[beastie]

Hi,

I just picked up some cds today celebrating my end of exams and semester for my current year. got some DJ Krush stuff (Zen and Back in the base from Cold Krush Cuts) anyway, he's so very good. very versitile. can scratch, mix, and groove to perfection. the hip-hop stuff is very tight. love it. and the kicker is he's japanese and doesn't even understand english. i had some dj shadow stuff in mp3 format. i think i like dj krush a bit better than shadow. maybe it's the cd format vs. mp3.

anyone else like to comment?

 

[nanahachi]

i've been listening to Krush for years, he's great. totally different style from Shadow, especially in Krush's newer albums, which have been much more experimental...

pick up Krush
and
Ki-Oku...very jazzy

Also, Meiso is mostly hip hop, with cameos from Black Thought (of the Roots) and Guru.

 

[scrypt]

I've got just about every album DJ Krush ever made, including the first (my least favorite). I first heard him on Cold Krush Cuts and have been addicted to his ghost-misted skeletal off-center sound ever since.

My favorites are *Kakusei* (his most experimental album) and *Ki-Oku*, his turntable/trumpet duet with toshinori kondo. I posted here the minute I picked up *The Message at the Depth* because, though parts are too commercial for me (I don't like the vocals), certain cuts are really mesmerizing, and combine his distinctive rhythmic dislocations with textures lush enough to earn Susuma Yokota's envy.

 

[beastie]

thanks scrypt,

i got cold krush cuts too. very nice. i'm hoping to collect all of his work. definitely the most talented electronica/hip-hop mix artist i've ever heard.

cheers

 

[usc goose]

I just got DJ Krush's "zen" on vinyl. This stuff is nice. (listening as I type) I first heard him on the movie "Scratch" wanted to get something of his ever since. Great chill album.

 

[DLP]

Hey, what would be a good album of his to pick up if I wanted to get a good example of his work? Ya know, if you had to pick one out of all the albums of his you own to give to someone who's never heard him, which one would it be?

 

[Noesis]

I'm interested too.

What kind of music is it, exactly?

I second DLP's question as well.

-Chad

 

[tom hankins]

I've got three by DJ Krush . Code 4109, milight, and my favorite Kakusei.

 

[beastie]

sorry i only got two of his albums. his stuff is very diverse as i've already said. a little bit of hip-hop, trip-hop, turntable scratch solos, acid jazz, IDM similar to amon tobin, and um... maybe other stuff since i've only very limited resources. i didn't bother downloading any mp3's because i'm hoping to collect all of his works so don't want to ruin the music. anyway, some people say the earlier stuff is a bit on the jazzier side. the late nineties is a bit more hip-hop. i really like "Zen", read really good reviews on amazon.com so anyone want to try him can start with that album.

cheers.

 

[DLP]

Grabbin Zen, it's got Black Thought and he's freakin awesome.

 

[usc goose]

I really like day's end off that record too. Great to scratch over.

 

[scrypt]

Quote:

Originally posted by DLP Hey, what would be a good album of his to pick up if I wanted to get a good example of his work? Ya know, if you had to pick one out of all the albums of his you own to give to someone who's never heard him, which one would it be?

They're all a bit different, so it depends on the listener's focus.

The great thing about Cold Krush Cuts is that it conveys Krush's sense of atmosphere and is eclectic but also holds together as a continuous mix. It's also part of a budget 2 CD set with funsters Cold Cut on the other disc.

The other albums are a bit more specific.

Kakusei is by far the most challenging album rhythmically. He finds sync points between sparse rhythmic tracks that no one else would hear, and the dissonance, the rub, between the tracks is what I love most about him. I'd start the more adventurous with that one.

Ki-Oku would be the best album for jazz aficionados.

I like Zen a lot, and it might be many people's best introduction. It wouldn't be mine. Zen, like The Message at the Depth, shows off quite a bit of Krush's more conventional side; it's his international travel album. Still, there are three fine experimental cuts on Zen, one of them evocative of the departure of a dislocated train. And the artwork (by Krush's himself) is sort of gorgeous.

Even Code 4109 is decent: it shows that Krush can be inventive when spinning singles into club mixes. Strange, to hear Krush's rumble and smudge corrupt a familiar Eminem track.

 

[becomethemould]

i've never heard his music before, but have heard his name. and with you guys commenting how good he is, i hopefully will see him live next week. only $30. i will see him unless i have assignments to do, or unfortunately have to work

 

[scrypt]

I just posted a more detailed look at rhythmic experimentation in Kakusei. You can find it here.