Deltron 3030

Kid Koala, Deltron 3030, Dan The Automator | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 1, 2008)
• Original Release Date: 2008
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Traffic (The Orchard)
• ASIN: B001A5T1NQ
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (221 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,893 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #11 in Music > Dance & DJ > Trip-Hop
  • #31 in Music > Rap & Hip-Hop > Experimental Rap

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.co.uk

Hip-hop confabulations don't come much more forward-thinking than this. Working from solid atomic principles, Deltron 3030 takes one producer, one MC, and one DJ and throws them beyond Futurama. Dan the Automator (one of the founders of the Handsome Boy Modeling School and administrator of Dr. Octagon's porno hospital) reinvents himself as the Cantankerous Captain Aptos and teams up with Deltron Zero (a.k.a. Hieroglyphics crew member Del tha Funky Homosapien) and Skiznod the Boy Wonder (bucky turntablist Kid Koala). Between the radio ads for future-funked, rap jams, and camouflaged cameos (by the likes of Prince Paul, a castrato Damon Albarn, MC Paul Barman and his Upper West Side doppelgänger Sean Lennon), the Deltron crew advise you to upgrade your brain to avoid getting sucked into the time virus. ("Ugrade your gray matter," they chant, "'cause one day it may matter.") The thematic opener, "3030," sounds like a beat-driven David Lean movie that slipped into the DJ's fingers with 31st-century rhythm stutters and scratches. Automator ping-pongs loops as rousing choral parts swell with space pride. "Things You Can Do" riffs off mod rock while a harpsichord hack and Sean Lennon drops feature on the sickly sweet mental apocalypse of "Memory Loss." Over its 21 tracks, Deltron 3030 erases the errors of this rap era in favor of hip-hop's future fathers. --Chris Campion

Product Description

The super group Deltron 3030 is composed of producer Dan the Automator, rapper Del tha Funkee Homosapien and DJ Kid Koala and sometimes features guest artists who also take on varying futuristic pseudonyms. Originally released in 2000 on the now-defunct 75ARK record label, this Hip Hop concept album was released the same year as the Gorillaz first 12" and is on a similar plane. Following the release of Deltron 3030, all three members participated in the Gorillaz' self-titled debut album. With Del aka Deltron Zero on vocals, Dan the Automator aka The Cantankerous Captain Aptos on production, and Kid Koala aka Skiznoid the Boy Wonder on turntables, this album takes the listener on a paranoid journey set in a dystopian year 3030 dealing with viruses, the apocalypse, an oppressive government, and a war waged against a huge company called the Corporate Bank of Time that rules the universe, all to the well-crafted and consistent musical backing of the Automator. Appearances by Damon Albarn (The Gorillaz, Blur), Prince Paul, Peanut Butter Wolf, DJ Money Mark, Paul Barman, Mark Bell (Bjork, production), Sean Lennon, and Mr. Lif compliment Del's vocal style and add the right amount of flavor to this classic period piece. This official reissue includes three bonus tracks not available on original release and there are rumors of a sophmore album by Deltron 3030 due out in late 2008. Make sure you pick up a copy of this album the second time around as copies of the original release consistently fetch more than $50 online.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

71 of 84 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Magically DELicious, December 29, 2001

By 

M. S. Tucker "subversive snot" (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Deltron 3030 (Audio CD)

Today I had an epiphany! I heard this CD for the first time at a friends house, then had to leave to buy it, urgently because evidently I had been missing out on something spectacular. I began this journey at the end and worked my way backwards. It started with Blur and Cibo Matto which led to Gorillaz, which led to this.

Generally as a rule, I am not the biggest fan of hip-hop or rap or whatever you want to call it. Sure I like Dr. Dre and some Eminem and of course the Beastie Boys along with a very small dose of DMX but other than the real mainstream hip-hop....never give it much of a thought. That all went out the window when I bought the Gorillaz debut in June 2001 and started to learn about the sheer brilliance behind the maddness.

Between Del, Dan, Kid and the cameos by Sean Lennon as well as my hero Damon Albarn, you really can't get any closer to perfection than this (with the exception of 3 tracks on the Gorillaz CD). The amazing sampling that goes on and the loops that you would never expect in a million years (ie a harpsichord) are what initially got my attention and then...there are the lyrics. They are so out there in left field and yet...for some reason, make perfect sense. The style of the rap is unique as well, hard to describe, very hard-hitting but not aggressive like DMX or Wu-Tang ..not "thug like"...more like a Rhodes Scholar morphed with George Clinton..again, difficult to describe but amazing. The backbeat and tracks are also unusual, there is a good amount of bass which you would expect but not the pounding that you hear in the more mainstream stuff, the loops and beats are woven very tight and seamless. I am seriously awestruck by this.

I think that this CD is actually a bit more accessible than the Gorillaz CD so I am not quite sure why it never got much of a "buzz" going. Perhaps now it will.

I realize I am way behind and missed this bandwagon. The only reason I wrote this was to let the slow learners like me know..get this...you won't believe it. Not even sure what category you would put this in really. It is so far ahead of anything maybe a new genere should be set for this or maybe it doesn't need one at all.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great album, January 17, 2001

By 

Jeff Rutsch (Oakland, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Deltron 3030 [Vinyl] (Vinyl)

I'd recommend anybody to pick up this album. Dan the Automator and Del are always great, but I think they both have their personal bests with this one. Every track is tight, although I would've gotten rid of a skit or two.

If I was to make a complaint, it's that it so sucessfully combines pretentious pop music with hip-hop, something that maybe shouldn't be combined in the first place. The arrangments are less "Dr. Octagon" and more "Sgt. Pepper's"... the amazing title track has a chorus with orchestra that sounds vaguely "Day in the Life," the opening to "Mastermind" sounds like the intro from "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," and Sean Lennon even sings in "Memory Loss." The rapping is smooth and smart, but so dedicated to the concept of life in a science fiction world that it becomes a focus of the album, like a "Tommy."

But really there's nothing to complain about. The beats and rapping are great, and the arrangements and lyrical focus are revolutionary. Ten years from now all hip-hop will sound like this, but I can't believe it'll ever be done this well.

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Profound, awesome hip hop, December 9, 2004

By 

SystemStructure "System uses Meditate! A goo... (town, WA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Deltron 3030 (Audio CD)

This IS gold. This is GREAT hip hop and one of the ultimate albums to arrive in recent years. Even though this has been out for a while, it remains one of the most cutting edge and awesome of all hip hop albums. For me, this is the underground working together to make a near flawless work of art. Usually, when there are "guest slots" on an album it means the album is weak and has no substance. NOT SO HERE.

DELTRON 3030 is one of those epic releases where everything works. The guest dj's actually add their genius to the combined forces of the other dj's instead of having an ego contest. It is strong, meaningful, straight talking hip hop and is without a doubt FIVE STARS. Congrats, all involved with this.