dälek's music is dark, noisy and atmospheric, equally inspired by industrial music like Einstürzende Neubauten, the layered noise of My Bloody Valentine and the dense sound collages of Public Enemy. Their sound is often constructed through sampling and a musical base atypical of most hip-hop, making it difficult for people to classify their sound. They have been described as trip hop, glitch-hop, and metal-shoegaze-hip-hop, as well as criticized for their broad range of sound.
MC dälek described the group's music to the Chicago Sun-Times:
“It's purely hiphop, in the purest sense. If you listen to what hiphop has historically been, it was all about digging in different crates and finding different sounds, and finding different influences to create. If Afrika Bambaataa wasn't influenced by Kraftwerk, we wouldn't have 'Planet Rock'. So, in that sense, what we do is strictly hiphop.”
“If there is a difference, it's that the palette of sounds we work with is more varied than what has been called hiphop in the last 10 years. Somehow, as hiphop grew, it's been put into this box. I think it's funny when people are like "That's not hiphop. It's this and this and this." You can try to rationalize it as whatever you want to rationalize it as."
Studio albums:
• Negro Necro Nekros (1998)
• From Filthy Tongue of Gods and Griots (2002)
• Absence (2004)
• Abandoned Language (2007)
• Gutter Tactics (2009)
• Untitled (2010)
• Asphalt for Eden (2016)
• Endangered Philosophies (2017)
• Precipice (2022)
Collaborations, EPs and compilations:
• Megaton / Classic Homicide (2000) Split collaboration with Techno Animal.
• Ruin It (2002) In collaboration with Kid 606.
• Dälek vs. Velma (2002) Split collaboration with Velma.
• Derbe Respect, Alder (2004) In collaboration with Faust.
• Streets All Amped (2006)
• My Education vs. Dälek (2007) In collaboration with My Education.
• Deadverse Massive Vol. 1 (2007) Rarities 1999-2006.
• Griots and Gods - Les Eurockeennes Festival Belfort (2010) Live collaboration with The Young Gods.
The Untravelled Road
Dälek Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
World hurled into what depths?
Synapse connect left
Jesu' perplexed?
Riddled answers just guess
Amount much to knots
Kept essence in inkblots
Why bother watch?
Unpleasant stares ... they fall harder on pavement
Divine, my six $en$e barely pays rent
Speak in jagged tune to us vagrants
Lost patience.
Spoke dead tongue from basements
Trace this back to nights of backspins
Evil-eyed by them has-beens with glass chins
Much to my chagrin I caught wind of your pseudo-revolution
Dried hemoglobin in need of transfusion.
Untraveled road I wander barefoot
Unravel left lobe hold tight your good book
took all them got type Job niggas shook
One tends to forget all its rawness
Intricate underground movements as in a game of spades.
(Mundane months profess the soft charade)
It all this vision which obstructs our sight
(Why you so concerned with shades? I don't even remember your name!)
A pound now just to be polite.
(Had 20/20 back when we was tight.)
Unrattled nerves
I heard your words rattle off center
Don't give a fuck about your tenure
Eyed you since you entered
My verbal tends to render you obsolete
Lay your head to concrete
My blood of life be beats
So who you to desecrate?
Left lobe oscillates in twilight disgust
Thoughts stared as such scraps of papers I clutch
Hold no clue
Paradigm dismantled
Mind missing type Maya wearing Jesus' sandal.
Untraveled Road I wander barefoot
Unravel left lobe hold tight your good book
took all them got type Job niggas shook
In "The Untravelled Road", dälek explores the complexity of the world and our attempts to understand it. The opening lines suggest a confusion and uncertainty with the world as it currently is, questioning what depths it has been hurled into. Synapses connect in the left brain but even with this supposed capability for logical processing, there seems to be a struggle to comprehend things, with Jesus himself appearing perplexed. Answers seem elusive and attempts to understand the situation only amount to knots. Yet, there is a sense that something must be saved, some essence kept in inkblots. Despite this, the singer is disenchanted, questioning why bother to even watch the situation unfold. The smiles of those around them are unfocused and uncoordinated, and unpleasant stares only make the situation harder to bear. It is clear that the singer feels disconnected from the world, with their six cents barely paying rent. They speak in a jagged tune to other vagrants, having lost patience and resorting to speaking a dead tongue from basements. These lines suggest feelings of marginalization and disillusionment. The singer then traces things back to nights of backspins, dark times when they were surrounded by has-beens with glass chins. Yet, even in the face of their own disillusionment with the status quo, they still take issue with a pseudo-revolutionary movement that seems superficial and in need of rejuvenation. The song ends with the character wandering barefoot on the untravelled road mentioned in the title, holding tight to a good book, as they contemplate the state of their mind and the world around them.
Line by Line Meaning
Explain to me this
Please clarify the following situation or question.
World hurled into what depths?
What depths is the world sinking into?
Synapse connect left
Neural connections fire in my left hemisphere.
Jesu' perplexed?
Is Jesus confused?
Riddled answers just guess
There are no clear answers, just guesses and speculation.
Amount much to knots
The situation is complicated and difficult to comprehend.
Kept essence in inkblots
The truth is hidden and obscured, held within inkblots like a Rorschach test.
Why bother watch?
What's the point of watching this chaos?
Unfocused smiles fall uncoordinant
People smiling aimlessly, unaware of their surroundings.
Unpleasant stares ... they fall harder on pavement
Negative stares carry more weight than positivity.
Divine, my six $en$e barely pays rent
Despite my divine gift, I struggle to make ends meet.
Speak in jagged tune to us vagrants
Using rough and uneven language to address us outcasts.
Lost patience.
I'm running out of patience.
Spoke dead tongue from basements
Speaking in an ancient language from the depths of the underground.
Trace this back to nights of backspins
Reminiscing of long nights spent listening to DJ backspins.
Evil-eyed by them has-beens with glass chins
Being judged by former successful people who lost their success and are now fragile.
Much to my chagrin I caught wind of your pseudo-revolution
I was disappointed to hear of your false attempt at revolution.
Dried hemoglobin in need of transfusion.
The situation is so dire that it requires drastic intervention to survive.
Untraveled road I wander barefoot
I'm lost on this unfamiliar path without direction or guidance.
Unravel left lobe hold tight your good book
Deconstruct my left brain hemisphere to understand my psyche, but don't underestimate my faith.
took all them got type Job niggas shook
I took everything from those who doubted me, like Job from the Bible.
One tends to forget all its rawness
With time, we lose appreciation for the rawness and vitality of life.
Intricate underground movements as in a game of spades.
Revolutionary underground movements are like playing a strategic game of spades.
(Mundane months profess the soft charade)
Everyday life can seem boring and pointless, masking the real issues we face.
It all this vision which obstructs our sight
Our own lofty visions and goals can sometimes hinder our perception of reality.
(Why you so concerned with shades? I don't even remember your name!)
Why are you so worried about superficial things when you don't even know who I am?
(Had 20/20 back when we was tight.)
We used to be close friends when we had clear vision of our priorities.
Unrattled nerves
I'm calm and composed, not easily rattled.
I heard your words rattle off center
I hear your words, but they don't resonate with me.
Don't give a fuck about your tenure
I don't care about your status, achievements or position.
Eyed you since you entered
I've been keeping an eye on you since you arrived.
My verbal tends to render you obsolete
My words can make you irrelevant and insignificant.
Lay your head to concrete
Lay down on the hard ground and face reality.
My blood of life be beats
My life force and passion runs through my veins.
So who you to desecrate?
Who are you to disrespect and defile my beliefs?
Left lobe oscillates in twilight disgust
My left brain hemisphere is filled with disgust and contempt in this state of indeterminate transition.
Thoughts stared as such scraps of papers I clutch
My thoughts are scattered and I cling to small pieces of paper to keep track of them.
Hold no clue
I have no idea what's going on.
Paradigm dismantled
The way I used to see the world has been destroyed.
Mind missing type Maya wearing Jesus' sandal.
My mind is lost like the missing Mayan civilization, seeking clarity like Jesus wandering in the desert.
Contributed by Christopher K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Klax K.
killer!
524
insane shit
finnishbutterfly
only 75 views?? è giusto che sia così.