Rapper and producer Skt. DeLarge has been called “something as rare as an original in the world of hip-hop” and has impressed and surprised the Danish underground scene since 2020 with his expressive and thoughtful blend of alternative rap, noise, and digital hardcore. Skt. DeLarge recently announced his conceptual debut album Ritualer Er Det Eneste Vi Har At Holde Om… (Danish for ‘Rituals Are the Only Thing We Have to Hold On To…’) and released the first single yndig / YNKELIG (Danish for ‘Pretty / PATHETIC’).
Today, March 14th, sees the release of the album’s second single '[De/Der] [De/Dem]'. Here, the production pushes the hip-hop elements into the background in favor of pure digital hardcore, where overprocessed guitars cut through the mix alongside high-frequency synths over relentless blast beats. The bass-heavy verses act as a grounding base, making room for the anger to explode through the distorted, punk-infused sections.Skt. DeLarge says about the song’s theme:
"In a time when it feels like LGBTQIA+ people truly need as many voices as possible, '[De/Der] [De/Dem]' is my attempt to show support in a call for free love and gender identity. It’s a mockery of the haters who refuse to make an effort to include—something that’s also reflected in the title. A mockery of the mockery of pronouns in its performative misunderstanding."
Skt. DeLarge will perform at the newly reopened 1000Fryd in Aalborg alongside punk band Salver on April 5, at SPOT Festival in Aarhus on May 2-3, with more concerts to be announced soon.
Also, listen to SKT. DELARGEs new single 'yndig / YNKELIG' HERE
Skt. DeLarge is a combination of the title ‘sankt’ (Danish for saint) and the name ‘DeLarge’, which is a reference to the main character in Anthony Burgess' A Clockwork Orange. Perhaps the worst person one could imagine. Thus, the name expresses the duality of the human being. Skt. DeLarge's satirical performativity and experimental, distorted musical signature are imbued with anger and fragility, as he tackles issues like toxic masculinity, xenophobia, capitalism, and uncritical popular culture. What remains is a person shouting at a broken world, knowing he is also contributing to its destruction.
Skt. DeLarge debuted in 2020 with the EP Helgener and followed by his second EP Super Ego (2022), which received praise from listeners and critics, and hereafter a series of aggressively introspective singles like HEYOAH and LILLESPEJL was released. Subsequently, Skt. DeLarge played a number of well-received live shows across the Kingdom of Denmark and had the chance to support international names such as Denzel Curry and Danny Brown in Copenhagen, which did not go unnoticed.
Now, Skt. DeLarge can share his conceptual debut album Ritualer Er Det Eneste Vi Har At Holde Om… with the world. The productions exude Skt. DeLarge's intuitive, experimental approach, and musically, the album marks a notable artistic development. The prominent hip-hop sound from his previous releases has faded into the background in favor of a higher degree of stylistic experimentation, with traces of noise, hardcore and punk, and the use of analogue sounds are more prominent than before in the productions.
With Ritualer Er Det Eneste Vi Har At Holde Om…, Skt. DeLarge delivers a powerful, horror-like narrative about repetition, unfolding over three sections on three levels: The personal level, in the form of mental illnesses, habits, and stagnation. The societal level, in the form of recurring debates and issues that may shift slightly back and forth, but feel forever omnipresent. And finally, the global level, where history repeats itself, and the two micro-levels are affected by this macro-level. One feels small and insignificant in the grand scheme of things, but the world remains. Continues to spin. Everything reproduces itself, in rituals and repetitions—both good and evil.
When the world is sick, we are all sick, and when we are all sick, the world is too.