DELTRON 3030

11.06.00
Irving Plaza, New York
Story and photos by Hal Miller

Hip-hop super-group Deltron 3030 proves how a little imagination can go a long way when looking into the future of music. The underground hip-hop outfit's self-titled debut sends them into the year 3030, where, as sole survivors of Earth, they traverse the universe looking for adventure. Upon returning to the twentieth century, our heroes Del Tha Funkee Homosapien, producer/remixer Dan "The Automator" Nakamura and turntablist Kid Koala recount their interstellar exploits.

Ambling around the stage like Gumby on muscle relaxers, Del commands our attention with rapid-fire wordplay while sampling wizard Nakamura orchestrates each groove oddity with ambient sounds. To Nakamura's left, Koala dazzles us with his acrobatic vinyl skills.

Each Deltron soundsmith is a master at his own game, each taking this sonically symbiotic collaboration a musical step forward. The addition of touring musicians, sampler Domino, guitarist Brandon Arnovick and bassist Merlo Podlewski, brings a physical element to live versions of "Positive Contact" and "Virus." Arnovick milks wah-wah and other effects through his guitar while Podlewski provides a solid, room-vibrating foundation for the rest of the sounds to build upon.

Midway through the set, Del settles into a trance while Koala weaves a Fantasia-like soundscape from high atop his gear-cluttered perch. Playing with a horn sound, Koala stretches the tone's shape and texture to its silly putty limits. After squeezing the brass timbre into a trebly bleat, he squashes it into oblivion to everyone's cheers.

Loose-limbed Del soon rises from his zen-like state to rejoin us. Many an "ah-ight" is heard in response to the MC's laid-back yet charismatic between-song mini-speeches.

"Who likes the new OutKast [album]?" Del inquires of the approving crowd before breaking into the throbbing groove of "3030." " ... that muthafucka is takin'shit to a new level."

Taking shit to a new level is Deltron 3030's design - whether it's subtle touches like Arnovick amplifying musical toys through his guitar or the group telling a story through kaleidoscopes of sound, these intergalactic hip-hop assassins make it clear that their music has no boundaries.

"It's all about the future," Del casually informs us, " ... because the future is right now."

- Hal Miller

This review originally appeared on FUBU's Y2G.com.