Krush

DJ Krush's first stateside release is a fine affair; if Strictly Turntablized is the one most often raved about in the hip-hop underground with regard to his early work, that's not for this release's lack of trying. Working with a variety of his countrymen throughout, who tackle everything from guest vocals to a variety of instruments, Krush sets the late-night, smoky urban mood from the start and doesn't let up throughout. Funky beats are spare but effective, launching grooves that unfold just enough over the course of his tracks, edgy and slightly unnerving. Many of his best efforts come on brief link tracks, like "Underneath the System," with a queasy, drugged-out feeling that any number of trip-hop wannabes would have killed to create. While he has a definite sound and style, he also knows how to create any number of variations or twists with it, with fine results. His collaborations with vocalists and rappers show him holding back just a touch to allow them full room to breathe; it's more like he's the backing musician for them, an unexpected twist given that this is his album. "Keeping the Motion" features sweet R&B singing and reasonably okay MC work from Monday Michiru, adding some fine sass to the affair, while Carla Vallet's multilingual spoken word breaks and softly crooned chorus on "Murder of Soul" also has a nice bite. On the instrumental tip, his affinities to jazz are clear. The edgy, electronic burn of "Roll and Tumble" is broken up in a neat way by Kim Shima's piano and Takeharu Hayakawa's bass. Meanwhile, both Kazufumi Kodama's calmer trumpet on the lovely, echo-heavy "On the Dub-Bue" and Kobutaka Kuwabara's more aggressive work on "Edge of Blue" bring to mind what Miles Davis might have done had he lived well into the '90s.