By Nicole Fitzgerald
Who: Krafty Kuts
When: Tuesday, Nov. 21
Where: Tommy Africa’s
Tickets: $18
Some people call it a Freak Show, others Disneyworld.
In Martin Reeves’s case, he’s busy with both these days.
Reeves, more famously known as DJ Krafty Kuts, picks up the
phone from a hotel just outside of Disney World in Orlando Florida. He’s
undercover at the moment. His 11-year-old twins would never forgive dad for
visiting the happiest place on earth without them.
He chuckles at the thought.
The United Kingdom DJ, whose largest fan base is in Australia,
is touring North America with fervor, trying to expand his music empire with
his latest solo album,
Freak Show
.
Now the name of both the album and the title song is not what
it seems.
The track doesn’t use the word freak as a derogatory term,
rather more of a celebratory one, egging listeners on to letting go of
inhibitions.
“It’s about people coming to a place they’ve never been to
before. It’s about letting inhibitions go and getting freaky. It’s about not
having pre-judgments.”
His first solo album took almost two years to write; Reeves
kept redesigning, reshaping his beats, trying to get the hip hop genre
“righter” than anyone else.
The rightness was evident when his mother cried on hearing the
album for the first time.
“She is really proud of me,” Reeves says of his 60-year-old
mother.
He recounts how his brother glowed when driving Reeves to a
show, the two were stopped by a Krafty Kuts fan who was equally excited to meet
both Reeves and his brother. He asked both for autographs.
Reeves is a family man, with siblings and 20th and 60th cousins
spread all over the world. The hip hop, breakbeat legend has hit more than 40
countries, more countries than probably anyone could try to list at one time.
Africa and the state of Alaska will complete his to-do list, but then what?
“All I am about is pushing my sound and doing well for myself. It’s
not about being the king of something. I just want to do well. I just want to
spread the love with my music…. I’ve worked hard in perfecting the art of
music. Now is the right time to forge ahead, to forge my own sound. It took me
five years to get there. Now I am really achieving the goals in my life. I am
an Aries. I’ve got fire in my belly. I want to achieve things in my life.”
It’s been a long list of achievements. He won the Best DJ Award
at both the 2004 and 2005 Breakspoll Awards, along with the 2003 Face of Breaks
Award. He’s been voted Best International DJ at the Australian Music Awards and
remixed with the best, such as Jurassic 5, Utah Saints and Afrika Bambaataa
— the last earning him Best Remix at the International Breakspoll Awards.
The Supercharged resident DJ has also played alongside luminaries such as
Fatboy Slim, The Freestylers, Jungle Brothers and Scratch Perverts, just to
name a few. However, working with production partner A Skillz on a Finger
Lickin’ Records release was what really got Reeves to where he is today.
“It took me back to the roots of hip hop, where I started,”
Reeves said. “It was a blessing coming back to it…. If you are born and bread
in hip hop and its all you breathe, that is all you do. I wasn’t dedicated to
it enough.”
He is dedicated now with a grueling touring schedule to prove
it. He looks forward to visiting the Canadian adult version of Disneyland next
week in Whistler.
He loves Canada. The easy-going, outdoor-driven people, the
beautiful girls and snowy mountains he hopes to ski next week.
“It’s one of my favourite places in the world,” he says
earnestly. “The vibe is incredible.”
Reeves returns with his own vibe to share, a Freak Show with no
boundaries in sight. Resident DJ Jamie Vale warms up the crowds.
Advance tickets are $18 and available at The Mix, The Hub and Tommy Africa’s. Meet the humble legend before the show between 7 and 8 p.m. at The Mix. Tommy Africa’s doors open at 9 p.m.
