pic. Jonny Scala
dälek can already be confidently described as a legendary act. With their latest album, Brilliance of a Falling Moon, they only solidify that position. It’s an uncompromising record — a powerful response to everything that’s currently happening in the world. At the same time, it’s also a record full of hope — as you’ll read in the interview, hope is the fuel that should drive all of us. I had the great privilege of speaking with Will Brooks and Mike Mare about the making of the album, their return to the roots, and their unique dynamic — as well as what it’s like to be the “older uncle” on the scene.
[MOŻESZ PRZECZYTAĆ TEN WYWIAD PO POLSKU]
I came across a quote where you said that this time you went back to the essence of how you write songs, to how it all started. And I’d love to hear more about that. I know the recording process was really short — around two weeks — and that you went back to using older gear. Could you walk me through how this album came together?
Will Brooks: Yeah. I mean, it wasn’t really about pulling out old gear. I basically just used the MPC 3000, which has been central to my production since the beginning. It was more about going back to that core tool and staying with it. More than anything, it was about the approach. It was Mike on guitar through effects and me on the MPC — finding sounds, building loops and tracks at the same time, feeding off each other. There was this constant back and forth from the very beginning, and you can hear that in the music. It feels very cohesive.
Usually, we take those early ideas and build layer upon layer, and then sculpt things back. But this time, when we heard what we had, it didn’t feel like it needed more. So it became about adding vocals, arranging, and only minimal overdubs — just small accents. The songs were already there very early on. So the whole process was more stripped back. Not basic — that’s not the right word — but reduced to its core.
Mike Manteca: Yeah, the right word is “the essence.” It’s the essence of how Will started making beats and how I started making music. It’s minimal in the sense that we’re working with just those core elements — well, three, because you also have Will’s voice.
Yeah — but why this approach? Was that a conscious decision, or did it just happen naturally this time?
Will: I wish there was a better story. I wish we could say we planned it that way — but we didn’t. I mean, we’re not that smart. It just happened. When we heard what we had, it felt strong enough on its own. We didn’t want to add more and risk losing that. We wanted to let it shine.
Mike: And I’m actually going to disagree a bit — I think we are that smart, because we trusted our instincts. Instead of overthinking it, we just let it happen. Usually you start with tons of layers and ideas, but this time it was more like: let’s just get in a room and play. We trusted the moment. There wasn’t a lot of overthinking.
The album title comes from a book by Erik Larson. I was wondering when that idea came about — did you have the title from the beginning, or did it come later?
Will: I was actually reading the book while we were working on the album, and the title came later. I didn’t have one yet. There’s a moment in the book where the daughter of an ambassador is writing a letter, describing a night in Berlin. And in passing, she says: the brilliance of the falling moon. I liked the way it sounded — it just resonated with me. So I wrote it down and decided that would be the title. I ran it by Mike and he was like, Yeah, that sounds awesome.
It wasn’t until we were doing an interview for the liner notes and the new bio with a good friend of ours, John Morrison — an amazing musician and writer — that someone actually asked me where the title came from. When I told him the story, and later saw what he wrote, he was the one who really connected the dots. I think that’s what makes him such a great writer — not just asking the right question, but seeing the connections I didn’t fully realize myself. I think choosing that title was more subconscious, connected to the themes of the book. I just felt that the phrase fit. But those layers give it even more meaning and make it more powerful.
There’s a strong thread of resistance running through the album — for example in I Am a Man, which is very intense and powerful. There’s also a reference to James Baldwin in Expression of Love. Could you tell me more about those contexts and how they found their way into your lyrics?
Will: With I Am a Man, it really came from what’s been happening in this country — especially the dehumanization of immigrants. It made me think about how this country has historically treated so-called others. There’s that image of a Black man marching with a sandwich board that says I Am a Man in big letters. I kept thinking about how powerful that was then — and how it still applies today.
So I used that as a starting point, almost like a manifesto — declaring who I am and what I believe in. That I am a man. That I’m a person. The James Baldwin part is interesting, because the lyrics for Expression of Love were already written — the hook, everything. I just felt like it needed a vocal sample. So I started going through different material, and Baldwin came to mind. I looked up interviews and documentaries and found a snippet of him saying exactly what I was already expressing in the song. It just lined up perfectly. I love moments like that — when things come together without forcing it. It wasn’t planned, it just worked. And I feel like his words needed to be there. They make the song even more powerful.
And I also think all the problems we’re dealing with now have been around forever. There’s this history that keeps repeating. People like James Baldwin, or the people protesting in the ’60s — they went through things too. Just like we are now. It keeps happening.
I was planning to ask this later, but since you brought it up — how do you find hope when you see the same things happening over and over again?
Will: I don’t know if things get better — but that’s kind of the point. You find hope in the fact that this place has always been on fire. And sometimes it’s been worse. You find hope in holding the people you love close, building community, enjoying life — and finding joy in the beautiful things that still exist. Because there are beautiful things in this world. Otherwise, why would you fight? If things were truly as hopeless as they sometimes seem, we wouldn’t resist. We wouldn’t struggle. There’d be no point. The reason we do struggle is because there’s so much beauty in the world — things that are worth fighting for.
There’s a line in The Essence — a track we released as a single but that didn’t make the album — where I say: I refuse to let them kill my joy with bigotry. And that’s really my mantra. There’s no way I’m going to let these motherfuckers ruin my day. I’m going to enjoy my life with my friends, my family, my loved ones — and live the best life I can in spite of them. That’s where the hope is. That’s where the joy is. And that’s what you have to hold on to.
Mike, as someone who isn’t the vocalist in the group, what was your reaction when you heard those lyrics for the first time?
Mike: Everything that comes out of Will’s mouth lyrically is powerful. There’s always a lot going on there. When you talk about hope — people listen, they read, and they think it’s all just doom and gloom, like some end-times narrative. But what Will does is show that there’s still hope in all of it. Like he said — things are on fire, they’ve always been on fire. Sometimes it’s been worse. And as humans, we’re not really meant to process everything we’re exposed to now. We’re not emotionally equipped to take in everything happening in the world. But Will has this way of calling things out without always naming them directly, and that gives his writing a kind of timelessness.
Of course, there are moments when it’s more direct — when it’s like “fuck this motherfucker,” and you know exactly what he means — but that’s not the majority of it. I also have a unique position in all of this. We’re sitting in a room, and Will is right there, saying these words as they come to him, in real time. If you want to talk about power — that’s it. Everyone else hears a version of it later. I get it in the moment, right in my ear. That’s a completely different level of intimacy with what he’s creating. I don’t even know how to describe it — but it’s powerful.
Do you feel that you’re responsible for completing those lyrics with the right sounds — making them even more powerful?
Mike: The sounds came first, so his lyrics are actually making the music more powerful. The foundation was already there, and then he brought those words into it — so it works the other way around.
Will: Because we build the sound together, I might not know the exact words yet, but I usually have a sense of how I want to approach them. I’m thinking not just about meaning, but about my voice as an instrument — how it fits into what we’re creating. I don’t see one as more important than the other. I want the sonics and the vocals to exist on the same level.
They’re all part of one piece. I think a lot of MCs separate themselves from the music, which is a mistake — because vocals and lyrics are just another instrument. And sometimes you can express more with sound than with words. We’ve done that a lot in Dälek — there are tracks where the most powerful moment is when I’m not saying anything, and you’re just hearing the raw emotion of the music.
Mike: There’s a really fine line in that balance. On this record, we started with the music, but what Will did with his voice and lyrics ended up shaping everything. It used to be that we had something like an 85% finished track and then Will would write to it. This time, we had a much rougher version, he came in with vocals, and then we built everything around that. So in a way, his voice became even more central than before. It’s always been important, but here it’s really in the spotlight.
Will: I think that also comes from how stripped back the tracks are — and from how we’re mixing now. That’s partly experience, but also the technology and gear we have access to. We’re able to place the vocals in a better way while still keeping the music as powerful as we want it to be. So the balance is better than it’s ever been. All of that comes together in the final result. It sounds closer to what I hear in my head than ever before. It’s never 100%, but it’s getting closer — and that’s a good feeling.
Do you feel like writing these lyrics was easier or harder this time?
Will: I’ve always seen this project — this music — as my therapy. So I don’t really have a choice. It’s what I need to say, what I need to get out. And honestly — I know it sounds cliché — but there are moments when I’m writing or recording and I think: where is this even coming from? The way the flows come together, the concepts, how everything connects within a verse — I don’t fully understand it. But I’m glad it happens. So whether it’s easier or harder — I don’t really know. It’s heavy, it’s emotional, but it’s necessary. I need to say those things. It’s what keeps me somewhat sane in everyday life.
I wanted to ask about the music scene in the US right now. There’s clearly a strong wave of anti-trump expression. Do you feel like something is shifting? Are there new communities or DIY scenes emerging? Do you see any kind of change?
Mike: From what I can see — and this is just my perspective — everything moved heavily into social media for a while, and it felt like people weren’t as active in real life. But I’m also an old man at this point. I don’t go out much anymore, so I’m probably missing a lot. My “going out” is mostly touring or seeing friends when they’re in town, so I can’t fully speak on what’s happening on the ground.
That said, it seems like every generation eventually becomes active — they organize, they bring people together, they throw shows wherever they can. People are always pushing boundaries, physically and mentally. I don’t know if it’s a direct reaction to… the person you mentioned — I refuse to say his name — but if you look at history, art and music always respond to the environment. So yeah, I think there’s a lot happening — including things we don’t even get to see.
Will: There’s definitely a lot going on — but a lot of it belongs to a different generation. And that’s okay. It’s not supposed to be for us. When we were younger and starting out, we weren’t making things for older people either. So there are scenes and communities that aren’t for me anymore — and I’m completely fine with that. I actually love it. From the outside, though, I do see things happening. Not just musically — I remember during the pandemic, when there were protests after people of color were being killed. I went to a march in my city, and it was organized by people who were maybe 16 years old.
When I was 16, I wasn’t that aware, that articulate, that connected to what was going on. So seeing that gave me a lot of hope. Of course, that’s not every young person. But knowing that people like that exist — organizing, speaking out — that matters. I really hope they keep going. And as I get older, I feel like my role is to support that — and to know when to step back. Because one of the biggest problems with older generations is that they don’t know when to get out of the way.
Mike: Honestly, everyone should know when to take a back seat at some point.
Will: It just doesn’t make sense to me that people in their 70s or 80s are still making decisions that affect younger generations — decisions they won’t even be around to see the consequences of. If you’re shaping the future, you should have some stake in it. You should care about what happens decades from now. Otherwise, what’s the point? You’re making decisions without being part of the outcome.
Mike: Yeah. I spend time with my nieces and nephews — they’re young adults now — and I realize I have no real connection to their world. I don’t fully understand how they live or what they experience.
I know you said you’re not fully up to date with what’s happening on younger scenes, but it’s interesting to hear you speak from that kind of “older uncle” perspective. There are artists like Backxwash, clipping., or HO99O9 — people who were probably listening to you while growing up and discovering different sounds. How do you feel about that scene now? Do you follow those artists, listen to them?
Will: Yeah, I do follow a lot of those artists. Whether or not we inspired them — that’s really for them to say, not us. But that’s just how music works. Everything builds on what came before. For us, if it wasn’t for Public Enemy, My Bloody Valentine, Boogie Down Productions, Faust — we wouldn’t exist. There’s always something before you that helps you find your voice. And if you’re lucky, you get to influence the next generation. The fact that we’re still doing this, that we created our own lane early on, and now it’s more accepted — now there’s more of a whole universe around it — that’s amazing to me.
You’ve got artists like Backxwash, clipping., billy woods, Fatboi Sharif, Moor Mother — everyone is speaking a similar language, but doing completely different things with it. And that’s what makes it exciting. I love it.
Mike: I think we’re all influenced by things we don’t even realize. Sometimes it’s just something we heard once. When we were growing up, yeah — you could find rare records, but mostly we had the radio. And at that time, mainstream music was actually incredible. The artists who were on the radio in the ’80s and ’90s were kind of mind-blowing. If you wanted to find underground music, you really had to search. You had to be in the right circles, someone had to show it to you. Now everything is accessible. And that’s kind of beautiful. It can also be overwhelming — I’ll hear something and then not even remember what it was later. Maybe that’s just the “older uncle” part. But it’s amazing that there’s so much out there now. There’s so much to discover, so much to be inspired by.
Will: Yeah — technology is a tool, but it’s a double-edged sword. Everything is available, but it can also be overwhelming, to the point where it feels like nothing is available. At the same time, there are hardly any gatekeepers anymore. You can find what you want, be inspired by what you want, create what you want. Even pop music now is this mix of genres — everything blends together. When we were starting out, people were still trying to put everything into boxes. That’s not really the case anymore. So in a way, I feel like we won. We were making music that didn’t fit anywhere — and now that’s normal.
Mike: Yeah, if our music came out now, it probably wouldn’t even be called experimental.
I also have this quote that really sums up what you’ve been saying: “we made a career of fitting in where we don’t fit in.” I really like that.
Mike: Nice one, Will.