Krafty Kuts

Krafty Kuts
Birth name	Martin Reeves
Origin	Brighton, England
Genres	Electronica, nu skool breaks, house, hip hop, breakbeat, grime, trip hop
Occupation(s)	DJ, producer
Labels	Against the Grain
Website	http://www.againstthegrainrecords.com

Krafty Kuts (real name Martin Reeves) is an English electronic music, dance music and breakbeat producer and DJ.

His first album, Freakshow, was released in 2006 on his Against The Grain label and contains guest artists Tim Deluxe and Ashley Slater from the UK band Freak Power. He had previously released Tricka Technology with his fellow producer and DJ, A Skillz.

Krafty Kuts has won "best DJ" three years in a row as well as being honoured with the Outstanding Contribution to Breakbeat award at the Breakspoll Awards.

History

Inspired by the hip-hop and electro sounds that surrounded him, Reeves first appeared as a DJ when he entered a competition as a complete novice, making it all the way to the finals. This early success prompted him to perfect his art and set about teaching himself turntable techniques such as cutting and scratching that were to become the core of his DJ sets.

Immersing himself in the music he loved, Reeves went on to run a record store in Brighton throughout the 1990s, where he built an encyclopaedic knowledge of dance music in all its forms. In 1996, he took the next logical step, transferring his dance-floor knowledge to the studio, creating his own tracks for use in his DJ sets.

His first big break came when a dubplate of Krafty Kuts’ "Gimme The Funk" was heard by Norman Cook who immediately bought it for his Southern Fried label. FSUK Records, a Ministry of Sound offshoot, signed Krafty to release a string of singles; "Funky Elements", "Wild In the Aisles" (a tribute to Reeve’s appearance on the TV show Supermarket Sweep) and "Return of the Elements".

With his own tracks raising his profile, Reeves mixed his first compilation album, Slam On The Breaks. At about the same time, Krafty teamed up with his fellow Brighton DJ Skool of Thought to establish the SuperCharged club night which is still running. By 1999, with his all-encompassing club style, Reeves entered the studio with Freddy Fresh, long standing studio partner Ed Solo and Dr Luke from New York, to produce a series of beats and skits that eventually made it onto Finger Lickin’ Record's Finger Lickin Funk release.

In the following two years Reeve's skills were used to create music for a Coca Cola advert, PlayStation 2 and Guy Richie’s Mean Machine as well as mixing a cover mount CD for Mixmag. With DJing and music now taking up all of his time, Reeves left the record shop to concentrate fully on his creative side. He launched both the Against The Grain and SuperCharged labels with his club partner Skool of Thought, on which he released the Lost Plates EP, "Lock The Hype" and "Sound Check".

Following up on a contact made during his record shop days, he began a studio collaboration with the up-and-coming DJ A-Skillz, that resulted in the hip-hop and party breaks album Trickatechnology, and collaboration with Kurtis Blow, Dr Luke and Freakpower’s Ashley Slater on a series of compositions.

With the demand for his records and club sets showing no sign of slowing down, Reeves took a back seat with the labels and club promotion to focus solely on touring and recording. Working solidly throughout 2006, Krafty completed his first solo album, Freak show. Once again, the tracks included a strong cast of collaborators from the Scratch Perverts, Tim Deluxe and Dynamite MC, to his long term associates A-Skillz, Ashley Slater and Dr Luke. Mirroring Krafty Kuts’ universal approach to music and club culture, the album moved through a myriad of tempos and genres. Freakshow was namned Album of the Month and its lead single, "Bass Phenomenon", single of the year in 2006 by DJ magazine. The album was followed soon after by the Fabriclive compilation mixed by Krafty Kuts.

Reeves has since released an installment of the Back To Mine compilation series. In October 2009, he released the double mix CD Against The Grain which has 19 of his previously unreleased re-edits. The release won Best Compilation at the 2010 Breakspoll Awards, with Reeves also winning another Best DJ award at the ceremony.

In December 2009, Reeves released his own iPhone application, purpose built for DJs to fire pre-loaded audio samples during their live sets, and is currently working on his second solo album.

In 2013, Krafty is to release anothert single, "Feel Like Jumpin", from his anew album Lets Ride, which is a journey into the eclectic and energetic world of Krafty Kuts. Spanning genres and generations, Lets Ride has everything from funk, soul, hip hop, jazz, electro, dubstep to drum and bass.

Krafty new label, Instant Vibes, gives him full creative control over the music. He continues his love affair with breaks by bringing through new talent including Marten Hoerger, Calvertron, Jay Robinson. He has also reunited with his longtime collaboration partner A Skillz for 10 years of Trickatechnology. They are working on a new remix and new video, and their "50 years of James Bond" mega-mix was supported by Annie Mac and Radio 1.

Krafty Kuts is now one of the big players on the world’s club scene. His career has included accolades ranging from eight times Breakspoll Winner, Best International DJ and Best Single of the Year by DJ magazine, and DJing alongside The Prodigy, Fatboy Slim and even the Rolling Stones.

Discography

Singles

• Krafty Kuts - The Funky Elements EP (FSUK)
• Krafty Kuts - Return of the Elements EP (FSUK)
• Krafty Kuts - Wild in the Aisles EP (FSUK)
• Krafty Kuts - "Gimme the Funk" (Southern Fried)
• Krafty Kuts - "Ya Don't Stop" (Lacerba - promo only)
• Krafty Kuts - "Chunks of Funk"/"Back to the top" (Lacerba- promo only)
• Krafty Kuts - "Salsa Boogaloo" (Lacerba- promo only)
• Krafty Kuts - "Step It Up" feat. TC Islam (Lacerba - promo only)
• Krafty Kuts - "Ghetto Funk" (Always Read The Label)
• Not Just Gigolos - "Stop the Nonsense" (Howlin 7")
• Not Just Gigolos - "Take me to the disco" (Howlin 7")
• Not Just Gigolos - "Can't You See (Howlin 7")
• Not just Gigolos - "Passion Eternal" (Against the Grain - promo only)
• Atari Playboys - "Be There in Ten Minutes"/"The Funk Is" (ATG - promo only)
• Krafty Kuts - "Dangerous"/"Funky Ass Beats" (Finger Lickin')
• Krafty Kuts - "Ill Type Sound"/"Snatch It"/"Keep It On"/"Come Alive" (FLR)
• Krafty Kuts - "Street Freaks"/"Get Funky" (Against the Grain)
• Krafty Kuts - "Lock the Hype"/"Smash your Breaks" (Against the Grain)
• Krafty Kuts - "Don't Stop"/"Funky Ass Beats" (Ed Solo Breaks Mix) (ATG)
• Krafty Kuts & A Skillz - "Peaches" (Finger Lickin' Funk)
• Krafty Kuts & A.Skillz - "Gimme The Breaks"/"Tricka Technology" (FLR)
• Krafty Kuts & A.Skillz - "Tricka Technology" & "Ain't It Funky" Remixes/"Fort Knox 5" & "Ed Funk" (FLR)
• Krafty Kuts - Lost Plates EP (ATG)
• Krafty Kuts & C5 Joyriders - "Take I"t (ATG)
• Krafty Kuts & Skool Of Thought - "Soundcheck" (Supercharged)
• Krafty Kuts & Ed Solo - "Bunkabusta" (Against The Grain)
• Krafty Kuts - "Rip U Apart"/"The ILL Funk" (Deep Cut Recordings)
• Krafty Kuts - "Uptight"/"Where's The Noise" (Deep Cut Recordings)
• Krafty Kuts & Tim Deluxe - "Bass Phenomenon" (ATG) Orig & Jesse Rose Remix
• Krafty Kuts & Tim Deluxe - "Bass Phenomenon" (ATG) Friction Remix/The Funk Is
• Krafty Kuts Feat Yolanda - "Tell Me How U Feel" (ATG) Orig & Basketball Jam
• Krafty Kuts Feat Yolanda - "Tell Me How U Feel" (ATG) Kid Kenobi & Rogue Element & Young Punx Remix
• Krafty Kuts Feat Dynamite MC - "There They Go" (ATG) & Accapella
• Krafty Kuts Feat Dynamite MC - "There They Go" (ATG) Bodysnatchers Remix
• Krafty Kuts & DJ Icey - "Through The Door" - (Supercharged)
• Krafty Kuts - "Freakshow" 2007 Remix/"Bring Back The Funk"/"DJ Tools" (ATG)
• Krafty Kuts vs The Freestylers - "Dynamite Love" - Liberator Music, Australia only
• Krafty Kuts vs The Freestylers - "Dynamite Love"/"Beerchucker" (ATG) 8 July

Albums

• A-Skillz + Krafty Kuts - Tricka Technology (Finger Lickin) (2003)
• Krafty Kuts - Freakshow (Against The Grain) (2006)
• Krafty Kuts - Freakshow (Liberator Music) Big Day Out limited edition release, Australia only
• Krafty Kuts - Let's Ride (Instand Vibes) (2012)
• Sounds of Vancouver - Take It (Manifesto/Against The Grain)
• Stakker Humanoid - Humanoid (Jumpin' and Pumpin')
• Flying Steps - In the Arena (Jive/Pepper)
• Jurassic 5 - Quality Control (DMC)
• Elwood - Sun Down (Palm Pictures)
• Utah Saints - Power to the Beats (Echo/Chrysalis)
• Utah Saints - Funky Music (Echo/Chrysalis)
• Detroit Grand Pubahs - Sandwiches (Jive/Pepper)
• Arthur Baker - Breakers Revenge (DMC)
• Big Yoga Muffin - Tragedies of Life, promo only (Echo/Chrysalis)
• 2 in Da Bush - In Effect (Finger Lickin')
• Flint - Everybody's Funkin' (Finger Lickin')
• Dead Prez - Bigger than Hip Hop (DMC)
• Furry Phreaks - Soothe (FSUK)
• Eric B & Rakim - I Know You Got Soul (Sidewalk)
• JVC Force - Strong Island (Sidewalk)
• Resident Filters - Get on It (Lacerba)
• Captain Funk - Twist and Shout (Reel Musiq)
• Tin Man - 18 Strings (DMC)
• Angel Lee - What's Your Name (WEA)
• Praga Khan - Injected With Poison (Nukleuz)
• Friendly - The Bump & Grind (Fat! Recordings)
• Freestylers - Punks (Against The Grain)
• Fatboy Slim - Ya Mama (2005 Skint) Fatboy Slim's greatest remixes
• Ed Solo & Skool Of Thought - When I Was A Yout (ATG)
• Krafty Kuts - Freakshow (ATG)

Unreleased edits, re-rubs and remixes

• Tim Healy & Marc Adamo - Ghetto Blaster (Krafty Kuts Re-Rub)
• Nadastrom - Pussy (Krafty Kuts Re-Rub)
• A-Trak - Say Whoa - Krafty Kuts Remix
• Laidback Luke&Steve Angello vs Robin S-Show Me love(KK Remix)
• Deadmau5 & MC Flipside- Hi Friend (Krafty Kuts Re-Rub)
• Micky Slim - Downward Wonk (Krafty Kuts Re-Rub)
• Micky Slim - Hit The Club (Stupid Fresh Remix Krafty Kuts Rub)
• Micky Slim & Marc Brown - U Know What's Up(Krafty Kuts Remix)
• South Rakkas Crew - Mad Again- Krafty Kuts vs Fake Blood Remix
• Fake Blood - Blood Splashing (Krafty Kuts Re-Rub)
• Fake Blood - Mars - Krafty Kuts vs Beatvandals Mix
• Autodidakt - S**T Your Rack- Krafty Kuts vs Proxy Mix
• Proxy - Dancing In The Dark - Krafty Kuts Remix
• Slyde - Frequency - Krafty Kuts Re-Rub
• Plump DJ's Vs Krafty Kuts & Dynamite MC - Intermission
• Hot Chip - Ready For The Floor - Krafty Kuts Re - Rub
• Parker - Western Soul (Miles Dyson Mix) - Krafty Kuts Remix
• Miles Dyson - Anthem - Krafty Kuts & Adsorb Remix
• Rye Rye - Wassup Wassup - Crookers vs Krafty Kuts Mix
• Crookers vs Ursula 1000 - Want You To Push It - Krafty Kuts Remix
• Crookers vs Kriss Cross - Jump - Krafty Kuts Remix
• Crookers - Knobbers - Krafty Kuts Re-Rub
• Machines Don't Care - Afro Jackers - Krafty Kuts Mix
• Herve - Cheap Thrills - Krafty Kuts Re-Rub
• Herve - Get Up - Krafty Kuts Re-Rub
• Larry T Feat Princess Superstar - Licky Better - Herve vs Krafty Kuts Remix
• Top Billin - Bitches Up In Here - Krafty Kuts Remix
• Larry T Feat Princess Superstar - Licky Better - Herve vs Krafty Kuts Remix
• Mstrkrft - Vu Vu Vu - Krafty Kuts Remix
• Jude Sebastien - Rubberman - Krafty Kuts Re-Rub
• Prodigy vs Twocker - Smack My Bitch Up - Krafty Kuts Re-Rub
• Coburn vs Twocker - We Interrupt This - Krafty Kuts Re-Rub
• CJ Bolland vs Twocker - Sugar Daddy - Krafty Kuts Re-Rub
• Gunman vs Twocker - 187 Lockdown - Krafty Kuts Re-Rub
• Sebastien Leger - Falling Down - Krafty Kuts Re-Rub
• The Subs - F**k That S**t - Krafty Kuts Re-Rub
• Alex Metric - Stressed Thriller - Krafty Kuts Re-Rub
• Alex Metric - We R Prostitutes - Krafty Kuts Re-Rub
• Alex Metric - Monster Hospital - Krafty Kuts Re-Rub
• Stupid Fresh - Get The F**k Up - Krafty Kuts Re-Rub
• Shadowdancer - Soul Acides Club - Krafty Kuts Re-Rub
• Shadowdancer - Are We Now - Krafty Kuts Re-Rub
• Boys Noize - Shine Shine - Krafty Kuts Re-Rub
• Drumattics vs Lisa - People Hold On - Krafty Kuts Remix
• Hook & Sling - Hooked Up - Krafty Kuts Re-Rub
• The Kills-Cheap & Cheerful-Sebastian Mix (Krafty Kuts Re-Rub)
• Sebastian - Baba O'Reily (Krafty Kuts Remix)
• Sebastian - Momy - Krafty Kuts Re -Rub
• DJ Medhi - Signatune - Krafty Kuts Remix
• Justice - Stress Auto Remix (Krafty Kuts Edit)
• Justice - DVNO - Krafty Kuts Remix
• Justice - Phantoms Pt 2 - Krafty Kuts Re-Rub
• ZZT - Lower State Of Consciousness - Krafty Kuts Re-Rub
• Swen Webber - Samba Da Bochum - Krafty Kuts Re-Rub
• Armand Van Helden Vs M Class - Koochy - Krafty Kuts Re-Rub
• Basskleph vs Dre - You Can Do It - Krafty Kuts Re-Rub
• Partyshank - Penis vs Vagina - Krafty Kuts Re-Rub
• Dirty Funker - Enter Sandman - Krafty Kuts Re-Rub
• The Doors vs Dirty South - This Is The End - Krafty Kuts Re-Rub
• Josh Wink - Higher State - Krafty Kuts Remix
• Chromeo - Needy Girl - Krafty Kuts Remix
• The Clash - Should I Boot - Krafty Kuts Remix
• Krafty Kuts - A Krafty Symphony

Mix albums

• Smirnoff promo mix with A.Skillz
• Slam the Breaks On (Lacerba)
• Slam the Breaks On II (Lacerba)
• Ministry Interactive PlayStation 2 (Ministry of Sound)
• These Are The Breaks (DMC) (2003)
• Boxfresh Exclusive Mix with A Skillz
• Circus vs Chibuku (mixed by Yousef & Krafty Kuts) (Carioca)
• Fuzzy Breaks (mixed by Krafty Kuts & Q45) (Central Station Records)
• FabricLive.34 (2007)
• Fabric radio promo mix only
• Back To Mine (DMC) (2008)
• Against The Grain (Against The Grain Records)(2009)

External links

• www.kraftykuts.com
• Kraft Kuts on Myspace
• Kraft Kuts on www.discogs.com
• RBMA Radio On Demand - Train Wreck Mix - Krafty Kuts (Finger Lickin', UK)
• Kraft Kuts on www.breakspoll.com