Who:Krafty Kuts
When:Thursday, July 20
Where:Tommy Africa’s
Tickets: $20
U.K. DJ/producer Martin Reeves, alias Krafty Kuts, stepped away from his computer to pick up the phone at his Brighton home for an interview with Pique Newsmagazine.
The myspace.com user was catching up on his “my friends” mail from fans and supporters. In just under a day, he had more than 100 e-mails to work through.
From greasy-haired, ACDC-T-shirt toting metal heads declaring dance music the new messiah to emerging turntablists expressing thanks for Krafty’s inspiration, the breakbeat legend is reminded every day of how his music affects people’s lives — whether it is just for a night of dancing or a lifetime of dance music devotion.
Krafty is reaching a certain milestone in his career, reaching a decade of working in the business. The anticipated August release of his debut solo album, Freakshow , couldn’t come at a more poignant time.
“I am just happy the way things are going,” Krafty said. “The breakbeat sound at this moment is brilliant. This album is a big step forward. It’s basically an accumulation of years of working the studio, fine tuning my sound where you are making your music to a level where people think it’s really good.”
Sure it’s easy enough to write music that only a select few like, but Krafty sees his new music reaching out to a global audience this time round. Already the tracks are all over the Australia music charts and he expects an even warmer embrace from North America listeners.
“This album is perfect for Canada in particular,” he said. “Anytime I’ve played in North America, people are like, ‘Hey dude, I thought you were black.’ They really like the funky side of the things I do and the way I entertain and always give 110 per cent. I like to feel a part of the crowd. It’s all about people at the end of the day. It’s about entertaining them and making people happy and if I can do that, then I am happy.”
It is going to be a happy vibe all around at the Whistler show with tracks from his new album boasting influences such as Latin, electro, funk and disco — just a few of the sounds woven into the album featuring artists such as Scratch Perverts, Freq Nasty and MCs such as Dynamite.
