Oct 1

Oct 1 Review: Deltron 3030 at The Orange Peel

With a tour supporting Gorillaz putting them to Charlotte just a day later, Deltron 3030 could have easily skipped Asheville on this rare road trip for the hip-hop supergroup. Thankfully, the trio — Del the Funky Homosapien, Dan the Automator, and Kid Koala — took the opportunity to treat our mountain town to a performance of its classic, eponymous debut.

Fittingly released in 2000, in the wake of Y2K hysteria, Deltron 3030 was a groundbreaking album that offered a look into hip-hop's adventurous future. Del, Dan, and Koala were all already established in the underground and would each release superb solo records that same year, but as a trio they complemented one another perfectly. Synthesizing their production and DJ talents, the Automator and Koala composed a funky, cinematic, science-fiction backdrop for Del to tell his Orwellian dystopian tales of space-age rap battles in the year 3030.

In 2000, the internet was still in its relative infancy and artificial intelligence was mostly the stuff of science fiction — yet on "Virus," Del had the foresight to imagine engineering a computer virus to topple an online system that corporate tyrants had used to control the masses. It's an idea I think a lot of the population could probably get behind right now after years of being manipulated via social media networks and the recent talk of the existential threat of AI.

Unlike some of its contemporaries, Deltron 3030 has aged splendidly in the 26 years since the LP’s release, and that quality was on display at The Orange Peel on Sept. 22 as the trio performed for a packed house. They stayed true to the concept album's sequencing, immediately treating longtime fans to early highlights "3030," "Things You Can Do," and "Positive Contact." With so many favorites arriving early in the set, it could have been tough to sustain momentum. But the album's depth and consistency shone through as they kept the crowd bopping all the way to late-record standouts "Battlesong" and "Memory Loss," with personal album and set favorite "Madness" coming midway.

During the performance, the guys didn't leave much room for banter, but Del and the Automator did work in some praise for Kid Koala keeping his DJing analog. It'd be hard to imagine the masterful turntablist onstage without a stack of vinyl records to scratch. Koala's own opening set was also a delight — like watching a master painter make their brushstrokes.

It took 13 years to get the Deltron 3030 follow-up, Event II. Though that album hasn't reached the cult-classic status of its predecessor, it's a solid listen. A long awaited third album has been confirmed to be completed, and with dystopian tech concerns growing closer to reality, the timing seems ideal. Hopefully the strong response to the current run of shows helps convince the trio that the demand is there to continue touring.

Until that album finally drops, I'll continue to return to the impeccable debut and its follow-up. And when they do release it, Asheville will be ready to pack the house again for a return visit.