DJ Krush: A Short History

He's released eight records, two DVDs and innumerable singles over a career spanning 14 years, was instrumental in shaping the reputation of Mo' Wax, and started out as the drummer of a marching band; true believers, we present DJ Krush.

Krush (or as we like to think of him "DJ Krush puny humans! The Tremendous Turnablist! The Svengali of Scratching!") was one of the first Japanese artists to make a dent in the global hip-hop scene. With Meiso, Krush and his numerous remixes, he pioneered a style of elegantly atmospheric, cooler-than-school turntablism that makes DJ Shadow look like an M.O.R. plagiarist.

His first international album, Strictly Turntablized was released on Mo' Wax, the label that went on to give the world Dr. Octagon, Andrea Parker, and of course, DJ Shadow. While his new DVD, A History of Krush, features appearances from Mos Def, DJ Shadow and Company Flow, Krush is keen to express his rejection of genre. "When I make music, I don't intend to make it hip-hop," he says, and is coy about his role in shaping the turntablism genre. "I don't categorize music like 'this is hip-hop, this is electronica' when I listen or create music," he tells us.

Indeed, Hideaki Ishi, the man we know best as Krush, has produced soundtracks, a piece for Nike Presto, and the artwork to his own Zen album. Each project has what he describes as "a different colour", but for Krush there are no alter egos: "In the core part, you will need to always have something rock solid, but at the same time, you should also have flexibility in your thinking. So I guess I'm using different channels, in a positive way of course, when I DJ or when I create music. But I keep in mind that I will always be Krush after all, from every angle." Despite this broad-thinking attitude, A History of Krush seems rather exploitative of Mo Wax's cult appeal, presenting a large amount of performances from the 90s, as well as a new full-length set. The performance of his iconic Kemuri is admittedly stunning, and the widescreen collage of nocturnal beats, rhythmic shifts and the wailings of a solitary cello are centred around Krush's achingly cool mastery of the decks.

He's also recently released Stepping Stone, a self-remix album which, along with the DVD, serves to bookend his career so far. The more cynical-minded might suggest this is taking advantage of his dedicated fanbase, but he's already working to produce material for another album. He's also coy about giving away too many details, but will be working with more vocalists. His previous collaborations have helped make such talents such as Aco, Angelina Espraza and Esthero, giving a new perspective on established artists such as Mos Def or CL Smooth. His choice of collaborators reflects his ability to incorporate disparate elements under one banner, and he says he mostly cares about individuality; "I'm attracted to artists who are unique and have a firm opinion of their own."

While Krush does not speak English (interviews are done through an interpreter) and incorporates many Japanese percussive elements into his work, his musical style is decidedly universal. The breadth of his collaborations depicts an interest in music as a direct form of communication: "Language is not the only thing that makes a song special. The whole combination with what's added on top of it makes it outstanding from others." He's not worried about appearing Americanised or attached to any particular culture, despite the commercial pressures on foreign rappers to voice their thoughts in English. "I do have to admit that there are many aspects (of Japanese hip-hop) that are influenced by English/American rap. But at the same time, there are also many cool groups that are delivering their thoughts in their own language."

Perhaps struggling to step out of the shadow of his own past, DJ Krush looks set to be a driving musical force for many years to come, and to date, he's the only man to make Nike sponsorship seem cool.