Critical
Praise for DELS:
"Deep, cerebral and inventive... The future of UK hip-hop" - The Times
"A fresh sound in UK hip hop, DELS' debut LP is an off-kilter winner." - The BBC
"This is what Jay-Z would sound like if he grew up with the London house movement of the '90s and felt no need to waste time with raps justifying a past career in drug dealing."
- CMJ
The Video:
British hip-hop's new golden boy, DELS, is celebrating the recent release of his album, GOB, by releasing his new song, "Capsize," to radio, and is accompanying that release with a brand new mini-documentary, filmed at Fortress Studios and shot and edited by Yemi Bamiro, that highlights the making of the song.
For the song, DELS teamed up again with Joe Goddard of Hot Chip, and brought on renowned London MC Roots Manuva, who DELS has wanted to work with for a while. "Growing up as a teenager back home in Ipswich, I was always a fan of his music," explains DELS in the mini-documentary. "For him to be featured on my record is a massive, massive deal for me. It just made me feel that much more confident about my album." For Roots Manuva, the feelings were mutual. "After seeing him perform I was like, 'This guy's on another tip... this guy's got more of the package'," says Roots. "So I said to him, 'Let's link and do something together. Not necessarily something for a record company, let's just get on a beat together or something!"
With an epic brass introduction to match the equally epic trio, "Capsize" is a heavy track with thick verses and a fuzzy big-band production. Dealing with the eternal struggle between the youth and everybody else, the track is conscious but still has the potential to, as Joseph Patterson of MTV's The Wrap-Up described it, "have you looking like the Churchill dog" while listening to it. Along with DELS' twangy British flow and Roots Manuva's instantly recognizable tone, Joe Goddard's deadpan delivery of the cautionary hook, "Times they are so treacherous, we need to stick together/ Now the nights are closing in, we need to stick together," gives the song an unsteady feel.
Watch the short documentary here: http://vimeo.com/22391096
GOB is now available via Big Dada/Ninja Tune.
The album + the official "GOB" music video can be purchased here, at iTunes for only $5.99:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/gob-bonus-video-version/id429686137
The Background:
"The future of UK hip-hop." That's how The Times describes Kieren Dickins, better known to fans as 26-year old British MC and graphic design artist DELS. At the forefront of the UK's hip-hop scene, DELS is releasing his debut album, GOB, an album that includes collaborations with producers Joe Goddard of Hot Chip, Kwes, Micachu, along with remixes from the likes of TV On The Radio's David Andrew Sitek. With his background in graphic design, DELS also set out to create the album's unique artwork, including individual artwork for each track, along with providing direction for GOB's music videos. GOB is available now via Big Dada.
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