(born 1962, Tokyo, Japan), better known as DJ Krush
, is a producer and DJ. He is known for his atmospheric instrumental productions which incorporates sound elements from nature along with extensive use of jazz and soul samples.
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DJ KRUSH TICKETS
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Early life and Wild Style
Ishi was born in 1962 in
Tokyo. Ishi dropped out of school at an early age and joined a local gang, and a few years later, the
yakuza. Early into his career as a yakuza underling, Ishi discovered a severed
finger wrapped in paper on his desk. Later, after discovering that it had belonged to his best friend, he decided to leave the yakuza and cut ties with the criminal underworld.
One day in the early 1980s, Ishi went to the movies with his girlfriend and saw the film
Wild Style
, the first
hip hop motion picture directed by
Charlie Ahearn. He quickly got the inspiration to become a hip hop musician, and made the firm decision to become a DJ. The day after seeing this movie, he headed to instrument shops looking for equipment. At this time the term "
mixer" was unknown to most of
Tokyo's electronic store salesmen. After having a hard time buying the things he needed, Ishi started his career as one of the first hip hop artists in Japan.
Role in the music industry
Aside from being considered one of the pioneers of
Japanese hip hop [1], Ishi has established himself as one of the most respected artists and producers in the hip hop industry, both in Japan and abroad. He is reluctant to identify his music with any particular genre, for it would place limits on his listeners and on his talents. He has been regarded as
ambient,
trip hop, some combination of the two, and hip hop. DJ Krush prefers to exercise an ideological distance from the genres he is usually grouped into, while maintaining a healthy appreciation for all music forms and styles.
[2]
Discography
Albums
- Strictly Turntablized
(1994, Mo' Wax MW025)
- Krush
(1995, Shadow Records)
- Meiso
(1996, Mo' Wax MW029)
- MiLight
(1997, Mo' Wax MW077)
- Back in the Base
(1997, Hancuts, 2CD Set, other CD Coldcut & DJ Food)
- Kakusei
(1999, Sony/Columbia)
- Code4109
(2000)
- Zen
(2001, Red Ink)
- The Message at the Depth
(2003, Sony/Columbia)
- Jaku
(2004, Sony/Columbia)
- OuMuPo 6
(2007)
Singles
On Mo'Wax
- Lost And Found / Kemuri
12" (With DJ Shadow, MW024)
- A Whim / 89.9 Megamix
12" (With DJ Shadow, MW033)
- Meiso
12" (MW042)
- Headz 2 Sampler
12" (With Zimbabwe Legit, MW052)
- Only The Strong Survive
12" (MW060)
[3]
Remixes
- ''Rebore Vol.3 Dj Krush Giga Mix A remix of the Boredoms
Mixtapes
- Holonic-The Self Megamix
(1997, Mo' Wax MW088)
- Code4109
(2000)
Compilations
- ColdKrushCuts
- DJ Krush + DJ Food + Coldcut (1997)
- Reload-The Remix Collection
(2001)
- Stepping Stones - The Self Remixed Best: Lyricism
(2006)
- Stepping Stones - The Self Remixed Best: Soundscapes
(2006)
Collaborations
- Bad Brothers
(1994) (with Ronny Jordan)
- Ki-Oku
(1996) (with Toshinori Kondo)
- Ryu
(1999) (with DJ Hide & DJ Sak)
- sweetest coma again feat.DJ Krush
(2000) (with LUNA SEA)
- Kiss feat.DJ Krush
(2000) (with LUNA SEA)
- Zero Landmine
(2001) (with Ryuichi Sakamoto and others)
- Blue Fantasy
DJ Krush Remix (2002) (with Tetsuya Komuro)
DVD
- Suimou Tsunenimasu
(2007)/History of DJ Krush
(US Title - 2007)
Footnotes
- Condry, Ian. Hip-hop Japan: Rap and the Paths of Cultural Globalization. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2006.
- Asia Pacific Arts: Krushing Labels
- http://www.vinylnet.co.uk/record-label-discographies.asp link