Dela – Translation Lost
Drink Water Music: 2011
While Montreal/Paris-based producer Dela’s sophomore release, Translation Lost, may suggest a disconnect of some sort, nothing could be further from the truth. Building on the success of his debut, Changes of Atmosphere, he returns with a record filled with hard-hitting drums balanced by refreshing melodies to create a hazy sound that is all his own.
This time, Dela goes for self on six of the album’s 13 tracks. This focus on the instrumentals definitely gives him a chance to pay respect to his influences and showcase his own sound. “Mars Part III” offers the apparent juxtaposition of hard-hitting boom bap with deft keyboard melodies and some scratched-in Nas quotes for good measure – but it definitely works. “1 Second Time Machine” opens with quotes from the same phone message that serves as the album’s introduction, but adds a funky saxophone and another hard-hitting drum beat to showcase Dela’s obvious jazz influence.
But it’s not all jazz for Dela. On “Jay Electropietricus”, the producer incorporates synth instrumentation and choir vocals into a track that is almost begging for an MC.
Speaking of MCs, Dela has chosen wisely on Translation Lost. Underground favorite Blu makes three appearances (“Lucy’s&Looseleafs”, “WhatUWanna” and “WhatUWanna (Remix)”) and the two exhibit a tremendous amount of chemistry. The Cali MC flows smoothly, as per usual, over tracks that blend hard-hitting drums with a more carefree instrumentation. The drums on “WhatUWanna” alone should have fans clamoring for a full-length collaboration between the two artists.
MC Kemizt, who is actually working on a full-length with Dela, delivers a memorable performance on “I Will” – a track whose hard-hitting drums and piano keys wouldn’t sound out of place on a classic ATCQ album. But it’s Dela’s first guest MC who steals the show. Kansas City-based Reach rides perhaps Dela’s best beat for all it’s worth on “Go On”. The vocal sample and boom-bap production couple perfectly with Reach’s lyrics and will definitely have you hitting repeat.
By the end of the album, this much is clear: Dela’s ability to blend his wide variety of influences (jazz, soul, funk and electronic) with the hard-hitting boom bap of classic hip-hop makes Translation Lost a definite success.
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4 out of 5
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