22/01/2008
DJ Krush at KOKO
London. 19 January 2008
When Krush steps to the stage, there's a powerful aura that radiates off this iconic Japanese DJ as he rests, poised, behind the turntables, his hood up and the synths beginning to swirl into that unmistakeable sonic Krush vortex.
The big news for his first London gig of 2008 is that Krush has left his records behind and is using a laptop instead. This may be the norm for many DJs these days, eschewing the heavy record bag and leaving the jockey sluts chasing some skinny indie guitarists, but for Krush, the move represents a quantum leap. He's the man who brought hip hop to the Japanese, making vinyl his passion and selecting, his art.
Despite the absence of wax, it's clear Krush's signature touch has by no means waned as he adopts the mantle of the digital age. He doesn't quite take the deep journey he carved out at his Koko gig last year, but his selection is heavy and suitably tenebrous all the same, throwing in classics 'Kemuri' and 'Only the Strong Survive' to keep the crowd happy.
Perhaps his soundscapes sound a little flatter this time as he's preceded by Memory 9, a man called Gadi Sassoon who's stupidly adept at the sampler, mashing up everything from techno to hip hop with a well-timed flick of the wrist.
Vadim's there too but sadly fails to tear the roof off like he's done at previous parties. His set's essentially a One Self gig, and the tunes are sounding a little tired ('Bluebird' is the only one still standing strong), only very subtly hinting at the production power this man's capable of. Listened to 'The Soundcatcher' lately? That's what we're talking about.
The Herbaliser round the night off nicely, playing a friendly set including Das Efx and a wicked big band version of the Jackson 5's 'ABC'. It's danceable. Fun. The ring of Krush's enigmatic soundscapes getting fainter with each samba step the drunk couple on the balcony upstairs fumble through, while spilling pints of numbers over each other. WORDS: HELENE DANCER
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