Bristol born Krust is one of the co-founders of the Full Cycle label. Inspired first by 2-tone and subsequently, by early electro compilations and classic movies like `Wild Style`, he got into hip hop. Together with his brother, Flynn (later of Flynn and Flora), acquired a pair of Technics 1200s and began honing his DJing techniques at the age of 16. By the late '80s Krust and Flynn had formed a group Fresh 4 (with Suv), and landed a Top Ten hit with Wishing on a Star in `89. Produced... Read more
Bristol born Krust is one of the co-founders of the Full Cycle label. Inspired first by 2-tone and subsequently, by early electro compilations and classic movies like `Wild Style`, he got into hip hop. Together with his brother, Flynn (later of Flynn and Flora), acquired a pair of Technics 1200s and began honing his DJing techniques at the age of 16. By the late '80s Krust and Flynn had formed a group Fresh 4 (with Suv), and landed a Top Ten hit with Wishing on a Star in `89. Produced by Smith & Mighty, this is largely recognised as one of the original Bristol trip-hop tunes combining sweet soul vocals with slow and moody hip-hop beats.
Discovering the growing rave scene, Krust met Roni at Glastonbury Festival in 1990 and they began producing tracks together, some of which would surface on Bryan Gee and Jumpin' Jack Frost's V Recordings. In 1992 they launched Full Cycle and Krust began developing his trademark strings and atmospherics, traversing the entire spectrum of drum & bass styles from jazz (check `94`s Jazz Note) to dark. Many credit him with inventing `techstep`, a style, mastering the subsonic bass in landmark tracks like 1997`s Genetic Manipulation EP. He also released on one of Drum`n`Bass`s biggest ever anthems with Warhead.
Working from his own studio, Drum Tek, Krust has been incredibly prolific, he co-wrote Reprazent`s massive New Forms album in `97. Two years later he followed this with the critically acclaimed Coded Language, his solo LP debut on Talkin` Loud which combined his atmospheric filmic style with vocal tracks with singer Morgan and the title track with American poet/rapper Saul Williams. The second Reprazent album In the Mode saw him collaborating with Roni and Method Man on the awesome Ghetto Celebrity and the recent Full Cycle compilation Through the Eyes includes more great Krust tracks like Kloakin Device.
Krusts unique sound has also proved popular for other artists as a remixer. Starting with Goldie`s all-time classic Inner City Life, Krust has reworked tunes from artists as diverse as Bjork, Moloko and Korn.
Krust embraces numerous creative mediums to accentuate his music, deriving inspiration from films, photography and video footage, some of which has been used in Reprazent`s tour imagery. He and Roni are constructing a number of short stories to follow the comic book they devised for the Dope Dragon compilation, Way of the Dragon, and have been working on a Full Cycle documentary for over two years. Krust is also finishing a book of his photographs.
Krust is presently working with Die on the Kamanchi project, which will incorporate various musical styles and feature various vocalists and MCs, as well as his second Talkin Loud album and the third Reprazent album.
RECORDS AS: Gang Related (with Roni on Dope Dragon), Glamour Gold (Philly Blunt), Wings (with Roni & Die), Kamanchi (with Die)
THE MEDIA SAID: "Krust displays his considerable talents as a producer by using the off-key samples, shuffling rhythms and mournful elegies of each track to devastation effect." - The Guardian on Through the Eyes.
QUOTE: "I think Full Cycle is a fusion between electronic and organic sounds. The key is we try to keep evolving."
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