Ki-Oku
DJ Krush
- 2 x LP
- Label
- Diggers Factory
"Ki-Oku" is the collaborative album by Japanese jazz trumpeter Toshinori Kondo and Japanese hip-hop producer DJ Krush released in 1996 in Japan (Sony Music Entertainment), then in Europe by Apollo in 1998, and in the United States. Released by Instinct Records in 1999. The album features 10 main tracks and three short interludes, featuring a cover of Bob Marley's "Sun Is Shining".
The album Ki-Oku inevitably opens a space for dreams and contemplation, the music is soft, cosmic, and led by breakbeats that are both punchy and cottony that DJ Krush distills with mastery. The Krushian beats seem to find the perfect harmony with the brassy sounds of Toshinori Kondo's trumpet and take the thirteen instrumental tracks towards atypical atmospheres, close to acid-jazz and downtempo.
"Ki-Oku" received positive reviews, with AllMusic describing it as smooth groove jazz revealing subtle nuances. Fact ranked it the 25th best trip hop album of all time. It is reissued in 2024 on the occasion of the 3 years of the death of Toshinori Kondo.