a r t i s t : Daelek
t i t l e : Gutter Tactics
d a t e : 2009
l a b e l : Ipecac
c a t : IPC109 Promo
s o u r c e : CDDA
g e n r e : Avant / Experimental / Hip-Hop
r l s. d a t e : Dec/2008
t r a c k s : 11
b i t r a t e : VBRkbps
s i z e : 74,8 MB
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Gutter Tactics
ôI think weÆre moving forward further and further into the
back of our minds,ö reflects producer okt0pus, one half of
hip-hop duo dΣlek (pronounced dial-ekt). With the groupÆs
fifth album, Gutter Tactics, dΣlek has closely packed
intensity with consistency, rallying banks of saturated grit
over the fractured insistence of New JerseyÆs boom-bap bricks.
ôOur debut EP Negro Necro Nekros and From Filthy Tongue of
Gods and Griots were about us starting out, sometimes getting
sounds more than songs,ö says okt0pus. ôAbsence was the book
on how extreme you could go. Abandoned Language had more
ambient moments, and was the end of that chapter of writing it
all either heavy or mellow. Gutter Tactics is more us
continually doing some early hip-hop shit but with the
attitude of the Melvins or Black Sabbath.ö
Not that dΣlek has ever been anything but hip-hop, even as the
group claims contemporaries from Techno Animal to Mobb Deep,
Kevin MartinÆs the Bug to Isis. A group whose intense lyrics
would clear the air even as its sonic density threatened to
clear the room, dΣlek has spent a decade-plus voraciously
consuming leftfield influences and spitting out sonic
altercations that have seen the group garner tremendous
European support even as dΣlek stays true to its membersÆ East
Coast origins.
ôIÆve always just said that itÆs hip-hop, because thatÆs my
culture - everything I do is hip-hop,ö says dΣlek, the groupÆs
namesake MC. ôAnd more than that itÆs a philosophy on how
music is made, itÆs the philosophy of digginÆ through crates
to find sounds you make your own regardless of genre. Afrika
Bambaataa sampled Kraftwerk, while we draw on the essence of
Faust, or My Bloody Valentine...ö
For Gutter Tactics, however, dΣlek drew from more than just a
cultural, spiritual and philosophical home. Having spent the
last two years building a commercial studio by hand, the group
similarly constructed Gutter Tactics from the ground up on
newly minted home turf, surrounded by patch bays of analog and
digital means located just outside the Lincoln Tunnel in Union
City.
ôSince I started my æstudioÆ was always my bedroom, and now I
live nine blocks away from the space,ö says dΣlek. ôThere is
no rolling out of bed and working on shit right there, but I
like the fact that I need to motivate. I was always making
beats constantly, but itÆs nice to have that provision - 1000
square feet of playground that inspires me to work even
harder.ö
Once the beats were collected, okt0pus invited members of the
groupÆs Deadverse massive into the studio, laying down sample
banks of ghosting tones from musicians such as Destructo
Swarmbots, recorded while tweaking effects live to erase any
human performance element. Absence could be equated to a Glenn
Branca aggregation of harmonic mΩlΘes and atonality pushed so
far it verges on pop, and Abandoned Language approached a
British-style hypnotism of encompassing more than overly
aggravated passages. The 11 tracks of Gutter Tactics, however,
work off the immediate grid, lyrics and loops informed by
arena-ready dynamics and electronic addling. The sound marches
forward even as it pays tribute to a time when Gang Starr fans
wore Bad Brains t-shirts and the Bomb Squad could make Slayer
seem childish.
Old school compression tricks were then used to slam the shit
out of signals, driving things into the red, getting sludge to
keep it from being empty, soulless, overly focused. ôIÆd
rather have that David Lynch lighting - shadowy,
claustrophobic, but shoved with detail,ö says okt0pus.
ôThis album isnÆt pummeling you, though,ö observes okt0pus.
ôItÆs got that heavy, but it takes a few listens to realize
just how substantial it is. We were guilty in the beginning of
having everything so focused and compressed, and this record
shows you can still be loud and retain the room dimensions
that make records really great to hear.ö
Lyrically, the socio-politically minded Gutter Tactics is
equally measured and insurgent. ôI donÆt make records for
shock value ... this is a collection of who I am at this point
and what I see around me, so itÆs a dark album, full of anger,
maybe some fear, and also hope. ItÆs the state of the world
where I, where we are at right now. I just think in America
itÆs not always as safe to speak truth anymore. So, while our
music may be abstract, I want the thought process to be more
straightforward.
ôExcept maybe this albumÆs title,ö concludes dΣlek. ôInstead
of having an absolute meaning the title æGutter TacticsÆ is
about the overall feel. ItÆs an album thatÆs raw, heavy, but
full of clarity.ö
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01-Blessed Are They Who Bash Your Children's Heads [01:25]
Against A Rock
02-No Question [04:40]
03-Armed With Krylon [05:11]
04-Who Medgar Evers Was... [08:04]
05-Street Diction [05:29]
06-A Collection Of Miserable Thoughts Laced With With [03:22]
07-Los Macheteros / Spear Of A Nation [03:16]
08-We Lost Sight [04:32]
09-Gutter Tactics [04:39]
10-2012 (The Pillage) [03:30]
11-Atypical Stereotype [06:23]
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50:31 min