The co-founder of Bristol's Full Cycle crew (with
Roni Size,
DJ Die and
Suv),
DJ Krust is much noted in the jungle underground for his push-the-envelope productions both alone and in collaboration with
Size. Born in Bristol in 1968,
Krust was raised on hip-hop and began DJing in the mid-'80s at schools and small clubs around the area. His interests grew to include acid house and rave by the late '80s, and a stint in the group
Fresh 4 landed
Krust in the middle of the charts, when "Wishing on a Star" made number nine in late 1989.
Fresh 4 signed to Virgin, but never released another record, so
Krust returned to DJing and occasional production work (notably for
Smith & Mighty with his brother Flynn, later of
Flynn & Flora).
After meeting at the 1990 Glastonbury Festival,
DJ Krust and
Roni Size soon began to produce tracks together, often in collaboration with
DJ Die and
Suv. The outfit recorded solo and in tandem for Bryan G and
Jumpin' Jack Frost's V Records during the early '90s, but then in 1992 formed the Full Cycle label with manager Chris Warton. Along with its sister label Dope Dragon, Full Cycle released several crucial singles and the 1995 label retrospective Music Box, through an agreement with Talkin' Loud Records.
DJ Krust continued to record for V and Full Cycle, and helped out on remixes for
Goldie and fellow Bristol crew
More Rockers.
Size's debut album
New Forms -- with considerable production help from
Krust -- hit the music world like a bomb in 1997, leading to
Krust's own major-label contract the following year (as
Krust). His Polygram debut,
True Stories, was followed in 1999 by
Coded Language.
–
John Bush, Rovi