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.
Trampled Brethren
Dälek Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Niggas caught on heron nods
Stil at odds with false gods of archaic age.
Angelic face wretched with pain ignites my flame.
Your mundane daily life amazes me
Such complacency.
Tattered city once brimming with life now sits abandoned
Some feel these thoughts to random
As they sit in wonder.
Abundant sun pours over ald steel and bricks
Filling my aching eyes till they split.
I felt my earth shift, contort, and twist.
Lift heavy brow to view what happened to my tiny corner of dirt.
Worthless soul too old to care
As despair builds thick amongst my people.
From burnt steeples hear distant toll of bells
Ancient tongue swells as one lumbers with prenatal language.
Manage a coarse throaty mumble to convey how this earth crumbles.
I tumble, close to where I've been a million times before
Free to ignore pain which pounds at human temples.
I resemble less of a man and more the dirt I tread on.
To my trampled brethren,
Heaven won't accept you!
Either you or it don't exist.
Consider that a gift
As we walk through that mist filled vally
Vulnerable souls tell tales of ill proportions
Scorching RA soothing moon, soon to dim
My travels at an end, light bends to dark
Jagged crossed sticks manhandled as scripture and art
Picture your Christ as blond and blue eyed,
As mine resides within confines of empty glass bottle.
Robbed of youth i wobble past society and rest my head on curb of reality,
If only for a nap,
To grasp for that which we lack.
Remain trapped in these three dimensions
Mention I once stepped past, now viewed as insane.
Trained human pets scurry to cubical for food pellets.
Next funeral for those who think, cause thoughts are relics.
I smell this viscous odor on each face I meet,
Seems humanity reached peak in 20th century.
My jaded eye strains to see through a smoke-filled room.
Consumed by books which speak of our past
At last begin to piece together our beginnings
With few fleeting seconds till our end,
Quickly cross that bridge you bum,
See what's on the other shore.
It's lure magnetic
In our drunken minds
Poor feeble shell hoping for so much more
Left entranced by ancient dance of emptiness.
Few are the blessed who feed on truth's breast.
The opening lyrics describe the singer's contemplation of the world around them, which they view with a mix of incredulity and pain. They see people wasting their lives in "mundane daily" routines and feel frustrated by the abandonment of a once-thriving city. A sense of despair pervades the song, with references to "false gods" and the destruction of the earth. The singer feels a sense of kinship with the "trampled brethren" of the song's title, who are rejected by heaven but also beyond the reach of earthly concerns. The singer describes their own disconnection from society and their longing for something more meaningful.
Line by Line Meaning
With uncertainty i ink my final thoughts on unlit blocks
I express my final thoughts with hesitation on blank pages
Niggas caught on heron nods
People are addicted to drugs
Stil at odds with false gods of archaic age.
Still struggling to break free from ancient false beliefs
Angelic face wretched with pain ignites my flame.
A beautiful face enduring pain inspires me
Your mundane daily life amazes me
I find your ordinary life fascinating
Such complacency.
But I also find it concerning
Tattered city once brimming with life now sits abandoned
A city that was once vibrant is now deserted
Some feel these thoughts to random
Some may think these thoughts are irrelevant
I hand them their empty heads as main coarse to DaVinci's Last Supper
I metaphorically serve them their empty thoughts like a main course at a dinner party
As they sit in wonder.
And they are left to contemplate
Abundant sun pours over ald steel and bricks
The sun shines bright on old buildings
Filling my aching eyes till they split.
And hurts my eyes that are sensitive to light
I felt my earth shift, contort, and twist.
I felt like my world was collapsing and changing
Lift heavy brow to view what happened to my tiny corner of dirt.
I look around to see what has become of my small patch of land
Worthless soul too old to care
I feel disheartened and too old to do anything about it
As despair builds thick amongst my people.
The feeling of hopelessness grows among the people around me
From burnt steeples hear distant toll of bells
I hear the sound of church bells from far away ruins
Ancient tongue swells as one lumbers with prenatal language.
The local language is primitive and ancient
Manage a coarse throaty mumble to convey how this earth crumbles.
I try to express in a rough voice how the world is falling apart
I tumble, close to where I've been a million times before
I fall down, in the same place where I have fallen many times before
Free to ignore pain which pounds at human temples.
I can choose to ignore the pain that causes headaches
I resemble less of a man and more the dirt I tread on.
I feel more like the dirt than a human being
To my trampled brethren,
To my oppressed brothers and sisters,
Heaven won't accept you!
You won't find salvation in heaven!
Either you or it don't exist.
Maybe you don't exist or maybe heaven doesn't
Consider that a gift
But maybe that's a good thing
As we walk through that mist filled vally
As we journey through the valley of mist
Vulnerable souls tell tales of ill proportions
Exposed spirits reveal stories of sorrow
Scorching RA soothing moon, soon to dim
The hot sun and calming moon are both coming to an end
My travels at an end, light bends to dark
My journey ends as darkness replaces light
Jagged crossed sticks manhandled as scripture and art
Crooked branches used as symbols and art
Picture your Christ as blond and blue eyed,
You may imagine Jesus as a white person
As mine resides within confines of empty glass bottle.
I have my own personal version of Jesus within an empty bottle
Robbed of youth i wobble past society and rest my head on curb of reality,
I feel like society has taken away my youth and I lay my head on the pavement of truth
If only for a nap,
Maybe for just a quick rest,
To grasp for that which we lack.
In order to seek what we are missing
Remain trapped in these three dimensions
We are limited to only these three dimensions
Mention I once stepped past, now viewed as insane.
I talk about something I experienced once that now makes me seem crazy
Trained human pets scurry to cubical for food pellets.
People are like trained animals, rushing to their cubicles for scraps of food
Next funeral for those who think, cause thoughts are relics.
The next funeral is for those who think critically, because that is seen as old-fashioned
I smell this viscous odor on each face I meet,
I perceive a thick, unpleasant scent on every face I see
Seems humanity reached peak in 20th century.
It seems like humanity was at its best in the 20th century
My jaded eye strains to see through a smoke-filled room.
My tired eyes struggle to see through a room filled with smoke
Consumed by books which speak of our past
I am absorbed by books that recount our history
At last begin to piece together our beginnings
Finally starting to understand how it all started
With few fleeting seconds till our end,
With only a few short moments until we are gone,
Quickly cross that bridge you bum,
Cross the bridge quickly, you homeless person,
See what's on the other shore.
Discover what's waiting on the other side
It's lure magnetic
It's pull is irresistible
In our drunken minds
In our confused state of mind,
Poor feeble shell hoping for so much more
We are weak and hope for greater things
Left entranced by ancient dance of emptiness.
We are enchanted by the meaningless ancient dance
Few are the blessed who feed on truth's breast.
Only a few fortunate ones get to experience the nourishing truth
Contributed by Thomas G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.