Coded Language

DJ Krust | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (December 21, 1999)
• Original Release Date: December 21, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Uni/Island
• ASIN: B00003GPQP
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #482,283 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. High Plains

2. Re-Arrange

3. Tribute

4. Excuses

5. Interlude

6. Overture

7. Coded Language

8. One Moment

9. Guilty

10. Spoils of War

11. Soldiers

12. Noble Assisans

13. Second Movement

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

DJ Krust has long been the power behind Roni Size's drum & bass throne, and despite a dizzying array of 12-inch releases and compilation tracks, this is Krust's debut full-length. It's both a bit overdue and well worth the wait. The Bristol wing of the U.K. drum & bass brigade has maintained strong connections to its hip-hop roots and never entirely sacrificed the idea of a group to the imperatives of a producer's music. In this case, Krust has partly ceded the drum & bass auteur's privilege, that of crafting the beats, to a live drummer, Soul Coughing's Yuval Gabay, whose unadorned devotion to forward motion makes for a relentlessness that any beat programmer should admire. The CD's centerpiece is its title track, wherein Gabay and Krust's propulsive rhythm and an ominous keyboard riff reminiscent of Kraftwerk's "Trans-Europe Express" provide the backdrop for Saul Williams's declamatory spoken vocal, which aims to sweep the entire history of breakbeats and poetry into one apocalyptic rant. The beats are left behind for a couple of interludes of moody string arrangements, and there are five female vocal tunes (sort of a Krust trademark) by a singer called Morgan, who adeptly adds an R&B edge without getting into full-fledged diva territory. --Bob Bannister

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Coded Language doesn't live up to the hype, February 24, 2000

By 

DJ Forte (Ellsworth, Me USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Coded Language (Audio CD)

Krust has always been known for his excellent production with Reprazent and on his own tracks, particularly "Warhead" and "Soul In Motion". With Roni Size & DJ Die working with Leonie Laws as Breakbeat Era, Krust like Size & Die has taken time off from the Reprazent project to work on this his debut solo album. Unfortunately it is a bit of a disappointment.

When people think of the super producers behind Reprazent's "New Forms" they think of their work as being far more superior than most drum & bass artists today, with that said, Krust's debut has been one of the most anticipated drum & bass albums of the last few years. And like a big budget Hollywood movie, the Hype has been big for "Coded Language". The album is not the groundbreaking monster people expected.

First off is the fact that female vocalist Morgan is featured on 5 of the 13 tracks, not exactly what I expected from a DEBUT album. Morgan is a great vocalist when she doesn't have to stretch her voice out, at times when she hits a high note it's almost as if the track goes out of tune for a few seconds. When Morgan first appeared with Krust on the awesome "Maintain" her voice worked well because she didn't have to push her vocals that much, here on tracks like "Re-Arrange" she seems to be hitting high notes way too often. Unfortunately "Maintain" along with "Warhead" and "Soul In Motion" are not featured on this debut album. Morgan sounds her best on the tracks "Soldiers" and "Overture" which has her voice echoing in the distance over some great trip hop beats. Trip Hop? yes trip hop and there is another downtempo number called "Guilty" and this time both Morgan and the production sound out of tune. "Guilty" is a song that shouldn't have ever been made, your ears will bleed listening to it. There is a symphony piece called "One Moment" that features strings conducted by Simon Hale, this is a very moving track that doesn't disappoint, but again, why a song of this calibur is featured on his DEBUT album puzzles me, you might be wondering at this point where all the drum and bass is.

The best drum & bass tracks can be found on Krust's productions without Morgan. "Coded Language" featuring poet Saul Williams is the best track on the album, Williams is ferocious here. His spoken word genius comes at you with full force as he goes on a non stop tangent dropping tons and tons of names like Coltrane, Cosby, Morrison, Joplin, Hathaway, Hendrix, Nostrodamus, and Shakespeare! (just to name a few). It is a flat out masterpiece of a track featuring some of Krust's best production in a while, and William's lyrical perfection. Another standout is "Second Movement" a jazzy d&b track with lots of futuristic sounds heard hovering back and forth. "Tribute" is another good tune that has a great bassline, more futuristic samples like lazer noises, and also some sounds from the jungle. The other efforts like "Noble Assassins" and "Spoils Of War" sound similar to Krust's older drum & bass productions and that is truly a good thing.

Overall, this is a bit of a disappointment but it still is a really good album, it just isn't an excellent one. Krust's production shines brilliantly but Morgan just doesn't fit well here, and "Guilty" IS guilty for being made. Out of the 13 tracks featured more than half are good, but this could have been so much better.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You will not be able to sit still when you listen., January 16, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Coded Language (Audio CD)

Yum, this is a great great record, with occasional vocals that really seem to *work* with the beats -- Krust is the manna. Worth noting as well for the contributions of the fabulous Yuval Gabay (of Soul Coughing) -- Yuval is probably the best drummer I've ever heard, and it's always nice to hear him in a freer forum.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Strong, but not strong enough, March 10, 2000

By 

Scott Woods (Columbus, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Coded Language (Audio CD)

Considering the company he keeps (Roni Size, Reprazent, DJ Die), you'd think that the debut album from Krust would be a monster album that stomps through your brain with beats the speed of light and sounds that make fingernails on a chalkboard sound like a symphony orchestra.

Well, we'll see what he does next time around.

Simply put, the tracks on this CD are uneven. There's some strong drum-n-bass (butnothing you've not heard before) with vocals lopped onto them that, for the most part, get in the way...and on WAY too many tracks. Then there's the errant down-tempo ditty and the occassional symphonic strain, which, frankly, I would have liked on a CD I MEANT to hear classical refrains on. The title track, however, completely rocks and Saul Williams' spoken word really sticks out on this track wonderfully.

But just the beats and quickly, please.