Deltron 3030

Deltron 3030 is an alternative hip-hop group from San Francisco, United States, active from 2000 to the present. It is built around producer Dan the Automator, rapper Del the Funky Homosapien, and DJ Kid Koala, who perform under the personas the Cantankerous Captain Aptos, Deltron Zero/Deltron Osiris, and Skiznod the Boy Wonder. The group also works with a wider circle of musicians and uses futuristic pseudonyms across its projects.

Music and concept

The group’s debut album, Deltron 3030, appears in 2000 and is structured as a concept record set in the year 3030. Its narrative centres on conflict between righteousness and malevolence, with Del’s alter ego Deltron-Zero and the Automator, described as a time-travelling cyborg wizard, confronting powerful corporations in a thermodynamic universe. The lyrics are written in less than two weeks and draw heavily on futuristic outer-space imagery, in the tradition of Afrofuturist work associated with Sun Ra and George Clinton. Many of the samples on the album come from French classical composer William Sheller.

Later releases

Deltron 3030’s second album, Event 2, appears in 2013 after a long period of delays and repeated suggestions that it was close to completion. Production begins in 2004, and by 2006 several songs are already written and the album’s lyrical theme is mapped out. The album’s first single is “City Rising From the Ashes”, which is influenced by the story of Osiris. An expanded edition of Event 2 appears in 2016 and includes instrumental versions from the album. That same year, a live album titled Live is released, featuring Deltron 3030, collaborators from Event 2, and the 3030 Orchestra.

Live performance and ensemble work

In 2012, Deltron 3030 performs at the Luminato festival in Toronto in what Kid Koala describes as the Deltron Event 2 World Premiere. The performance includes a full horn, strings, and rhythm section conducted by Dan the Automator, premieres ten songs from Event 2, and introduces the visual style of the album.

Line-up

The group is listed as including Juan Alderete, Dan the Automator, Del the Funky Homosapien, Taka Hirose, Skiznod the Boy Wonder, and Alex Swain.