DJ Krush

The timing is right for Krush to come out with a greatest hits collection given his generous contribution to hip-hop via Japan, but even though remixing your own catalogue to make things fresh seems like a good idea, some things are best left untouched. Krush has long advanced his sound from his early trip-hop days to a more abstract and electronic form, so when it comes to fiddling with gems from his stellar Meiso outing you can’t help but reject his updates of Black Thought and CL Smooth classics. Sometimes things work as the producer sometimes creates equally, if not better, mixes such as a stripped down version of "Final Home,” allowing Esthero’s lush vocals to shine even brighter. When it comes to his later work on albums such as Zen and Jaku, these remixes are basically along the same lines of Krush’s current sound, favouring crisp electronic beats over abstract jazz samples. You’ll likely dig this double CD if you prefer this sound over the work Krush did with Mo’ Wax, but what sounds like Mos Def rapping on Neptune in a laptop-friendly mix of "Shinjiro,” along with other classic untouchables, is a little wack. Seriously, why even bother touching "Duality?”