KRAFTY KUTS

When you enter a DJ'ing competition, having never DJ'd before, and get to the finals, you know you must have chosen the right career path ­ Krafty Kuts was born, aged 12. Having been responsible for the massively successful Finger Lickin' Funk EP, remixes of Flint and 2inDaBush as well as DJ'ing regularly under the Finger Lickin' banner Martin is now firmly part of the Finger Lickin' family. Brighton based Krafty Kuts alias Martin Reeves has developed his passion for DJ'ing since the late 1980's when he was fully immersed in the old skool movement, playing locally in legendary clubs such as Sterns, The Zap, and The Concorde and supporting bands across the South Coast. Soon after buying his first set of decks, Martin opened his own record shop, through which he identified a sound for his DJ style, a hip hop funk infusion of up-tempo beats. Martin's big break came in 1993, when Richie Rich featured one of his hip-hop remixes on his Kiss FM show. With his music knowledge, a successful DJ'ing reputation and the record shop as a catalyst, Krafty Kuts started to make his own music. He aimed to mix up break beat, funk and hip-hop to produce a groundbreaking new sound. The first release Latin Bounce was a massive success in 1997, whilst Gimme the Funk, released on Norman Cook's Southern Fried label, received radio support from the likes of Annie Nightingale and Touche (Wiseguys). Having hooked up with the Ministry of Sound's offshoot label FSUK, Martin was now a serious contender in the new breaks arena. 1998 singles Funky Elements and Return of the Elements were acclaimed by the music press, as was the Krafty Kuts compilation Slam the Breaks On. By the late 1990's, the sound of Krafty Kuts had been defined, and his unique style received industry notoriety. Martin has had residencies in Brighton, and London clubs from Home, Scala and Heavenly Social to Fabric, 333 and Electrowerks. Martin's DJ'ing gigs have seen him play alongside Norman Cook, The Freestylers, Jungle Brothers, Plump DJs, Scratch Perverts, Roni Size, DJ Rap, and Adam Freeland. It's not surprising then that DJ Magazine readers have voted Martin one of the top 100 DJ's in the world, and more specifically in the top 10 break beat maestros for the last 3 years. Mr Kuts still runs the now legendary Wednesday club night Supercharged at the Funky Buddha Lounge in his hometown of Brighton. 2002 alone has seen Krafty DJ in over 7 countries including gigs all over the UK every weekend and upcoming dates in USA, Canada, Australia and Europe. Studio collaborations with funk master Freddie Fresh and New York's Dr. Luke produced a brilliant new blend of party beats. Finger Lickin' snapped up the tracks, and the resulting Finger Lickin¹ Funk ep was such a huge success a Finger Lickin' Funk album is now under way. Krafty and Freddie then jointly created new label Against The Grain; the sound is electric, a house of bass-heavy beats. The first single release, Krafty's Lock the Hype/Smash Your Breaks was released at the end of 2001 and the Lost Plates EP soon followed, which reached Cool Cuts and Buzz charts as well as #1 in the DJ Beats chart. Krafty compiled the December cover CD for Mixmag and one of his tracks is currently being used on a Coca Cola TV advertising campaign. On the remix front Krafty has just reworked Africa Bambaata's Funky Hereos for one of breakbeats top labels Acetate Ltd. Remixes in the pipeline include Deadly Avenger, Freestylers, Mob Records, Sounds of Vancouver and Disco Assassins. He has also just written some music for a new Playstation 2 game, Rollin. His plans for the rest of the year include releases on Against the Grain and also a co-production with promoter partner Lloyd from Supercharged. However, most of his production skills are focused on the Finger Lickin' Funk party hip hop album he is writing with talented youngster A Skills, which just oozes summertime funk. He is working with a whole host of well known artists, who shall remain a secret for now. There are plans for a 4 deck live set featuring the mixing and scratching talents of Krafty and A Skills, plus various singers, rappers and musicians. The massive single Peaches/ Tricka Technology is set for huge success on release in September this year, followed by the album in the spring.