Krust: “Lockdown has been one of the best times for me”

One of the early pioneers within Drum & Bass, Krust, is set to bless the world with another masterful creation in the form of a third studio album later this week.

We managed to catch up with the English artist and quiz him about ‘The Edge of Everything’ as well as how life has been for him during lockdown.

Whilst many artists have struggled in recent months Krust admitted there have been lots of positives for him. The 52-year-old has seen his other interests such as his CBD Oil company, Amma Life, and his lifestyle coaching consultancy flourish.

The Bristolian has demonstrated his diversity within music time and time again throughout his career and during the course of this pandemic he has showcased his versatility away from the studio.

“The other thing about those skill sets is that I’ve been able to start a business with my partner. That’s been going really well and I’ve been able to use those skills to help other people,” he said.

“Through this period I’ve got a thing called Wednesday’s workout where I’ve been coaching and mentoring people from the creative industry and helping people find solutions to the problems they have.”

Being of a certain age has allowed Krust to experience times of recession. The Bristolian has lived through the early Margaret Thatcher era and been around when the miners’ strike erupted so he has plenty of experience in how the economy has changed and then reformed.

At the start of this pandemic Krust was fascinated by the people who were willing to take risks on new opportunities and confessed how he sought coaching from individuals who were encouraging him to move forward into the unknown.

The driving factor behind starting a lifestyle coaching consultancy was his desire to understand why some people advance in the face of adversity and others retreat.

“When I dug deeper I saw it was down to mindset and personality and lots of aspects of psychology,” he added.

When asked about not being able to perform his new album to an audience Krust admitted it was heartbreaking but he was quick to point out the silver lining.

“I am gutted because we had a show worked out on how I was going to perform it,” he continued. “On the flip side it’s the perfect environment for everyone at home to listen to it on their big system or headphones.”

Crosstown Rebels is an imprint which is well respected and hugely influential within the spheres of house and techno so when the news emerged Krust was going to feature his work on this label it may have come as a surprise to some.

However, Krust admitted that Damian Lazarus, who is the Crosstown Rebels head honcho, has always been a Drum & Bass fan from the outset so the move wasn’t completely left-field after all.

“Damian is this old skool junglist as well so it’s not a million miles from his roots,” he continued. “I didn’t want to stay comfortable where I had been and just put it out on a jungle/drum & bass label. I’ve done that and been there. I want to do something that’s new and creative and I want to be around people who are hungry and want to experiment.”

After four years grinding away in the studio the Full Cycle Records co-owner was happy he managed to link up with Lazarus who instantly understood the direction he wanted to take this project.

This record was never simply a body of music more a stunning piece of art designed to caress all the senses.

Krust could see Lazarus was on the same wavelength when they listened to the album together for the first time.

“I want to make a statement. I want people to come in and have an experience,” he said. “I want to visually, auditorily and emotionally give people that experience you have when you go and see the Matrix or Inception. I wanted that type of epic experience. Damian got it straight away and he was really passionate about the opportunity. It needed to be from someone outside the genre because I needed fresh ears.”

Krust’s new studio album ‘The Edge Of Everything’ drops via Crosstown Rebels on Vinyl / CD / download / stream on 6th November, make sure you grab it from here