DJ Krush
Kakusei

In the global music scene, there are unique figures who, with their personality and, above all, their brilliant music, manage to indelibly mark the history of our beloved "sweet feeling." DJ Krush is certainly one of them.

From the debut Strictly Turntablized (Mo' Wax, 1994), the most famous Japanese DJ in the world has pursued his path of deconstructing hip-hop, culminating in what is unanimously considered his true masterpiece, Kakusei (Sony, 1999), a spell of 17 tracks that leaves anyone speechless with every listen.
Krush's abstract and experimental hip-hop amazes with its intensity, in an album where cold and desolate sounds, reverberations, and echoes of jazz that seem to extend indefinitely combine for the perfect overall outcome. It's impossible to resist the frantic rhythms of "Inorganizm," the hypnotic and almost meditative atmosphere of "Crimson" (it almost feels like being in a Buddhist temple, an incredible sensation...), the synthetic strings kindly offered by the brilliant producer Shawn J. Period in "The Dawn," "Rust" and its strongly jazzy influences, the chaos of "Krushed Wall," the scratches by Mista Sinista (member of the X-Ecutioners) in "The Kinetics," the unsettling coldness of "No More," or the love song "Final Home," in the Vocal Version enhanced by the lovely voice of the Canadian Esthero.

Perhaps it's superfluous to add more words for Kakusei, an album that transcends any attempt at definition or judgment, a fascinating emotional experience that touches the strings of the soul like few others. Congratulations to DJ Krush, therefore, for giving us one of the last masterpieces of the past millennium, an essential album for all true music lovers, and a must-have in every respectable collection. Rating: 3000