Due to circumstances beyond my control, I had been delayed in getting to the Krush show. So rather then experiencing a warm up from the support DJs Tim Ayers and Mexi, I was embraced with the sweet yet stealthy sounds of Krush the moment I walked thru the ANU doors. Luckily for me he was just starting his first track, so I floated frontward, already feeling a tingling anticipation of what was yet to come.
The first thing that struck me on the dance floor (apart from the beautiful yet brooding beats) was the diversity of the crowd. This obviously wasn’t just a gig for left-of-the-centre “abstract” music enthusiasts. Many of the Canberra players (haha) were out in full force, equipped with their puffa jackets and baseball caps. Like DJ Shadow, it is obvious that Krush has struck a deeper chord with all kinds of hip hop heads, even those who you would expect to be too “macho” to show it. I was happy for this revelation. Musical diversity keeps things interesting. To me there is no point in being a purist. However, the only trouble with diverse and cut up music is, how the hell do you categorise it?! Back in the days when I was a kid, things were easy. You had your rock n roll and your pop and that was essentially it (well, on the Video Hits Charts anyway!). Nowadays, there are so many genres, and music is cut, spliced and sampled in a myriad of ways. So how to categorise this lush music emanating from Krush’s decks, without over-simplifying it, or making it sound wanky?
Krush, and his American compadre Shadow, usually get lumped into the “Abstract hip hop” category. Which is all fine and dandy, but how can that describe the dark bassline that cascaded from the ANU speakers and hit me warmly with mad vibrations right in the centre of my gut? Or the effect that these “abstract” beats were having on various friends, acquaintances and strangers all around me, as the music permeated something deep inside, and had us flinging ourselves through the beautifully structured chaos in a dance reminiscent of our tribal ancestors? The word “abstract” implies something set apart and disconnected, but these words never entered my head at Krush. Although he is only a small man in stature, he seemed imbued with an incredible force as he drew all these people together in unity on the dance floor.
To help to give you an insight into my quandary over categorisation these were the notes that I scribbled down at the start of the masterful Krush’s set:
Krush kicked off his set with smoooove grooves. His second track started with haunting flutes over a sultry beat, then booooosh the darkest, evilest bassline came outta nowhere for the break. Next we were dished up brooding beats with little tribal kicks in the background. Dark atmospheric tunes with licks of light.
Abstract hip hop sure as hell can’t explicitly encompass all of that! And that description is only in regards to a sliver of his set. Krush continuously surprised the crowd, and never let us get bored. He effortlessly flowed from the atmospheric stuff he is so well known for, into tougher hip hop tracks such as “1-800 Suicide” by the Gravediggaz, and a track by the Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. To my delight, he even dropped a Shadow track to wrap things up.
All in all the night was mesmerising. Krush took us on a beautiful musical journey, and by means of his eclectic style, showed that he defies categorisation. Krush is truly a force unto himself, and it would strongly appear, a force to be reckoned with.
