Kraftywerk

Krafty Kuts is synonymous with the Perth breakbeat scene. Appearing twice at Breakfest and more club shows than breakbeat kids' brain cells care to remember, Krafty Kuts aka Martin Reeves knows the ins and outs of playing in Perth. “I remember one day I was DJing with A Skillz, it was 40 degrees and there was this, like, massive influx of flying insects everywhere – in my mouth, in my ears, in my hair. It actually got rid of my phobia for insects,” Reeves reveals triumphantly of a past Breakfest at Belvoir. “It is one of the best places to play in the world and I've got some amazing memories from that.”

Doing a club show this time around has Reeves excited. “I'm stoked to be playing at Villa. I think it's going to be an immense show. I have more energy than I've ever had before. When you come to a Krafty set now, it's just full of fire. It's just fucking mental. When I get off that stage…” Reeves pauses to collect his thoughts. “You know, when you go and see a rock concert and the singer comes off, you look at him and you think, 'My god, he's knackered?' Well, that's me; I'm dancing and shouting and doing stuff all the time.” He admits though that all of that energy can sometimes be a little draining. “It's hard 'cause I don't always have the energy to sit and talk with fans, which sucks because my fans are so important to me. You get asked a million questions, and for photos, and it's really hard to digest it all after playing like that.”

Being in the limelight for over 14 years, Reeves reveals that in such an evolving scene and industry, it is important to stay ahead of the game. Complacency is sometimes an issue, especially when it comes to crossing the line between promoter and friendship. “Yeah, I mean, sometimes it can be somewhat detrimental because you take it for granted and get taken advantage of. So they [promoters] might not promote the shows well or they might not put you in the nice hotel. They leave you stranded for a few hours because they are now your mate. Sometimes you ask, 'Is this a good idea, me being real good friends with promoters?'”

As far as keeping the show tight, he admits, “Someone like Skrillex has to have visuals, has to have the right set-up, has to have a manager who looks after production. And if all these things don't go correctly, it will hamper the final product. Same with my show; if I don't have good people around me, and good promoters, it will fail. I won't say what city it was, but just the other day the sound system blew, everything started to go wrong that night and I didn't have my shit together. Things were failing around me. When this happens you need everyone to be fully professional to make the show 100 percent.”

The one thing that is strikingly obvious when talking to Reeves is that he is a true stalwart of the breaks scene. While the likes of “Evil Nine, Adam Freeland, Lee Coombs, Plumps [DJs] to a certain extent” have not stayed true to the genre, Reeves has consistently set the bar when it comes to breakbeat production. His new album Lets Ride is another fine example of this and he speaks highly of it. “The new album has taken me two years. Some of the hardest work I've done. It's been really difficult clearing samples, working with people to make things happen the right way. But the first single is out now on Beatport doing the damage. It's 16 tracks of new funky fresh Kraftiness, definitely my best work to date and I'm very excited to be unleashing that on you guys real soon.”