Krust

Born in Bristol, Kirk George Thompson, who records as Krust, has functioned as a producer, DJ, and label co-founder within drum'n'bass from the style's earliest days. Beyond numerous straightforward, forceful club cuts such as the 1997 standout "Warhead," he broadened the form through elaborate constructions like that year's Genetic Manipulation EP and albums shaped by progressive rock, including Coded Language from 1999, which integrated classical arrangements, downtempo selections, and poetic vocals. With Roni Size he established the pioneering Full Cycle label and assisted in moving drum'n'bass into wider commercial reach as a member of Reprazent, the ensemble fronted by Size, whose 1997 debut New Forms received the Mercury Prize. After reduced industry activity following Hidden Knowledge in 2006, he resurfaced in 2020 with the further lauded and exploratory full-length The Edge of Everything.

Thompson spent his formative years on Bristol's Knowle West council estate, the same location that housed Tricky. After encountering the 1982 hip-hop film Wild Style, he and his peers adopted B-boy culture, leading him to assemble the Fresh 4 crew together with his brother Flynn (later of Flynn & Flora) and Paul Southey (later known as Suv). In partnership with dub producer Rob Smith (of Smith & Mighty and More Rockers), Fresh 4 cut a proto-trip-hop version of Billie Calvin's "Wishing on a Star" that reached the Top Ten of the U.K. singles chart. The group issued two additional singles and spent two years recording in London for a Virgin album that never appeared because of artistic differences, although material from those sessions surfaced later as The Lost Tapes in 2015. Once back in Bristol, Thompson kept making music and frequenting raves. As part of the trio Hocus Pocus alongside Flynn and Suv, he produced a breakbeat hardcore single released on their Twisted Records imprint, funded by Smith & Mighty. He also formed the duo the Deceivers with Roni Size, issuing the darkside EP Fatal Dose Vol. 1 in 1993.

Thompson's debut solo outing as DJ Krust, "The Resister," appeared in 1993 on Full Circle Records, an imprint he launched with Size, whose "Music Box" (with DJ Die) occupied the reverse side. The release rapidly attained classic status within the emerging drum'n'bass scene, prompting Krust to continue releasing singles on prominent labels including Moving Shadow, V Recordings, and his own renamed Full Cycle. His catalog encompassed gentler pieces such as 1994's "Jazz Note" alongside heavier jungle productions credited to Gang Related and Glamour Gold. Some of his strongest club successes arrived with the 1997 tracks "Warhead" and "Soul in Motion," while the Genetic Manipulation EP, whose four tracks each averaged ten minutes, signaled his expanding sonic scope.

Together with Full Cycle colleagues Die and Suv, Krust joined the touring and recording lineup of Reprazent, the Roni Size-led collective formed in 1996. Blending spare breakbeats with jazzy live instrumentation and vocals from soul singer Onallee and rapper Dynamite MC, the group's accessible take on drum'n'bass earned widespread praise and strong sales. Their landmark 1997 debut New Forms achieved quintuple platinum status in the U.K. and captured the Mercury Prize. While active in the ensemble, Krust maintained a steady solo pace, issuing the cinematic True Stories single on Talkin' Loud in 1998 and the 1999 album Coded Language. In addition to classical interludes and R&B-inflected vocals, the record featured poet and rapper Saul Williams on the title track, released as a single that gained MTV exposure. Krust stayed with Reprazent for their second album, In the Mode, and delivered the mix CD/compilation Through the Eyes in 2000. He also supplied a cover of David Bowie and Giorgio Moroder's "Cat People" for the soundtrack to the 2002 British horror film Long Time Dead.

Krust and Die initiated the funk-oriented project Kamanchi, first appearing on the 1999 Planet V compilation with the track "Stay." Several further singles preceded the Full Cycle-issued 2003 album I Kamanchi, which included guest contributions from singer Tali, rapper Rodney P, and Reprazent bassist Si John. Krust kept issuing singles, among them co-productions with Zinc, Clipz, and Die, before his second solo album, Hidden Knowledge, arrived in 2006. After relocating to London he released the double mix CD Journey Thru the Cycle in 2008, after which Full Cycle closed so its founders could concentrate on family and other pursuits. In 2009 Krust launched the creative consultancy Disruptive Patterns and later co-founded the CBD oil company Amma Life.

He gradually reentered music, establishing the Rebel Instinct label and releasing experimental material under the alias George Kurts. Krust reappeared in 2014 with a remix of Claude VonStroke's "Oakland Rope" and teamed with Om Unit for 2016's "Underground Cinema." Full Cycle relaunched the same year, and Krust resumed DJ sets with Size for the first time in years. The previously unreleased '90s dubplates "Ivory Puzzle"/"Flip It" came out on Dom & Roland Productions in 2017, followed by the comeback single "The Portal" on Doc Scott's 31 Records the next year. Several 2020 singles preceded the album The Edge of Everything, among Krust's most forward-looking works, issued on the tech-house label Crosstown Rebels. New York house legends Masters at Work remixed the single "Antigravity Love" (featuring spoken word by Larry Powell), and Four Tet's first drum'n'bass mix appeared on the initial remix EP.