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, commonly known as DJ Krush, was born in 1962 in Tokyo. He's a producer and DJ known for his atmospheric instrumental productions which incorporates sound elements from nature along with extensive use of jazz and soul samples. After watching the hip-hop film "Wild Style
Wild Style

Wild Style was the first hip hop culture motion picture. Released independently in 1982 by First Run Features and later re-released for home video by Rhino Home Video, the movie featured actors like Fab Five Freddy, Lee Quinones, the Rock Steady Crew, The Cold Crush Brothers, Patti Astor, Lady Pink and Grandmaster Flash....
", he was inspired, bought some turntables, and started to learn the art of turntablism
Turntablism

Turntablism is the art of manipulating sounds and creating music using phonographs and a DJ mixer. The word 'turntablist' was coined in 1995 by DJ Babu to describe the difference between a DJ who just plays records, and one who performs by touching and moving the records, stylus and mixer to manipulate sound....
. In the mid-1980s, along with DJ's and emcees like DJ Muro
DJ Muro

is an active Japanese hip hop producer and DJ. His real name is Takayoshi Murota. In 1987 DJ Krush, Microphone Pager, , TWIGY and others formed the "KRUSH POSSE", a crew of rappers and Dj's.During this time he excelled at DJing hip-hop and began producing hip-hop beats....
, he formed the Krush Posse, which made numerous appearances as a group during the rest of 1980's into the 1990s and earned recognition by becoming the first DJ in Japan
Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
 to perform with live musicians.






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, commonly known as DJ Krush, was born in 1962 in Tokyo. He's a producer and DJ known for his atmospheric instrumental productions which incorporates sound elements from nature along with extensive use of jazz and soul samples. After watching the hip-hop film "Wild Style
Wild Style

Wild Style was the first hip hop culture motion picture. Released independently in 1982 by First Run Features and later re-released for home video by Rhino Home Video, the movie featured actors like Fab Five Freddy, Lee Quinones, the Rock Steady Crew, The Cold Crush Brothers, Patti Astor, Lady Pink and Grandmaster Flash....
", he was inspired, bought some turntables, and started to learn the art of turntablism
Turntablism

Turntablism is the art of manipulating sounds and creating music using phonographs and a DJ mixer. The word 'turntablist' was coined in 1995 by DJ Babu to describe the difference between a DJ who just plays records, and one who performs by touching and moving the records, stylus and mixer to manipulate sound....
. In the mid-1980s, along with DJ's and emcees like DJ Muro
DJ Muro

is an active Japanese hip hop producer and DJ. His real name is Takayoshi Murota. In 1987 DJ Krush, Microphone Pager, , TWIGY and others formed the "KRUSH POSSE", a crew of rappers and Dj's.During this time he excelled at DJing hip-hop and began producing hip-hop beats....
, he formed the Krush Posse, which made numerous appearances as a group during the rest of 1980's into the 1990s and earned recognition by becoming the first DJ in Japan
Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
 to perform with live musicians. For about seven years, he produced tracks and remixes for other artists such as Monday Michiru
Monday Michiru

Monday Michiru Sipiaguine is a Japanese American actress, singer, and songwriter whose music encompasses and fuses a wide variety of genres including jazz, dance music, pop music, and soul music....
 (whom was also an emcee and singer of his during sets and an instrumental force for Krush Posse) until he finally released his first album outside Japan "Strictly Turntablized" in 1994 under Mo' Wax Records. It contained the hit single "Kemuri" which caught the ear of well-known hip hop figures such as DJ Premier
DJ Premier

Christopher Edward Martin , better known as DJ Premier is an United States record producer and DJ, and the instrumental half of the duo Gang Starr, together with MC Guru on the lyrical side....
. This album was followed by his first album "Krush" released internationally in 1995 and he has since released eight more. He has had recording contracts with Chance Records, Ninety Nine Records, Mo' Wax
Mo' Wax

Mo' Wax is a United Kingdom-based record label owned by James Lavelle, who founded it in the early 1990s. The label is responsible for bringing attention to the graffiti artist Futura 2000 by using his artwork on many of its releases in the early to mid 1990s....
 (he was the first Japanese artist to join), Apollo and Sony/Columbia. He works internationally as a producer, re-mixer, DJ and recording artist, bringing the unique flavour of Japanese hip hop
Japanese hip hop

Japanese Hip Hop or Nip Hop is said to have begun when Hiroshi Fujiwara returned to Japan and started playing Hip-Hop records in the early 1980s ....
 to the world.

Early Life and "Wild Style"


Ishi was born in 1962 in Tokyo
Tokyo

, officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan of Japan and located on the eastern side of the main island Honshu. The twenty-three special wards of Tokyo, each governed as a city, cover the area that was once the Tokyo City in the eastern part of the prefecture, and total over 8 million people....
. Ishi dropped out of school at an early age and joined a local gang, and a few years later, the Yakuza
Yakuza

, also known as , are members of traditional organized crime groups in Japan, and also known as "violence groups".Today, the Yakuza are among the largest crime organizations in the world....
. Early into his career as a Yakuza underling, Ishi discovered a severed finger
Finger

A finger is a type of digit , an organ of manipulation and sensation found in the hands of humans and other primates.Normally humans have five digits, termed phalanges, on each hand ....
 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
Wild Style

Wild Style was the first hip hop culture motion picture. Released independently in 1982 by First Run Features and later re-released for home video by Rhino Home Video, the movie featured actors like Fab Five Freddy, Lee Quinones, the Rock Steady Crew, The Cold Crush Brothers, Patti Astor, Lady Pink and Grandmaster Flash....
", the first hip-hop
Hip hop music

Hip hop music is a music genre typically consisting of a rhythmic vocal style called rapping which is accompanied with backing beats. Hip hop music is part of hip hop culture, which began in the Bronx, in New York City in the 1970s, predominantly among African Americans and Latino Americans....
 motion picture directed by Charlie Ahearn
Charlie Ahearn

Charles Ahearn was a Major League Baseball catcher, at least for one day, during the 1880 season. He was born in Troy, New York.Ahearn played in one game for the Troy Trojans of the National League on June 19, 1880....
. It was here that he got the inspiration to become a hip-hop
Hip hop music

Hip hop music is a music genre typically consisting of a rhythmic vocal style called rapping which is accompanied with backing beats. Hip hop music is part of hip hop culture, which began in the Bronx, in New York City in the 1970s, predominantly among African Americans and Latino Americans....
 musician and firm decision to become a DJ. The day after seeing this movie
Film

Film encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the film industry. Films are produced by recording images from the world with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or special effects....
, he headed to instrument shops looking for equipment. At this time the term "mixer
Mixer

Mixer may refer to:An electronics device:* Electronic mixer, a device for mixing signals* Frequency mixer, a telecommunications device used to alter the carrier frequency of a signal...
" was unknown to most of Tokyo
Tokyo

, officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan of Japan and located on the eastern side of the main island Honshu. The twenty-three special wards of Tokyo, each governed as a city, cover the area that was once the Tokyo City in the eastern part of the prefecture, and total over 8 million people....
'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 pioneers in Japan
Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
.

Role in the Music Industry

Aside from being considered one of the pioneers of Japanese hip hop
Japanese hip hop

Japanese Hip Hop or Nip Hop is said to have begun when Hiroshi Fujiwara returned to Japan and started playing Hip-Hop records in the early 1980s ....
, Ishi has established himself as one of the most respected artists and producers in the hip-hop industry, both in Japan
Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
 and abroad. He is reluctant to identify his music with any particular genre
Genre

A genre is a loose set of criteria for a category of composition; the term is often used to categorize literature and speech, but is also used for any other Art#Art forms or utterance....
, for it would place limits on his listeners and on his talents. He has been regarded as ambient
Ambient music

Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses on the timbre characteristics of sounds, particularly organised or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality....
, trip hop
Trip hop

Trip hop is a music genre also known as the Bristol sound. The trip hop description was applied to the musical trend in the mid-1990s of downtempo electronic music that grew out of England's hip hop music and house music scenes....
, 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.

Discography


Albums

  • Strictly Turntablized
    Strictly Turntablized

    Track listing#"Intro" ? 1:04#"Lunation" ? 3:34#"Fucked-Up Pendulum" ? 4:26#"Kemuri" ? 4:42#"The Loop" ? 1:53#"Silent Ungah " ? 4:23#"Interlude" ? 1:11...
     (1994, Mo' Wax MW025)
  • Krush
    Krush (album)

    For the electronic music group, see Krush.Krush is the debut album from DJ Krush....
     (1995, Shadow Records)
  • Meiso
    Meiso

    , meaning ?Straying?, is the third album released by DJ Krush....
     (1996, Mo' Wax MW029)
  • MiLight
    MiLight

    Track listing#"Intro"#"from Rino"#"Shi-Sekai" featuring Rino#"Jikan no Hashi 1"#"from Stash"#"Real" featuring Tragedy#"from Tragedy"#"Jugoya"...
     (1997, Mo' Wax MW077)
  • Back in the Base (1997, Hancuts, 2CD Set, other CD Coldcut & DJ Food)
  • Kakusei
    Kakusei (album)

    is the eighth album released by DJ Krush. It is generally considered to be his most acclaimed work....
     (1999, Sony/Columbia)
  • Code4109 (2000)
  • Zen
    Zen (album)

    is the ninth album released by DJ Krush....
     (2001, Red Ink)
  • The Message at the Depth
    The Message at the Depth

    The Message at the Depth is an Gramophone record released by Hip hop artist DJ Krush....
     (2003, Sony/Columbia)
  • Jaku
    Jaku

    Jaku , is an Gramophone record released by hip-hop artist DJ Krush....
     (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)


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
    DJ Food

    Originally produced by Coldcut on the Ninja Tune independent record label, the DJ Food project started in 1990 on the premise of providing metaphorical "food for Disc Jockey"....
     + Coldcut
    Coldcut

    Coldcut are an England dance music duo comprising Matt Black and Jonathan More. They are well known for their pioneering technique of using of hip hop style samples in dance music....
     (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
    Ronny Jordan

    Ronny Jordan is a guitarist at the forefront of the acid jazz movement at the end of the twentieth century. Additionally, Jordan can be included in several other jazz genres such as soul jazz, contemporary jazz, jazz funk, crossover jazz, and smooth jazz....
    )
  • Ki-Oku
    Ki-Oku

    Ki-Oku is a collaboration album between DJ Krush and Toshinori Kondo. Both are experienced musicians in their particular genre, with DJ Krush being one of Japan's most successful DJs, and Toshinori Kondo being a well respected trumpeter specializing in avant-garde jazz....
     (1996) (with Toshinori Kondo
    Toshinori Kondo

    Toshinori Kondo is an avant-garde jazz and jazz fusion trumpeter. He has lived in Japan, New York City, and Amsterdam. In college he was a member of the band "Funky Beaters" and by 1976 he was a member of an ensemble which gained some notice in his native Japan....
    )
  • Ryu (1999) (with DJ Hide & DJ Sak)
  • sweetest coma again feat.DJ Krush (2000) (with LUNA SEA
    Luna Sea

    Luna Sea is a Japanese Rock music band. It was formed in 1989 by Ryuichi Kawamura, SUGIZO, Inoran, J and Shinya Yamada, a lineup that remained consistent until the band's breakup in 2000....
    )
  • Kiss feat.DJ Krush (2000) (with LUNA SEA
    Luna Sea

    Luna Sea is a Japanese Rock music band. It was formed in 1989 by Ryuichi Kawamura, SUGIZO, Inoran, J and Shinya Yamada, a lineup that remained consistent until the band's breakup in 2000....
    )
  • Zero Landmine
    Zero Landmine

    Zero Landmine is an EP created to promote awareness of the problem of landmines and promote a ban on landmines. Ryuichi Sakamoto and other musicians formed a group called NML on April 25, 2001 to release a single....
     (2001) (with Ryuichi Sakamoto
    Ryuichi Sakamoto

    Ryuichi Sakamoto is an Academy Awards-winning, Grammy-winning, Golden Globe-winning Japanese musician, composer, record producer and actor, based in New York and Tokyo....
     and others)
  • Blue Fantasy DJ Krush Remix (2002) (with Tetsuya Komuro
    Tetsuya Komuro

    , also known as 'TK', is a Japanese keyboardist, songwriter and record producer born on November 27, 1958 in Fuchu, Tokyo, Japan. He is recognized for introducing dance music to the Japanese mainstream....
    )


DVD

  • Suimou Tsunenimasu (2007)/History of DJ Krush (US Title - 2007)


Footnotes


External links