It’s been 11 years since the release of DJ Krush’s last album. His new record, 'Butterfly Effect', reflects the turmoil of events that have taken place in that space of time.
“This album is an extension of myself and the recent terrorist attacks and all these [other] things happening in the world," DJ Krush says via an interpreter. "If I have an opportunity to make a new album next time, I'm going to do the same; it's going to be an extension of myself as my feelings change with all these things going around in the world.
"The sound doesn’t really change, the important thing is the thing that’s behind the sound, which is DJ Krush and how I feel in that moment.”
The meaning behind the title 'Butterfly Effect' expresses the idea that “this little thing that happens in front of you can change everything in the end. In 2011, this massive earthquake hit Japan. And the tsunami hit, and all these people died. And when that happened I saw this disaster and people dying and realised that this happened for real, and all these things around us, all these little things, these are happening.
“The slightest thing that surrounds us can change everything. Past, present and future, that’s something we can’t run away from. It’s always there. So considering that, you have to really think and move forward. And that’s the concept of the album.”
The 'Butterfly Effect' involved collaboration with a number of artists, creating a harmonious and collective feel to each track. “All the guest artists on the album are all unique, but especially DJ Free The Robots from California, he was really special because he reminded myself [sic] of working with DJ Shadow in the past.”
DJ Krush’s sound is atmospheric, ambient and coloured with elements of nature. This relationship between sound and imagery prompted the question, if you could visualise your music, what would it look like? “When I work on a track I always have this scenery inside my head. And I make the scenery my music, so each track has its own scenery.”
There is a strong element of percussion that runs throughout all of Krush’s albums and collaborations. As well as his signature ambient, Eastern drum tracks, Krush has worked with Nigerian drummers and introduced rhythms from a variety of different cultures. “The drum itself is different in all cultures ... so the sound is different. But something that doesn’t change is the person that’s hitting the drums – they’re putting all their soul and all this emotion into it. So that thing never changes.
“In Africa, playing drums would be like conveying messages to each other – it’s a form of communication. So in that sense, sound might differ because the drums sound different, but the soul and the foundation itself, it’s all the same."
And alive or dead, who would he have play at his dream festival? And how would he serve them drinks? “Miles Davis. Jimi Hendrix,” he says without hesitation. “As for the drinks [laughs]... I’ll just, you know, serve them drinks myself.”
DJ Krush Tour Dates
Thu 14 Jan - Woolly Mammoth (Brisbane)Sat 16 Jan - Mona Foma Festival (Hobart)
Sun 17 Jan - Mona Foma festival (Hobart)
Fri 22 Jan - Max Watt's (Melbourne)
Sat 23 Jan - Rocket Bar (Adelaide)
Tue 26 Jan - Sydney Festival, The Star (Sydney)
