Meiso
Studio album by
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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