Dels

Last updated

DELS
Birth nameKieren Dickins
Also known asKieren Gallear
Origin Ipswich / London, England
Genres Hip hop
Occupation(s)Recording artist, musician, rapper, graphics designer, filmmaker, art director
Instrument(s)Vocals
Years active2005 (2005)–2015 (music)
2016–present (art director)
Labels Big Dada, Ninja Tune
Website DELS on Big Dada

Kieren Gallear also known as DELS, is an English art director, recording artist, rapper, graphics designer, and filmmaker born in Ipswich; he is currently based in London. Gallear signed with the Ninja Tune imprint Big Dada in May 2010. [1]

Contents

GOB (2011)

DELS has released three singles, "Shapeshift", "Trumpalump" (produced by Hot Chip's Joe Goddard) and "GOB" (produced by Kwes), in 2010 and 2011. His debut album GOB (2011) was produced by Kwes, with Micachu engineering two tracks and Joe Goddard three tracks. DELS met all three producers via Myspace when the social networking site was at its peak of popularity. [2]

Critical acclaim

DELS was described as the "Future of UK Hip Hop" by British national newspaper The Times in their "Ones to Watch 2011" list in January 2011.[ citation needed ] Paul Lester of The Guardian has complimented Dickins for his ability to set himself apart from many homogeneous hip-hop artists by sounding both languid and urgent. Lester has described Dickins as "Dizzee mixed with the Björk of Vespertina". [3] DELS has received positive media coverage from BBC Radio 1 and 6 Music DJs such as Zane Lowe, Annie Mac, Huw Stephens, Reggie Yates, Huey Morgan and Lauren Laverne. DELS' single "Shapeshift" was listed by Dazed & Confused and Drowned in Sound as one of their top singles of 2010.

Petals Have Fallen (2014)

Gallear's second album, Petals Have Fallen , was released on 3 November 2014. He said: [4]

I met most of the people that contributed to this album on MySpace back in 2005. We had a page called "Loners", where myself and the likes of Kwes, Micachu, Ghostpoet, Sampha, Coby Sey, Elan Tamara and others were all featured. We always said that we'd do a proper album together eventually. Petals Have Fallen is probably the closest thing to that happening to date.

Personal life

DELS is a fan of football club Arsenal and Japanese anime. [5]

Discography

Studio albums

EPs

Singles

YearSingleAlbumLabel
25 February 2008"Lazy" Moshi Moshi
23 August 2010"Shapeshift" GOB Big Dada
29 November 2010"Trumpalump" feat. Joe GoddardGOBBig Dada
25 April 2011"GOB"GOBBig Dada
18 August 2011"Capsize" feat. Joe Goddard & Roots ManuvaGOBBig Dada
26 November 2012"Bird Milk" feat. BILABlack Salad EPBig Dada
26 November 2012"You Live in My Head"Black Salad EPBig Dada
8 August 2014"RGB / Fall Apart" Petals Have Fallen Big Dada
23 October 2014"Burning Beaches" feat. Rosie Lowe Petals Have FallenBig Dada

Guest appearances

Filmography

Music videos

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ninja Tune</span> English record label

Ninja Tune is an English independent record label based in London with a satellite office in Los Angeles. It was founded by Matt Black and Jonathan More and managed by Peter Quicke and others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roots Manuva</span> English rapper

Rodney Hylton Smith, better known by his stage name Roots Manuva, is a British rapper and producer. Since his debut in 1994, he has produced numerous albums and singles on the label Big Dada, achieving commercial success with albums Run Come Save Me and Slime & Reason. He has been described as "one of the most influential artists in British music history." His most recent studio album, Bleeds, was released in October 2015.

Sixtoo was the main project of Canadian underground hip hop DJ, producer and rapper Vaughn Robert Squire between 1996 and 2007. He has since retired the Sixtoo name, and is pursuing other directions in electronic music, with a large genre shift from experimental hip hop to deeper club sounds of various tempos. He has also released music as Speakerbruiser Rob, and Prison Garde.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Big Dada</span> Record label

Big Dada is a British independent record label imprint distributed by Ninja Tune. It was started by reputed hip hop journalist Will Ashon in 1997. It is best known for marketing of prominent British hip hop artist Roots Manuva, poet and playwright Kae Tempest, grime pioneer Wiley, rapper and designer DELS and Mercury Prize winners Speech Debelle and Young Fathers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DJ Vadim</span> Russian-English DJ and record producer

Vadim Alexandrovich Peare, known professionally as DJ Vadim, is a Russian-English DJ and record producer. Born in Saint Petersburg and raised in London, Peare is additionally a promoter, record collector, radio presenter, occasional painter and writer, whose music combines hip hop, soul, reggae and electronica. He previously ran Jazz Fudge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soulja Boy</span> American rapper and record producer (born 1990)

DeAndre Cortez Way, known professionally as Soulja Boy, is an American rapper and record producer from Atlanta, Georgia. He rose to prominence after his self-released 2007 debut single, "Crank That " peaked the Billboard Hot 100 for seven non-consecutive weeks. After its commercial re-release by Collipark Music, an imprint of Interscope Records, he released the follow-up single, "Soulja Girl" in promotion for his debut studio album, Souljaboytellem.com (2007). The album spawned the single "Yahhh!" and peaked at number four on the Billboard 200 despite unfavorable critical reception.

This is the discography released by Amon Tobin under his own name, under the names Cujo, Two Fingers and Only Child Tyrant, and in collaboration with other artists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">B.o.B</span> American rapper (born 1988)

Bobby Ray Simmons Jr., known professionally as B.o.B, is an American rapper. Raised in Decatur, Georgia, Simmons signed with producer Jim Jonsin through his Rebel Rock Entertainment label in 2006. Two years later, he and Jonsin signed a joint venture recording contract with fellow Georgia rapper T.I.'s Grand Hustle Records, an imprint of Atlantic Records. Following his major-label deal, Simmons quickly achieved commercial success when his 2009 debut single, "Nothin' on You", peaked the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and received Grammy Award nominations for Record of the Year, Best Rap Song, and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration at the 53rd Grammy Awards.

The Invisible are an English band, fronted by the singer and guitarist Dave Okumu. The band formed as Okumu's solo project but quickly developed into a full-fledged band with friends Tom Herbert and Leo Taylor (drums). Their self-titled debut album, released on 9 March 2009, was nominated for the Mercury Prize and selected as critics choice for iTunes album of the year.

Will Ashon is an English writer and novelist, former music journalist and founder of the Big Dada imprint of Ninja Tune records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Speech Debelle</span> Musical artist

Corynne Elliot, better known as Speech Debelle, is a British rapper formerly signed to the Big Dada record label. She was the winner of the 2009 Mercury Prize for her debut album Speech Therapy. She released her second album, Freedom of Speech on Big Dada in 2012 and her third album, tantil before i breathe independently in 2017.

<i>Kwesachu Mixtape Vol.1</i> 2009 mixtape by Kwes. & Micachu

Kwesachu Mixtape Vol.1 is the first collaboratively produced mixtape album by producers/songwriters Micachu and Kwes and the second mixtape album by musician Micachu. Together, the producers are known as Kwesachu.

<i>Speech Therapy</i> (album) 2009 studio album by Speech Debelle

Speech Therapy is the debut album from British rapper Speech Debelle. It was awarded the British Mercury Prize in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juice Aleem</span> Musical artist

Juice Aleem is a rapper born in Birmingham, in ceremonial counties West Midlands, England.

Kwes is a British music producer, composer and artist from London, England. Kwes is also currently signed to Warp as a solo artist and released his debut album, ilp in October 2013. He has since gone on to produce music for the likes of Damon Albarn, Bobby Womack, Solange Knowles, Sampha, Loyle Carner, Black Coffee, Nubya Garcia, Tirzah and numerous others.

<i>Gob</i> (Dels album) 2011 studio album by DELS

GOB is the first studio album by British rapper/graphic designer DELS, released on 2 May 2011. The album was recorded between 2009 and 2011 in London and in Dels' studio at his mother's house in Ipswich. It was produced by Joe Goddard of Hot Chip, alongside Micachu and Kwes.

<i>Finally Famous</i> (Big Sean album) 2011 studio album by Big Sean

Finally Famous is the debut studio album by American rapper Big Sean. It was released on June 28, 2011, by GOOD Music and Def Jam Recordings. Recording sessions took place from 2010 to 2011, with Kanye West serving as the only executive producer on the album. The record serves as Big Sean's first studio release, under the whole Finally Famous series, following these mixtapes such as Finally Famous Vol. 1: The Mixtape (2007), Finally Famous Vol. 2: UKNOWBIGSEAN (2009) and Finally Famous Vol. 3: Big (2010).

<i>Freedom of Speech</i> (Speech Debelle album) 2012 studio album by Speech Debelle

Freedom of Speech is the second album by British rapper Speech Debelle. The record was recorded in London, United Kingdom and produced entirely by Kwes. It was her second album release on Big Dada Recordings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Webby</span> American rapper

Christian Walcott Webster, better known by his stage name Chris Webby, is an American rapper from Norwalk, Connecticut. Chris Webby has released many mixtapes such as the DJ Drama-hosted Bars On Me (2012) and his EP There Goes the Neighborhood (2011), which peaked at number 101 on the Billboard 200. He has worked with various artists such as Freeway, Mac Miller, Joell Ortiz, Big K.R.I.T., Method Man, Apathy, Prodigy, Bun B, Tech N9ne, Jarren Benton, and Kid Ink. In 2013 he and his label, Homegrown Music, signed a deal with E1 Music. He then released Homegrown, another EP, in November 2012. Webster released his debut studio album Chemically Imbalanced on October 27, 2014.

<i>Petals Have Fallen</i> Album by DELS

Petals Have Fallen is the second album by DELS. It was released through Ninja Tune imprint, Big Dada on 3 November 2014 on vinyl, CD and digital format.

I met most of the people that contributed to this album on MySpace back in 2005. We had a page called “Loners", where myself and the likes of Kwes, Micachu, Ghostpoet, Sampha, Coby Sey, Elan Tamara and others were all featured. We always said that we'd do a proper album together eventually. Petals Have Fallen is probably the closest thing to that happening to date.

References

  1. "Big Dada DELS". London: Big Dada Recordings. 1 May 2010. Retrieved 21 December 2010.
  2. "Dels release GOB album". Musicremedy.com. 9 February 2011. Archived from the original on 19 April 2012. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
  3. Lester, Paul (13 July 2010). "DELS (No 824)". The Guardian . London.
  4. "DELS on Big Dada". Ninjatune.net. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
  5. "INTERVIEW WITH DELS". Outlineonline.co.uk.