Hip-hop supergroup Deltron 3030 is back to the future with a new album and a first-ever tour date in Victoria, set for Tuesday at Alix Goolden Hall.
Fans have been waiting over a decade for a new album from the futuristic trio comprised of producer Dan Nakamura, aka Dan the Automator, rapper Del the Funky Homosapien and Canadian DJ Kid Koala, and the response so far is that it has been worth the wait.
In a phone interview, Nakamura said fans have responding well to the new music and have shown a lot of love, letting the group know they've been missed during their decade-plus long hiatus.
"It seems to have been everything that people wanted to have happened, in terms of the record," Nakamura said. "It was a fun record to make and they seem to like it for what it is."
Members of the ground had always intended to come together for a follow-up to their self-titled breakthrough 2000 album, but as happens, people get busy with other projects, such as all three members' involvement with the early years of Damon Albarn's Gorrilaz project.
The band, and particularly Del as the lyricist, also struggled with catching up with the progression of Deltron 3030, as the members started to realize the project was being driven by world events into a new direction.
"When we did the first record, we were having a lot of fun and it was futuristic and all this stuff," Nakamura said, "and then we realized that actually the more pertinent stuff was the stuff that was actually making a statement. …
"It became just more of a event and news-generated type of thing than we originally thought it was. … The last 10 years in present day society, a lot of things have happened, I think it gave us a lot of stuff to think about."
The album takes place even further in the future than the first, in a world ravaged by technology, where the criminals rule and the police are outnumbered. The characters of the album are the survivors, doing what they can to stay afloat in it all.
Keeping one tradition from the first album, Event 2 features an eclectic assortment of guest performers, including actor Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Rage Against the Machine frontman Zach de la Rocha.
The collaborations are typically born simply of friendships and the desire to work together, Nakamura said. During the writing process Nakamura will get to a point where he starts to get someone in mind for a bit of vocals here or there, and then the invites go out.
"It's all family," Nakamura said.
The band is hitting two Canadian dates on this swing of the tour, playing Vancouver's Commodore on Mon. Nov. 18 and, for the first time ever, heading to Victoria the following day to play at Alix Goolden Performance Hall (907 Pandora Ave.)
The group is touring two different live performances, one with a stripped-down, rock and roll approach of bass, drums, guitar and turntables, and another flushed out version featuring an orchestra and choir.
Victoria will be witness to the rock and roll incarnation
"It's a very dynamic show, I like it a lot. It's visceral," Nakamura said. "Anyone who likes the record is going to like the show, that's how I'll put it."