JAPAN'S HIP-HOP scene boasts one enigma: DJ Krush. Whereas some critics call him the 'godfather of trip-hop' and others view him as the Asian parallel to US turntablist DJ Shadow, Krush seems uninterested in labels and comparisons. 'I believe that the genre of my music is 'DJ Krush',' he says.
Those who have heard any of his eight albums will understand what he's talking about. Hip-hop stylings are fused with acid-jazz excursions, playful electronica, instrumental interludes, carefully placed beats, precision-sharp scratches and occasional rap overdubs. His tracks are energised by a passion for experimentalism, but are delivered with defiant, focused force. These abstract and ambient journeys make for music like no other.
During the past decade, Krush has made music seemingly unaffected by pop. He says he doesn't care for many of his contemporaries, let alone who's topping MTV. His indifference is, perhaps, an extension of Japanese insularity. 'From my first album to my current one, I have been making tracks without being conscious of genre or style,' he says. 'It's more about a sound I want.'
MC Ryu, host of Tokyo's popular Soultrain programme on J-Wave radio, says Krush's style is incomparable. 'No one else makes what he does,' he says. 'A distinctive Japanese shokunin [craftsmanship] attitude can be felt in all his music.'
Krush will perform in Hong Kong tomorrow night at Ing to promote his latest album, Jaku, which was released late last year. Since his self-titled debut in 1993, the 42-year-old DJ and producer has appealed mostly to a creative, underground crowd that revels in the non-mainstream. It's taken a long time for everyone else to take to his music, but that's partly because the artist refuses to dictate how listeners should react.
'I would like people to feel whatever they like,' he says when asked to describe his music. 'You might feel something if you listen to it without a preconceived idea. You have a choice and it's your choice.'