There is not much that hasn’t already been written about DJ Krush. His name is synonymous with downbeat, having been credited as the ‘godfather of trip hop’ and sitting beside DJ Shadow as one of the biggest names in the instrumental hip hop world. Tonight I was sitting 5 metres away from him on stage and I had to occasionally remind myself that this was actually happening.

Unsurprisingly, the GoMA sound system was not quite up to what you would expect from a club but it didn’t really matter tonight. Instrumental and downtempo hip hop has a warmth and character that can sound good anywhere. With a DJ that has the talent and experience of Krush, it could sound amazing coming out of an iPod in a small metal box. His set wove its way through an almost ‘greatest hits’ of downbeat, playing genre defining tracks like DJ Shadow’s Midnight in a Perfect World and Influx, Portishead’s Strangers and some of his own tunes like Kemuri. Everything was densely layered in Krush’s trademark style, flawless mixing coupled with cuts of filtered jazz trumpet, psychedelic guitars and juggled raw funk grooves.

After a brief sort of 70’s rock medley section which included some Led Zeppelin and Queen, he brought it back into more classic instrumental hip hop, bringing the house down with an awesome remix of Organ Donor. When you are playing at a museum it’s never going to be easy to keep everyone happy. The crowd was a mix of die hard fans of both Krush and Valentino dresses in equal measure. I’m sure, however, that both sides could appreciate the artistry on show, despite losing the crowd towards the end as he moved into more 4×4 territory. Regardless, the massive ovation he received prompted an encore of amazing beat juggling and – staying true to his roots – an acid/freeform jazz track to finish on.

I’d love to know how the conversation when down to arrange this show… ‘Playing where..?, surrounded by what?’. However it came to pass that DJ Krush would be performing at The Valentino Exhibit and fans got something truly unique; a real once-in-a lifetime experience. I’m sure I’m not the only person that is so grateful to have witnessed this, as it was something special I’ll never forget.