Jaku

Personnel: DJ Krush (turntables); DJ Krush; Ian Bavitz (rap vocals); Nobuichi Kinoshita (shamisen); Tetsuro Naito (taiko); Mr. Lif (rap vocals); Shuzan Morita (shakuhachi); Akira Sakata (saxophone); Ken Shima (piano); Aesop Rock.
Audio Mixer: Toshihiko Miyoshi.
Recording information: Bunkamura Studio; Definitive Jux Studios; HAL Studio; Vehicular Lab; Warner Music Recording Studio.
With each subsequent release, DJ Krush refines his turntable artistry in the service of his sophisticated, all-encompassing musical sensibility. Of Krush's many admirable skills, one of the most appealing is his ability to synthesize the contemporary sounds of hip-hop and club music with minimalism, jazz, native "world music" forms, and avant and experimental leanings, melding the whole into a smooth, moody package. JAKU kicks Krush's aesthetic up a notch by incorporating traditional Japanese motifs.
From the silhouetted image on the album's cover (which evokes ancient Japanese rice paper drawings) to the presence of shamisen and shakuhachi (note the trip-hop, tea garden sounds of "Beyond Raging Waves," for example), Japanese tradition plays a heavy role on this release. But Krush manages to look forward as he looks back, in part via his postmodern form-splicing (the album ranges from near-balladry-- "Stormy Cloud"--to industrial dirge--"Distant Voices"), and in part by including guests like top-shelf rappers Mr. Lif and Aesop Rock. JAKU continues Krush's mission to bridge East and West, past and future, sonic adventure and accessible listening, creating a global community within the space of a single CD.