DJ Krush – Kemuri (#23)

Artist	Track	Label
DJ Krush	Kemuri	Mo Wax

Year	Format	Country
1994	12" Vinyl	Uk

Beats & Scratches by DJ Krush
Produced & Engineered by Chris Bemand
Recorded at Beta Farm London

There was always going to be at least one Mo’ Wax release in my Lost Record selection, the biggest issue I had was deciding which one!  I first found Mo Wax in 1994 and this was probably the second or third release on the label I bought. The first was the “Royalties Overdue” compilation which I picked up from a record shop just down from Talbot Road bus station in Blackpool.  Paul Kearns (aka much loved & respected DJ Greenbins) ran it, he thinks it was called Vinyl Wizard but memories are hazy!  Anyway listening to Royalties Overdue was a defining moment in my musical taste.  Up until this point I was mainly into house and the odd bit of hip hop, disco and funk.  I had Massive Attack and Portishead stuff but Mo Wax (Along with labels like Ninja Tunes) took the “trip hop” sound to a whole new level, fusing beats with funk & jazz breaks, vocal samples, dark strings and electronica with mad cutting and effects!

Unfortunately, Mo Wax is no longer going (it’s relaunched – ED) and its founder James Lavelle (who started the label when he was in his 20s) also collaborated as Unkle.  I ended up buying many of their releases but have chosen Japenese producer, remixer & turntablist DJ Krush with his track Kemuri.   It was one of the earliest releases I bought and defines the sound of that time from this genre, dark heavy beats and baselines with lots of samples and effects cut into the mix. Kemuri was a double a-side on a joint release with DJ Shadow’s Lost & Found.  It was DJ Krush’s first singles on Mo’ Wax and his first UK release. DJ Krush is still going strong today with a new album due out this year and is renowned as much for his performances as a live turntablist as he is for his musical releases.

Is this Record lost: Yes and a very nice one too.

Words: Steve Jones

The Lost Record is the endless search for vinyl tracks not available (at time of publish) on iTunes/Apple Music or Spotify

Look out for The Lost Record – Leeds – Vol 1. Leeds is the first stop as we go city to city, finding lost records and trying to catch up with the artists involved.