Deltron 3030 - Deltron 3030

Ahhhh oh my God, where has this been all my life? Have I been living under a rock? Quite fucking possibly! For those who are as stupid and ignorant as I am, Deltron 3030 is a hip hop "supergroup" (much in the vein of Madvillian or Run The Jewels) consisting of Dan The Automator, Del The Funky Homosapien, Kid Koala as well as a few select special guests, who all take on futuristic personas to deliver the story of Deltron (played by Del) in the year 3030.

Cue plenty of ridiculously good flow (without a lot of bad language, you'll notice), spot on sampling, spine-tingling old school hip hop beats, scratches and spoopy sci-fi themes. "Time Keeps On Slipping" with Damon Albarn is essential listening for Gorillaz fans (all the musicians on this track would be heavily involved with the first Gorillaz record), and sets the template for what was to follow for that group.

Mainly, this is a decent slab of futuristic hip hop that has been revered as a cult classic (still kicking myself for being in the dark on this!). This did spawn a sequel record many years later but that does not even come close to capturing the vibe and charm that is present here. 

Gorillaz - Gorillaz

The Gorillaz self-titled record was the first album that I ever owned. Linkin Park's Hybrid Theory (unfortunately) holds the title for first record ever bought, but Gorillaz was the first thing that I seriously jammed, and it was instrumental in developing my interest in music as a serious hobby. Back in the day I had this terrible transparent blue Aiwa tape walkman / radio combo, and I played the livin' fuckin' guts out of my crappy tape copy of this.

Most people are surprised I love Gorillaz so much simply because I can't fucking abide Blur. But, what drew me to Gorillaz first album was the thick dubby aspect underneath the pop sensibilities of the band's songs; the thick spine of bass and chunky, dusty drum programming. The dirty, mechanical rumbling holding together the melancholic "Tomorrow Comes Today" is a perfect example of the grimey, almost-VHS-like vibe of the rhythm section on this album.

Then there's, obviously, "Clint Eastwood", with all that bagged up sunshine, and the bizarre first appearance of Del Tha Funky Homosapien, the rabid "Punk", the epic "Sound Check (Gravity)" and the downright fucking awful "Latin Simone". From the raucious rock of "M1 A1" to the introspective, arcade machine tomfoolery of "Double Bass", the whole thing is dripping in dirty dub vibes, a trend which unfortunately did not continue on later Gorillaz recordings (despite the fucking glorious Spacemonkeys spin-off dub remix album, Laika Come Home).

Don't forget, kids - it's the music that we choose.