In The Wire 441, British drum 'n' bass DJ and producer Krust wrote about the artwork for Genesis's 1974 album The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway for our regular Inner Sleeve feature. Reflecting on his fascination with prog rock, Krust explains how he and his Full Cycle Records labelmates were constantly trying to figure out how prog musicians arrived at their psychedelic sounds.

“How did that drummer get that sound? Why is that guitar like that? When I sourced equipment,” recalls Krust, “I went back and listened to classic albums from the 1980s, 70s, 60s. When I was listening to a lot of prog rock, I got the Moog, I got pedals. I always heard that synthesizer sounding amazing, and I wanted my synths to sound the way those did. I would learn that they would get a synth, put it through an amp, and re-mike it. I was learning all these tips and tricks and applying them to my music. The weird stuff always came from the prog rock albums. On the new album it’s all synthesizers going through amps, pedals, weird delays, weird echoes.”

In this playlist, the Bristolian expands on how rock music continues to influence his own dance productions.

Section 25
“Hit”
From Always Now
(Factory)

Dark, cold and broken vibes... makes me imagine how machines will one day control all facets of human activities. What’s interesting is the pace in the tone and how it requires you to really slow down as you get used to the vibe and tone. When you do that, you kind of catch your breath and start to see in between the gaps and maybe view things a little bit differently than you normally would do at the speed of human change.

Led Zeppelin
“Dazed And Confused”
From Led Zeppelin
(Altantic)

For me this is all about the bassline – it reminds me of something that someone in Bristol would’ve used in a tune. Maybe they still will, I don’t know. The lead riff is like a freight train hitting you in your chest relentlessly. That’s as heavy as it gets without sub-bass.

The Soft Machine
“Save Yourself”
From The Soft Machine
(Probe)

Wonky doesn’t even start to describe what this tune does – very inspirational. Great to get your head out of a stuck place. It's so radical in the sense that they just did what they felt and stuck to their guns and to what they believed in. Unique arrangement, unique sound structure and a drummer who sings – what more could you ask for?

David Bowie
“Space Oddity”
From Space Oddity
(Philips)

David Bowie has been a big influence on my work. I really like the way he constructs his songs. Lyrically, it’s always different, gripping. The songs are like a maze or puzzle – you try and understand them you just get further drawn in to the mystery. You have to pay attention, he does some really interesting and surprising things. In this song it’s like he’s talking to himself inside himself... nuts, right?

Gracious at the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival

This intro is pure gold. The way he explains what the song is about is amazing and then when the song does start it really feels like what he just said. This is my type of experimental music – off-key sounds, monotony, lost in the words, surprise, energy... face melters. They’ve created an atmosphere and illusion of separation, and they take you into the depths of the mind of a man who has lost this family and you can really feel it. This is great music.

Grahame Bond
“Love Is The Law”
From Love Is The Law
(Pulsar)

This tune really reminds me of gangster movies – maybe it’s the church organs that they often play just before the bad guy gets killed. I really like this tune. It’s a bit different from everything else on the list. The track itself has some interesting shifting time signatures – a lot of music back then played around with timing to mess with your head.

Read Krust's The Inner Sleeve article in The Wire 441. Subscribers can access the feature via the digital archive. Krust's latest album The Edge Of Everything is released by Crosstown Rebels.