Meiso
Studio album by
DJ Krush
ReleasedJuly 21, 1995 (1995-07-21)
Studio
Genre
Length48:53
LabelSony
ProducerDJ Krush
DJ Krush chronology
Strictly Turntablized
(1994)		 Meiso
(1995)		 Ki-Oku
(1996)
Singles from Meiso
  1. "Meiso"
    Released: 1996[1]
  2. "Only the Strong Survive"
    Released: September 30, 1996[2]

Meiso (迷走, Meisō) is the third studio album by Japanese hip hop producer DJ Krush. It was released on July 21, 1995 in Japan by Sony Music Entertainment.[3][4]

Meiso was issued in the United Kingdom on October 30, 1995 by the label Mo' Wax,[5] peaking at number 64 on the UK Albums Chart.[6] It was released in the United States on April 9, 1996 by Mo' Wax and FFRR Records.[7] The album produced the singles "Meiso" and "Only the Strong Survive", which reached numbers 52 and 71 respectively on the UK Singles Chart.[8]

Composition

Fact described Meiso as an album of sample-based trip hop music.[9] AllMusic critic Ned Raggett said that the music continued in the vein of DJ Krush's past work, incorporating "mid- to slow-tempo grooves and breaks" and exploring "everything from jazz and funk to experimental ambient production."[10] The album features guest performances from several American rappers: CL Smooth on "Only the Strong Survive", Roots members Black Thought and Malik B. on "Meiso", Deflon Sallahr on "Ground", and Guru and Big Shug on "Most Wanted Man".[11] "Make no mistake", Muzik's Will Ashon wrote of Meiso, "this is a hip hop album".[12]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[10]
The Guardian[13]
Muzik4.5/5[12]
The Source3.5/5[14]

Dan Glaister of The Guardian found Meiso more accessible than DJ Krush's previous releases, attributing this partly to the more prominent rapping on the album.[13] Glaister praised the record as an effective "blend of the upbeat with contemplative and downright mysterious instrumentals".[13] Writing for Trouser Press, Mark Kemp said that it pointed toward "further fascinating intercultural exploration of the space between foursquare hip-hop and floating ambient techno."[15] In 2015, Fact ranked Meiso at number 12 on its list of the best trip hop albums of all time.[9]

Track listing

All music is composed by DJ Krush, except where noted

No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."Only the Strong Survive" (with CL Smooth)Smooth 4:14
2."Anticipation"  4:44
3."What's Behind Darkness"  3:05
4."Meiso" (with Black Thought and Malik B.)
  • Black Thought
  • Malik B.
 4:02
5."Bypath 1"  0:37
6."Blank"  2:19
7."Ground" (with Deflon Sallahr)Sallahr 5:57
8."Bypath 2"  0:45
9."Most Wanted Man" (with Guru and Big Shug)Big Shug
  • DJ Krush
  • Guru
4:00
10."Bypath 3"  1:13
11."3rd Eye"  4:46
12."Oce 9504"  3:35
13."Duality" (with DJ Shadow) 
  • DJ Krush
  • DJ Shadow
8:48
14."Bypath – Would You Take It?"  0:48
Total length:48:53

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[11]

Musicians

  • DJ Krush – beats, scratching, drum programming on "Duality", abstract programming on "Bypath – Would You Take It?"
  • Big Shug – vocals on "Most Wanted Man"
  • Black Thought – vocals on "Meiso"
  • DJ Hide – scratching on "Anticipation"
  • DJ Shadow – beats, scratching, and drum programming on "Duality"
  • Guru – vocals on "Most Wanted Man"
  • Malik B. – vocals on "Meiso"
  • Deflon Sallahr – vocals on "Ground"
  • CL Smooth – vocals on "Only the Strong Survive"

Production

Design

Charts

Chart (1995) Peak
position
UK Albums (OCC)[6] 64
UK Dance Albums (OCC)[16] 4
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[17] 7
UK R&B Albums (OCC)[18] 8

References

  1. ↑ "-DJ KRUSH- Works". sus81.jp. Archived from the original on April 6, 2008. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  2. ↑ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. September 28, 1996. p. 57. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
  3. ↑ "ディスコグラフィ | Sony Music" (in Japanese). Sony Music Entertainment Japan. Retrieved May 16, 2017.
  4. ↑ "迷走 | DJ KRUSH" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
  5. ↑ "DJ Krush: Meiso". NME. November 4, 1995. p. 20.
  6. 1 2 "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 12, 2017.
  7. ↑ Takiff, Jonathan (April 3, 1996). "New CDs coming from Hootie, others". The News & Observer.
  8. ↑ "DJ Krush". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
  9. 1 2 Twells, John; Fintoni, Laurent (July 30, 2015). "The 50 best trip-hop albums of all time". Fact. Retrieved May 12, 2017.
  10. 1 2 Raggett, Ned. "Meiso – DJ Krush". AllMusic. Retrieved May 12, 2017.
  11. 1 2 Meiso (liner notes). DJ Krush. Sony Music Entertainment Japan. 1995. SRCS 7752.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  12. 1 2 Ashon, Will (October 1995). "DJ Krush: Meiso". Muzik. No. 5. p. 76.
  13. 1 2 3 Glaister, Dan (November 3, 1995). "DJ Krush: Meiso (Mo' Wax)". The Guardian.
  14. ↑ Miller, Paul (March 1996). "DJ Krush: Meiso". The Source. No. 78. p. 102.
  15. ↑ Kemp, Mark. "DJ Krush". Trouser Press. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
  16. ↑ "Dance Albums" (PDF). Music Week. November 11, 1995. p. 21. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
  17. ↑ "Independent Albums" (PDF). Music Week. November 18, 1995. p. 28. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
  18. ↑ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
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