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New York's Dalek
(the project of rapper Will Brooks and producer Alap "Oktopus" Momin)
delivered a baroque pop-psychedelic version of
Public Enemy's
creative chaos
with the five lengthy songs of Negro Necro Nekros (Gern Blandsten, 1998).
Layers of instruments and a general philosophy of therapeutic discontinuity
yielded a dystopian soundscape (crafted by Momin and dj Rudy "Rek" Chicata)
in which the message (assuming that one could
make out the lyrics) was much less important than the vehicle.
Swollen Tongue Burns is a sonic nightmare, the voice hit and submerged
by booming percussion, industrial-degree electronic effects,
orchestral crescendos, acoustic blues detours, dissonant vertigoes.
The mini-album juxtaposed disorienting instrumental passages
(notably the Indian jam of the tortured Three Rocks Blessed)
with arrangements in the vein of
El-P's productions
(the dissonant multi-stylistic collage of voice and instruments of
Praise Be The Man).
The more regular pieces were the atmospheric ballad Images of .44 Casings (that extended to ten minutes via a calm instrumental repetition of its leitmotiv) and the jazzy The Untravelled Road.
Dalek thrived halfway between the neurotic and the transcendental, the same
way that industrial music did in the late 1970s.
Having replaced Chicata with dj Hsi-Chang "Still" Lin,
Dalek increased the doses of neurosis and alienation on
From Filthy Tongue of Gods and Griots (Ipecac, 2002), which now
resembled a series of essays on shock-inducing sounds.
Focusing on generally shorter songs helped Dalek achieve a combat cohesiveness
not registered since Tackhead
(Spiritual Healing, whipped by harsh electronic distortions,
the booming polyrhythm of From Mole Hills,
the metallic clangor of Hold Tight,
and especially the turbulent electronic soundscape of Voices Of The Ether).
The electronic ethnic ambient noise hodgepodge peaks with the
twelve-minute acid delirium of Black Smoke Rises, a free-form
parade of wildly dissonant sounds underpinning the rapper's free-form poetry.
Simpler structures craft the tragic overtones of Speak Volumes
and the soaring psychedelic hymn of Forever Close My Eyes.
Last but not least,
Trampled Brethren was another attemp at raga-rap fusion.
Ruin It was a collaboration with
Kid 606;
and
Derbe Respect Alder (2003) was a collaboration with
Faust.
Absence (Ipecac, 2005) is another spectacular journey through
Dalek's post-industrial wasteland:
explosive like a shrapnel
(notably Distorted Prose and
Eyes To Form Shadows),
dense like a lava flow
(Asylum),
and, still, elegant like a peacock's tail.
Tracks such as
A Beast Caged
Opiate the Masses and especially
In Midst of Struggle
provide for a multi-dimensional experience, encompassing
Throbbing Gristle's industrial nightmares,,
Gordon Mumma's electronic symphonies,
Lou Reed's metal-machine music,
Otomo Yoshihide's turntable noise,
and, last but not least,
Public Enemy's agit-prop raps;
while
Ever Somber
manages to sound infectious (if not downright catchy) in virtue of the
surgical balance between rhythms, rhyming and arrangements.
Koner is the "out of space" instrumental du jour.
Dalek's turntablist Hsi-Chang "Still" Lin has released an album of eerie
soundscapes, Remains (Public Guilt, 2005).
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(Translation by/ Tradotto da Stanley Ketchel)
Dalek è il progetto, nato a New York, del rapper Will Brooks e del produttore Alap "Oktopus" Momin. I cinque lunghi pezzi di Negro Necro Nekros (Gern Blandsten, 1998) offrono una barocca versione pop-psichedelica del caos creativo dei Public Enemy. La stratificazione degli strumenti e una certa discontinuità terapeutica come filosofia di fondo, producono un ambiente sonoro distopico (assemblato da Momin e da Dj Rudy "Rek" Chicata), nel quale il messaggio (posto che si riesca a cogliere i testi) è molto meno importante del mezzo. Il mini-album giustappone passaggi strumentali che si rifanno al progressive rock (la torturata Three Rocks Blessed) così come arrangiamenti ispirati alle produzioni di El-P (incluso un assolo feedback di nove minuti, Praise Be Man). Dalek trova il terreno più congeniale a metà strada fra la nevrosi e il trascendente, così come accadde per la musica industriale nei tardi anni Settanta.
Sostituito Chicata con Dj Hsi-Chang "Still" Lin, Dalek incrementa le dosi di follia e alienazione con From Filthy Tongue of Gods and Griots (Ipecac, 2002), che lascia pensare a una serie di esperimenti sullo shock indotto dal suono. Il miscuglio elettro-etnico-ambient-noise raggiunge l'apice con i dodici minuti di delirio acid-rock di Black Smoke Rises.
Ruin It (Tigerbeat 6, 2002) è una collaborazione con Kid 606; e Derbe Respect Alder (2003) è una collaborazione con Faust.
Absence (Ipecac, 2005) è un'altra spettacolare escursione nella terra desolata post-industriale di Dalek: esplosivo come una granata, denso come un fiume di lava e, però, elegante come la ruota di un pavone. Tracce come In Midst Of Struggle, Opiate The Masses, e Beast Caged offrono un'esperienza multidimensionale, attraversando gli adagio ambient di Brian Eno, le sinfonie torrenziali di Glenn Branca, la Metal Machine Music di Lou Reed e, non ultimo, il rap politico-propagandistico dei Public Enemy; mentre Distorted Prose, Ever Sombre e Culture For Dollars riescono ad essere seducenti (quando non addirittura orecchiabili) in virtù di un eccellente equilibrio tra ritmiche e rimato.
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