcester Palladium – Worcester, MA (w/ Cult Of Luna)

Fri. 25-Aug-2017 Gramercy Theatre – New York, NY (w/ Cult Of Luna)

Sat. 28-Oct  Baltimore, MD  Rams Head (Days of Darkness Festival)

Dälek, pioneers of abrasive and distorted hip hop, have teamed up with Swedish music hardware makers Elektron for the Dälek Soundscapes Sound pack. The samples are results and outtakes of the late night studio sessions giving birth to their geniously intense seventh album Asphalt for Eden.

Broken, melodic, beautiful: this is a brutally honest testament of both the creative process and aural aesthetics of the grinding machine known to man as Dälek.

Get your lugs round it here: