DJ KRUSH

Inspired by the film "Wild Style" in the early 1980s, DJ KRUSH embarked on his path as a hip-hop DJ. In the late 1980s, he formed the hip-hop crew B-FRESH3 and performed on the streets with breakdancers in Harajuku's pedestrian paradise (hokoten). There, he met MURO and DJ GO, forming KRUSH POSSE. With a style of 1 MC and 2 DJs, they gained recognition as leading figures in Japan, appearing in various media outlets. After KRUSH POSSE disbanded in 1992, he began his solo career in earnest. Pursuing a unique form of hip-hop that could be expressed solely through DJing, he gained attention not only domestically but also internationally. In 1994, he released his 1st album, "KRUSH." In the same year, his 2nd album, "STRICTLY TURNTABLIZED" (1994), released by the London independent label Mo' Wax, became a worldwide sensation, particularly in Europe. His subsequent albums, "MEISO (迷走)" (1995), "MiLight-未来" (1996), "覚醒" (1998), and "記憶 ~KI-OKU~" (1996), a collaboration with Toshinori Kondo, featured both underground and major rappers and instrumentalists from Japan and abroad, becoming important works in the trip-hop and abstract hip-hop scenes. In Japan, he joined the first generation of KEMURI PRODUCTIONS (DJ YAS, DJ KENSEI, DJ HAZU, DJ HIDE, DJ KRUSH), a DJ/producer collective assembled by DJ YAS in 1995. Members participated in the 4th album "MiLight-未来" and 5th album "覚醒," and their first live performance, featuring five DJs manipulating ten turntables like instruments, left a strong impact on the audience. He also worked as 流 -ryu- with DJ HIDE and DJ SAK, releasing the album "我" in 1999. All of his solo releases have charted high both domestically and internationally. His 6th album, "漸-ZEN-" (2001), won the "Best Electronica Album 2001" award at the American AFIM Awards, often called the "Indie Grammys," which recognizes works of exceptional artistic merit. His 8th album, "寂-jaku-" (2004), reached the top of the CMJ (College Music Journal) RPM chart (electronic), an exceptional achievement for a DJ album, and remained there for three consecutive weeks. While developing his international career, he has also been active in a wide range of fields such as film, television dramas, and commercials. In 2009, he was in charge of the entire music for the animated film "FIRST SQUAD," which was released throughout Russia and was submitted to the Moscow Film Festival of the same year, winning the Kommersant Newspaper Prize. Regarding remix work, he has been commissioned to remix numerous Grammy-winning artists such as Herbie Hancock, k.d. lang, and Ronnie Jordan. He has also participated in the works of many world-renowned artists across genres, including Miles Davis, Black Thought, Galliano, Pete Rock, and Coldcut, providing remixes and tracks that have been highly acclaimed. He also participated in Bill Laswell's project METHOD OF DEFIANCE. After performing at the Montreux Jazz Festival with other members such as Bernie Worrell and Toshinori Kondo, he also participated in the album "Incunabula" under the same project name in 2010. Herbie Hancock is also listed as a participant in the album. In 2015, he released his 9th album, "Butterfly Effect," after about 11 years. His 10th album, "軌跡-Kiseki-" (2017), was his first rap album, featuring various Japanese rappers from different generations. His 11th album, "Cosmic Yard" (2018), invited Japanese instrumentalists such as Toshinori Kondo, Shuzan Morita, and Yukihiro Atsumi to express his unique cosmic vision. In his 12th album, "TRICKSTER" (2020), he handled everything from beat-making to engineering himself, showcasing a further evolution of the DJ KRUSH sound. In 2022, marking the 30th anniversary of his solo career, he embarked on a project titled "道-STORY-", producing music and touring both domestically and internationally. DJ KRUSH has been actively touring as a DJ both domestically and internationally for approximately 30 years. He has performed at over 200 various music festivals, including Glastonbury (UK), Coachella (USA), Montreux Jazz Festival (Switzerland), Sónar (Spain), and Roskilde (Denmark). In his club DJ sets, he has captivated over 8 million audience members in approximately 60 countries and 350 cities. As an international artist who continues to receive high praise across regions and genres, he continues to leave his unique mark on the world stage.