DJ Krush

When asked about his early days, DJ Krush once said that he started out as a hip-hop DJ and has always remained one. Born in Tokyo in 1962, the superstar DJ—whose real name is Hideaki Ishii—caught the bug in the early 1980s after seeing the film “Wild Style,” which featured Fab 5 Freddy, the Rock Steady Crew, and Grandmaster Flash, among others. At the time, a group of young DJs and breakdancers were emulating these role models as they cut their teeth on the streets. The 1990s marked the beginning of Krush’s impressive solo career, which established him as one of the world’s most accomplished DJs and producers. He frequently collaborated—for example, with the collective Kemuri Productions, which performed with ten turntables and created unforgettable sound experiences. Krush has worked on projects with Galliano and Coldcut, as well as with jazz musicians such as Toshinori Kondo, Bill Laswell, and Herbie Hancock. His most recent works have a minimalist, focused, and profound quality, as if they were seeking to explore the very essence of sound.