Sunday, June 19, 2011

DJ Krush & Toshinori Kondo - Ki Oku

Apollo, 1998


"Pairing DJ Krush, known throughout the beat underground for his subdued, trippy soundscapes, with Japanese avant trumpeter Toshinori Kondo may seem an odd pairing. This record, however, is instantly knowable and intuitively easy to grasp. DJ Krush is not only able to drive the direction and tempo, but he's also quite adept at creating mood--often mixing up somber, downtempo collages that glide with an underwater grace. His uptempo work is direct, solidly propelled by someone who knows how to handle bass and breaks. Thankfully, the canvasses Krush mixes up are large enough to include Kondo's color work. The trumpeter (who's worked with the likes of Herbie Hancock and John Zorn) takes full advantage of the opportunity. Kondo is a breathy, richly toned player, and his meshings add to the dreamy, psychedelic feel of the recording. He's effective whether he's drifting beside Krush's swirling dub coiled in a haze of effects or punctuating beats with pure blasts of horn fire. A hip-bop classic." --S. Duda

DJ Krush : Toshinori Kondo : dl

4 comments:

dj for hire said...

nice post

Eron Rauch said...

Oh man, I remember this album getting panned when it first came out - I'm excited to give it another listen and see how it holds up compared to Matthew Shipp's "GoodandEvil Sessions" which is the stanard by which I judge all these beats and jazz collabs now. Also, got a new mix up for Summer if you want to check it out! http://eronrauch.blogspot.com/2011/06/summer-siren-mix.html

soundweave said...

thanks Eron. I'll have to check out that Matthew Shipp. I liked his collaboration with the Anti-pop Consortium. Oh and your link is broken on your summer mix post.

Anonymous said...

Soundweave, I believe you need to hear the new Blood Ceremony.