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How was the tour with Anguish?<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s been amazing man, it\u2019s kind of phenomenal how it came together so quickly and how we were actually able to play shows. It\u2019s hard to get everyone together, everyone has different projects going on so it\u2019s not easy to set up tours, so whenever it becomes available, we go for it. Literally the first show we played was at Moers Festival, and the day before we were playing as D\u00e4lek in Austin, Texas, so we had to leave Austin to fly to New York, then catch a plane to fly to Germany just to play that show\u2026 but it was the kind of thing that we had to do, otherwise we wouldn\u2019t have played for another month. It was great man though, from the first show it was just\u2026we knew we had something special when we recorded, but from the first live performance you could tell it was definitely something special on stage. \nI think we\u2019ve done maybe like eight or nine performances so far, and it keeps getting better and better. It\u2019s kind of crazy man, because the first show: no rehearsals, just kind of made it happen, then there were two shows where Mats [Gustafsson] couldn\u2019t make it, so we got a replacement that he recommended, this guy Goran [Kajfes] who played trumpet, and he came in knowing the songs, but with us trusting we would make it somehow, and it was phenomenal man, I feel like it really came together.\nIt\u2019s been a pleasure, playing with musicians of that calibre makes it easy - I have complete confidence in everyone on that stage and it\u2019s nice because we can kind of take it in out there directions and I know we\u2019re going to land on our feet. So it\u2019s cool, it\u2019s very different from the D\u00e4lek stuff, because the songs evolve and change. There are core moments to the songs but it\u2019s very improv, very kind of open ended, and it\u2019s just a pleasure to be a part of that.<\/p>\n I know you\u2019ve done the record with Hans Joachim Irmler\u2026How did you meet him and the Fire! Orchestra guys?<\/strong><\/p>\n So Mats is another guy that\u2026we\u2019ve known each other for more than a decade now, I think the first time we played together was at Konfrontationen Festival in Nickelsdorf, a free jazz festival in Austria, and just kind of hit it off with him right away, and he was one of those dudes that we always voiced that we wanted to work together, but schedules were always so crazy that it never really worked. Then that summer when we recorded Anguish it kind of all came together. We invited him to play saxophone with D\u00e4lek for a couple of festivals - basically it was like two separate weeks of shows and we had a week off in between - and we thought instead of going home, it\u2019d be better to get a recording session going and see what we could come up with. So we presented the idea to him, and he loved it, and right away I spoke with Joachim, because we wanted to work on something together again and he has a good recording studio in Germany. So we contacted Joachim and he was completely into it, and then Mats recommended that we bring his drummer from Fire! Orchestra, and it was just perfect man, it worked really really well, it was me and Mike from D\u00e4lek, and the two guys from Fire! Orchestra and Joachim. It sounds out there but it worked so well.<\/p>\n You\u2019ve collaborated with so many different artists over the years, what appeals to you in collaborating with artists people would normally not associate with hip-hop?<\/strong><\/p>\n I never really cared about genre. I care about music man, if it\u2019s good it\u2019s good, and having musicians of that calibre even consider working with me is an honour, so when I have the opportunity to work with someone I respect I take it man, because life is limited, I\u2019m trying to make it count, trying to make as many projects and as much good music as I can, there\u2019s a long list of people that I still want to work with, so yeah\u2026<\/p>\n Do you have any future collaborations in mind?<\/strong><\/p>\n Yeah, there\u2019s some stuff in the works that I\u2019m not really talking about yet, and there\u2019s a dream list of course, I\u2019d love to work with Kevin Shields, from My Bloody Valentine, I\u2019d like to work with Stephen O\u2019Malley, Bj\u00f6rk has always been on my list\u2026I mean as far as Hip Hop goes, guys like Ka\u2026 there\u2019s so many people, so many good artists out there\u2026 again, it\u2019s not about genres, it\u2019s about: \u201cWhat kind of art did you create with another musician?\u201d. You come from completely different worlds and finding that common ground is what makes it much more special.<\/p>\n I wanted to talk to you a little bit about My Bloody Valentine, because you often mention them. Can you tell us about the first time you heard them, and what it sparked in you?<\/strong><\/p>\n Yeah, I actually got into them very late, at around the time we started D\u00e4lek. It was myself and Oktopus who started the group, I think it was in around 95\/96 that we started working together, and at that time he was coming from more of a punk background, I was coming obviously from more of a hip hop background, but at the same time he had a varied taste, he liked a lot of shoegaze, a lot of alternative stuff, we both liked a lot of jazz, I liked salsa, he liked metal\u2026so we both had this weird common ground, but there were also all these other areas which none of us were really well versed in.<\/p>\n He loved old school hip hop but he had stopped listening to hip hop, he was into Public Enemy and stuff like that\u2026 at the time he was just engineering my project, we hadn\u2019t started a group yet, but after the sessions we would just hang out and play music for each other. I\u2019d be like \u201cYou\u2019ve got to hear this\u201d, and show him the hip hop that was coming out at that time, you know 94\/95\/96, so I was playing him the Wu Tang solo records, Nas, you know, all that Boom Bap stuff that was out at that time, which I guess is now the golden era stuff, but at the time it was just what was happening, and he was introducing me to stuff like All Natural Lemon And Lime Flavours, who were peers of ours. We actually went to school with one of those dudes, Josh Booth, who ended up working with us as well, and they had introduced Oktopus to My Bloody Valentine. To this day I still remember the exact moment, we were drunk as shit, he put on Loveless, and it was just like a spark went off, I was like, \u201cThat, what is that? I want to do that for Hip Hop, how do we do that?\u201d It just made complete sense to me, everything about it sounded right, the way the vocals were an instrument, the way the guitars were this wall of sound, how the noise was melodic, just everything about it was beautiful to me man, that album just changed everything, it was just one of those moments where I was just like\u2026Honestly, to me D\u00e4lek is just My Bloody Valentine, Public Enemy, KRS-One, maybe a little Faust and a little Velvet Underground, you know what I mean, maybe a little Rakim, that\u2019s really the formula that\u2019s what inspired us\u2026We played a festival that Thurston Moore curated, and Deb Googe, the bass player from MBV was in his band, so we were lucky enough to hang out with her and I was like a little kid, I was like \u201cOh shit\u2026\u201d and she was so sweet and so cool with us, she was telling us that she was digging what we were doing, and I told her to me that was everything, and when MBV played in New York she actually invited me to the show and I got to meet them, and again I was like - I\u2019m usually not that dude - but I was straight up a fan, 100%, had them sign my records and all that shit.<\/p>\n That\u2019s the beautiful thing about music, there\u2019s certain bands that just resonate with you, they inspire you, and they\u2019re definitely one of those bands that just basically redefined what I thought I wanted to do. KRS-One was probably who started that, when I heard him I knew that that was what I wanted to do in my life, Public Enemy was another one of those groups, and I feel that My Bloody Valentine, that was the other one that when I heard them I was like \u201cYeahh, that!\u201d You know what I mean? Just amazing.<\/p>\n On the last record the way the samples are all layered and the way the music ends up very much reminds me of how Kevin Shields labours over in the studio to make everything mesh in a way that\u2019s totally ethereal but also really brutal and in your face, and I think you guys do a beautiful job of incorporating that without ripping off\u2026<\/b><\/p>\n Thank you. You know, it\u2019s funny, because we\u2019ve always been accused of sampling My Bloody Valentine, I\u2019ve never once in my life sampled My Bloody Valentine, I never will, there\u2019s certain records that where it doesn\u2019t feel right to take anything from them other than inspiration\u2026there\u2019s no need, we figured out a way to get to where we wanted to go without sampling anything, kind of just creating our own stuff.<\/p>\n You said that contemporary music is also very exciting to you. So how do you view contemporary hip hop?<\/strong><\/p>\n Well, I think there\u2019s a lot of contemporary hip hop that\u2019s unbelievable right now, though my definition of contemporary hip hop would be different to yours. The stuff that\u2019s on the radio to me isn\u2019t hip hop, you know what I mean, it\u2019s pop music. I actually prefer it when they call it stuff like trap, have it be its own thing, because it has very little to do with hip hop culture. It\u2019s its own thing, there\u2019s nothing wrong with it. I also feel like that there is a certain part of it that\u2019s generational, I feel like a lot of that newer stuff is for younger kids, you know. It\u2019s not for me - I\u2019m 44 years old, it\u2019s not written for me and it shouldn\u2019t be. And there\u2019s nothing wrong with that, I\u2019m not disparaging that music, I think that music exists for different reasons and that\u2019s fine, but to call something hip hop\u2026<\/p>\n I feel that there is new hip hop that\u2019s fire, it\u2019s dope, if you listen to Roc Marciano, if you listen to, I guess I mentioned Ka, Crimeapple, Brown13, there\u2019s a lot of stuff that\u2019s coming out that\u2019s new and contemporary, and there\u2019s still that grimy hip hop that I love, there\u2019s a lot of ill lyricists right now, there\u2019s a lot of good things happening so\u2026I don\u2019t know, I\u2019m 44 but I hate when people my age start talking about \u201cOh there\u2019s no good music now\u201d. Nah, you just stopped listening, because there\u2019s always good music, it\u2019s just a matter of looking for it. There\u2019s a lot of trash music too of course, but it\u2019s always been like that\u2026<\/p>\n So outside of hip hop what other contemporary music have you been excited about?<\/strong><\/p>\n I\u2019m trying to think, because sometimes I get on that kick where I\u2019ll just be listening to a lot of old shit\u2026there\u2019s months where all I\u2019ll listen to is The Cure or Joy Division\u2026(laughs) I\u2019ve been kind of one of those kicks lately\u2026<\/p>\n I really loved the last two albums by Solange, I thought that those were really amazing records, talking about contemporary\u2026I guess you\u2019d call it R&B, but I just like what she\u2019s been doing in general, amazing songwriting and great vocals, and experimental in a way - for pop music, it\u2019s pretty out there, which is cool\u2026you mind if I look at my Spotify for a second to see what I\u2019ve been listening to? Because otherwise I blank out\u2026<\/p>\n I really loved the last two albums by Solange, I thought that those were really amazing records, talking about contemporary\u2026I guess you\u2019d call it R&B, but I just like what she\u2019s been doing in general, amazing songwriting and great vocals, and experimental in a way - for pop music, it\u2019s pretty out there, which is cool\u2026you mind if I look at my Spotify for a second to see what I\u2019ve been listening to? Because otherwise I blank out\u2026<\/p>\n This band Belong, I don\u2019t know if you know them, they\u2019re kind of shoegazy\u2026Black Marble is, I\u2019m obsessed with that dude, their stuff is amazing. Speaking of hip hop, my boy House Shoes, his label Street Corner Music, he\u2019s been releasing, at least three or four albums a year, and everything he\u2019s been putting out is ridiculous. It\u2019s mostly instrumental hip hop, but some unbelievable stuff there.<\/p>\n Hmm\u2026Iron & Wine\u2026Midnight Owl\u2026<\/p>\n You don\u2019t seem to be restricted at all by hardness or softness\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n Nah man, I just like music, if it\u2019s good it\u2019s good\u2026Oh Space Echo, that\u2019s another one. Suuns\u2026they\u2019re pretty ridiculous too\u2026Yeah man, there\u2019s a ton of stuff.<\/p>\n Going back to I guess the classics you\u2019ve been talking about, what was the first hip hop record or song that really made you think outside the box, and see the possibilities in hip hop and music in general?<\/strong><\/p>\n Probably Ultramagnetic MCs, because they were probably the first ones doing kind of out there production\u2026I feel like Premier\u2026 it\u2019s really deceptive, because you listen to his production and he makes you think that it\u2019s so simple, but then you realize that he picked the most simple pieces that fit together so perfectly, and that\u2019s very difficult to do. I feel like if you try to make a Premier beat you\u2019re going to fail, he just has an ear for what works together, even though it\u2019s very minimal, but it\u2019s deceptively complex in structure, and I think that there\u2019s something really beautiful about that. It\u2019s almost like he\u2019s the polar opposite of what we do, our stuff is so layered and dense, but I have so much respect for what he does with the minimalistic aspects of hip hop\u2026 it\u2019s weird, he\u2019s been an influence even though he\u2019s the polar opposite of what we do. I still study what he does, because I feel like it\u2019s beautiful, it\u2019s really dope. And obviously the Bomb Squad, their production\u2026The Bomb Squad is where the idea of layering in hip hop that we do comes from, if you listen to \u201cIt Takes A Nation of Millions\u201d and \u201cFear of a Black Planet\u201d\u2026<\/p>\n And obviously the Bomb Squad, their production\u2026The Bomb Squad is where the idea of layering in hip hop that we do comes from, if you listen to \u201cIt Takes A Nation of Millions\u201d and \u201cFear of a Black Planet\u201d\u2026<\/p>\n Yeah, Public Enemy were so far ahead of its time\u2026.<\/strong><\/p>\n Yeah, the Shocklees, the Bomb Squad was on another planet, straight up, it was amazing.<\/p>\n Talking about your last album [Endangered Philosophies], what philosophies do you see as endangered right now?<\/strong><\/p>\n You know, honestly\u2026 I just feel like any kind of thinking is endangered right now (laughs). I wasn\u2019t even trying to go that deep in regards to specifics\u2026I suppose I feel like intellect is endangered right now, the whole climate just feels like, if you have any kind of intelligence you\u2019re an endangered species\u2026at least that\u2019s how I feel right now.<\/p>\n And what do you think your next record is going to tackle, is that a continued preoccupation with you?<\/strong><\/p>\n I dunno man, that\u2019s a good question. We\u2019ve got this show, then we have a festival in Minneapolis, maybe a couple of shows in Mexico, but then after that, we\u2019re back in the studio to really put together the next album. We have pieces that we\u2019ve been working on, but when we work on albums I like to work in the album as a whole, try to see how all the pieces fit and what direction we\u2019re going in and what we\u2019re doing next. To be honest with you I don\u2019t know yet, I\u2019m not sure\u2026because I\u2019ve always tried to make our records topical, without being specific to the time, you know what I mean, I want it to be about now, but I don\u2019t want it to be like \u201cOh that record is from such and such time period\u201d. It\u2019s that fine line where I want to touch on things that are happening, not just in the world but in my life, but also put it in a context where it\u2019s more universal, in a way that could be timeless, so I\u2019m not sure, I\u2019m not really sure where I\u2019m going, I have some thoughts, but I still have to work them out. It won\u2019t be happy, I know that much\u2026(laughs).<\/p>\n It seems like people who are the most unhappy are the people who are the most sane at the moment in a way. It\u2019s a weird generalization to make of course, but it seems like so much of what people consider logic has become totally inverted\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s interesting times we\u2019re living in, that\u2019s the best way to put it man\u2026I don\u2019t know, I don\u2019t think I have any answers, I don\u2019t know where this is going. But I\u2019ll say this much, I\u2019m a very curious person, so I\u2019d like to stick around as much as I can to see where this goes, for better or worse. I\u2019m not 100% sold on either direction, I don\u2019t necessarily think it\u2019s all going to be shit, but\u2026I don\u2019t know, we\u2019ll see what happens. (laughs)<\/p>\n Just one last question since you mentioned The Cure, what\u2019s your favourite album? What do you think of-<\/strong><\/p>\n Fascination Street\u2026Boys Don\u2019t Cry\u2026 One of those two. I mean I\u2019m a sucker for all their hits, obviously, but Fascination Street is a dope record.<\/p>\n They\u2019re another one of those bands that I feel like they\u2019re never really stuck in genres in any way\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n Nah, they just rolled, it\u2019s kind of phenomenal\u2026 what\u2019s that song, the one with the days, you know what I\u2019m talking about\u2026<\/p>\n \u201cIn Between Days.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n Yeah, I mean, that song sounds like it\u2019s so happy, I\u2019m like \u201cYo, that\u2019s nothing like The Cure\u201d, and yet it\u2019s completely The Cure, you know what I mean? It\u2019s kind of amazing that that song goes against everything that they really write and yet it\u2019s still them, and even though the song is happy it comes off as a little melancholy\u2026 which is amazing, you know what I mean?<\/p>\n Yeah, the lyrics on that are something like \u201cYesterday I felt so old, I felt like I wanted to die\u201d\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n (laughs)<\/p>\n What people say about The Fall is a bit reductionist in a way, but it\u2019s so true and it applies to so many bands: \u201cAlways different, always the same\u201d. I personally think it\u2019s like the peak of artistic creativity when you make something that people heard be like \u201cOh yeah, that\u2019s them\u201d, and it\u2019s really inspiring when The Cure or you guys manage to do that.<\/strong><\/p>\n Oh shit man, when you put me in the same conversation as The Cure and The Fall\u2026thank you! I don\u2019t even know if we\u2019re worth mentioning in the same breath, but I appreciate it, because those are some heavy hitters right there, word up. But yeah man, all we\u2019ve tried to do is keep making the best possible music I could make. It\u2019s funny, yesterday - this is the first time we\u2019ve been in Portugal for like 10 years, 12 years, something like that - and a kid came by yesterday and said \u201cYo I\u2019ve been waiting for 12 years to see you play, I didn\u2019t think you\u2019d still have that fire and that energy\u201d, and I was like \u201cyeah, me neither\u201d (laughs). But I do, I still got that hunger and every show. I love it man, I love performing, I love making this music, the day I don\u2019t love it is the day I won\u2019t do it, and the day I feel like the record is not good enough, if I\u2019m not feeling it, I\u2019m not putting it out, that\u2019s my word, I\u2019m not doing it just to do it.<\/p>\n I recognize how long we\u2019ve been doing this for, especially what me and Oktopus built together\u2026 before our hiatus, when I came back, I told him \u201cYo, I\u2019m not putting out garbage, I\u2019m not doing anything to tarnish what we did in the past\u201d, I feel like it\u2019s my mission to at least try to keep getting better and better, and if I can continue doing that, I\u2019ll keep doing that. Like I said, as long as I\u2019m feeling good on stage and happy with that I\u2019m doing\u2026I mean, this is what I know, I don\u2019t know anything else, I\u2019m a lifer, I\u2019ll be here for as long as people will have me, you know what I mean? Word up.<\/p>\n Thank you so much.<\/strong><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" No \u00faltimo OUT.FEST tivemos o prazer e a honra de contar com os nova iorquinos D\u00e4lek, grupo de hip hop do mais aventureiro, no seu regresso a Portugal pela primeira […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2633,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":0,"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":""},"categories":[138,360,92],"tags":[479,374,476,24,477,478,474,475],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/beta.outra.pt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/MEA_4286.jpg\")
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