Dälek

dälek
Company type	Musical group
Industry	Music
Founded	1998 in Newark, New Jersey, United States
Founder	Will Brooks (MC dälek), Alap Momin (Oktopus), Joshua Booth
Headquarters	Newark, United States
Key people	Will "dälek" Brooks, Mike "Mike Mare" Manteca, Alap Momin (former), Joshua Booth (former)
Products	Experimental hip hop music

dälek (pronounced "dialect" and presented in all lowercase) is an American experimental hip hop ensemble that originated in Newark, New Jersey in 1998. The current members consist of MC dälek (vocals and production) alongside Mike Manteca (also known as Mike Mare), who handles electronics and production.

History

Emerging from the mid-1990s New Jersey DIY music scene, dälek was established by Will Brooks (MC dälek), Alap Momin (Oktopus), and Joshua Booth. Utilizing a college scholarship, Brooks purchased an MPC3000 sampler and subsequently left school to dedicate himself fully to music, forming dälek with Momin, who proposed adopting his own stage name as the group's title.

Throughout their career, the group worked with several DJs such as DJ rEk (1998–2002), Still (2002–2005), and Motiv (2006–2009). During this period, dälek released four full-length albums under Ipecac Recordings, along with numerous EPs, singles, and remixes issued through various independent labels.

In 2009, Booth departed to focus on completing his doctoral studies, while Oktopus moved to Berlin by 2010. The duo of Brooks and Momin then released the album Untitled in 2011 before entering a hiatus that lasted until 2015.

Brooks reunited with DJ rEk and collaborator Mike Manteca in 2015. This lineup produced Asphalt for Eden, which was released through Profound Lore Records in 2016. Later that year, dälek returned to Ipecac Recordings, leading to the 2017 release of Endangered Philosophies, an album acclaimed for its fusion of hip-hop, krautrock, noise, and shoegaze elements.

In 2019, dälek issued a six-track EP titled Respect To The Authors on vinyl via Exile on Mainstream; this release was made available digitally in 2020.

The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 restricted studio access, causing the group to abandon an album they were working on. Instead, MC dälek created the Meditations series—seven albums distributed exclusively as digital downloads produced from home.

Reuniting with Booth in 2021, dälek commenced work on Precipice, a ten-track album released both digitally and on vinyl in April 2022. This record features a guest appearance by Adam Jones of Tool.

dälek has shared stages with a wide array of artists including Godflesh, Isis, Prince Paul, Melvins, Tool, De La Soul, RJD2, The Young Gods, Meat Beat Manifesto, Jesu, The Pharcyde, Grandmaster Flash, KRS-One, Dub Trio, Charles Hayward, Cult of Luna, Zu, Blackie, The Gaslamp Killer, Earth, The Dillinger Escape Plan, The Bug, Mastodon, and Lovage. Additionally, Oktopus and MC dälek collaborated with experimental metal/hardcore punk group Starkweather on their 2010 release This Sheltering Night.

Style and influence

dälek’s sound is characterized by its dark, abrasive, and immersive qualities, drawing inspiration equally from industrial pioneers like Einstürzende Neubauten, the textured noise layers of My Bloody Valentine, and the dense sonic collages reminiscent of Public Enemy. Their music incorporates extensive sampling over an unconventional hip hop framework, making it challenging to categorize definitively. They have been associated with genres such as trip hop, glitch hop, metal, shoegaze, and traditional hip hop. Despite this broad stylistic range earning them some critique, their innovative approach remains distinctive.

MC dälek described their musical approach to the Chicago Sun-Times:

Members

Current

Will "dälek" Brooks – vocals, lyricist, occasional turntablist, production
Mike "Mike Mare" Manteca – instrumentation and production

Former

Oktopus – instrumentation and production
Joshua Booth – guitar, keyboard, production
Rudy "DJ rEk" Chicata – turntables
Hsi-Chang "Still" Lin – turntables
Motiv – turntables

Albums

Negro Necro Nekros (1998)
From Filthy Tongue of Gods and Griots (2002)
Absence (2005)
Abandoned Language (2007)
Gutter Tactics (2009)
Untitled (2010)
Asphalt for Eden (2016)
Endangered Philosophies (2017)
Precipice (2022)

Extended plays and singles

"Dälek vs. Dälek" (single, 2002)
Streets All Amped (EP, 2006)
Deadverse Massive Vol. 1 Rarities 1999–2006 (compilation, 2007)
"Molten" (digital single, 2016)
Respect To The Authors (EP, 2019)
"Decimation (Dis Nation)" (single, 2022)
"The Essence" (single, 2025)

Collaborations

Megaton/Classic Homicide (split with Techno Animal, 2000)
Insound Tour Support Vol. 7 (as OctaLapse with Chris Leo/The Lapse, 2000)
Ruin It (with Kid606, 2002)
Dälek vs. Velma (split with Velma, 2003)
Derbe Respect, Alder (with Faust, 2004)
Dälek vs. Zu (two-track remix single with Zu, 2005)
Deadverse Massive (12" four-track with Destructo Swarmbots and Oddateee, 2007)
My Education vs. dälek (with My Education, 2007)
Dälek vs. Ifwhen – Hear Less / No Good Trying (12" four-song with Ifwhen, 2008)
DJ Baku vs. Dälek (two exclusive Dälek tracks plus remixes by DJ Baku and vice versa, 2009)
Griots And Gods – Les Eurockeennes Festival Belfort 2010 (live collaboration with The Young Gods, 2010)
Anguish (nine-track album with Hans Joachim Irmler (Faust), saxophonist Mats Gustafsson, and drummer Andreas Werliin (Fire! Orchestra), 2019)

External links