Meiso

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
Studio album by DJ Krush
Released	July 21, 1995 (1995-07-21)
Studio	Show-On (Tokyo) Platinum Island (New York, New York)
Genre	Trip hop hip hop
Length	48:53
Label	Sony
Producer	DJ Krush
DJ Krush chronology
Strictly Turntablized (1994) Meiso (1995) Ki-Oku (1996)
Singles from Meiso
"Meiso" Released: 1996[1] "Only the Strong Survive" Released: September 30, 1996[2]

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
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[10]
The Guardian	[13]
Muzik	4.5/5[12]
The Source	[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

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Length
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

All music is composed by DJ Krush, except where noted.

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

• DJ Krush – production, mixing
• Noriko Asano – executive production
• Toshiya Horiuchi – mastering
• Ken Duro Ifill – recording
• Tetsuo Kato – executive production
• Koichi "Oppenheimer" Matsuki – recording
• Yoko Yamanaka – recording (assistant)

Design

• Mami Ikeda – translation
• Sachiko Kishi – translation
• Masato Nakamura – photography
• Sakaguchi Ken Factory – art direction, 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