DJ Krush

DJ Krush
Background information
Birth name	Hideaki Ishi (石 英明)
Born	1962 (age 48–49)
Origin	Tokyo, Japan
Genres	Instrumental hip hop, trip hop, hip hop, turntablism
Occupations	Producer, DJ
Instruments	Sequencer, turntable, sampler, mixer
Years active	1985–present
Labels	Mo' Wax
Website	www.sus81.jp/djkrush/# Official site

Hideaki Ishi (石 英明, Ishi Hideaki^?) (born 1962, Tokyo, Japan), better known as DJ Krush, is a producer and DJ. He is known for his atmospheric instrumental production which incorporates sound elements from nature and extensive use of jazz and soul samples.

Biography

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.^[1]

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 was inspired 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 a hard time buying the things he needed, Ishi started his career as one of the first hip hop artists in Japan.

Aside from being considered one of the pioneers of Japanese hip hop,^[2] Ishi has established himself as one of the most respected artists and producers in the hip hop industry, both in Japan and abroad. Upon entering the industry, Ishi, with his experimental beats and instrumental sounds, changed the face of hip-hop at a time when it was dominated by the American rap scene.^[3] 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.^[4] In 1996, DJ Krush contributed to the AIDS benefit album Offbeat: A Red Hot Soundtrip produced by the Red Hot Organization.

Discography

Albums

• Krush (1994)
• Strictly Turntablized (1994)
• Meiso (1995)
• Ki-Oku (1996)
• MiLight (1997)
• Kakusei (1999)
• Zen (2001)
• The Message at the Depth (2002)
• Jaku (2004)

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)

^[5]

Remixes

• Rebore Vol.3 Dj Krush Giga Mix A remix of the Boredoms
• L・O・V・E ’95 Dj Krush Mix A remix of Naniwaman

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)
• OuMuPo 6 - (2007)

"Shin-Ki-Row" DJ Krush- Altered Beats: Assassin Knowledges Of The Remanipulated (Axiom) [1996]

Collaborations

• Zap Mama, "Danger of Love" (2001)
• Bad Brothers (1994) (with Ronny Jordan)
• Ki-Oku (1996) (with Toshinori Kondo)
• Ryu (1999) (with DJ Hide & DJ Sak)
• "Sweetest Coma Again", Lunacy (2000) (with LUNA SEA)
• "Kiss", Lunacy (2000) (with LUNA SEA)
• Zero Landmine (2001) (with Ryuichi Sakamoto and others)
• Blue Fantasy DJ Krush Remix (2002) (with Tetsuya Komuro)
• 2007-2009 Bill Laswell presents Tokyo Rotation, session with Dj Krush on turntable Tokyo Rotation video
• 2009 Method of Defiance, DJ Krush playing live with Bill Laswell

DVD

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

References

1. ^ [1]
2. ^ Condry, Ian. Hip-hop Japan: Rap and the Paths of Cultural Globalization. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2006.
3. ^ http://spinearth.tv/report/dj-krush-part-one-of-two-part-exclusive-interview
4. ^ Asia Pacific Arts: Krushing Labels
5. ^ http://www.vinylnet.co.uk/record-label-discographies.asp link

External links

• Official website
• Nippop Profile |DJ Krush
• DJ Krush in Barcelona
• Suimou Tsunenimasu DVD set review
• Interview at britishhiphop.co.uk, Feb. 2008
• DJ Krush at IKRA club (Moscow), 2007
• DJ Krush at All Music

Persondata
Name	Dj Krush
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1962
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death