Kelvin Krash - HARSH (Album)
Kelvin Krash – musician, visual designer, producer, all-round multi-disciplinary mastermind – releases his debut album HARSH via his own platform Krashed, with guest features from A$AP Rocky and Coucou Chloe. Continuing his relationship as part of the AWGE collective, the album’s lead single is the hard hitting ‘GET A GRIP (feat. A$AP Rocky)’.
It follows previous singles “BLUE WHEELS”, “PROMISE YOU’LL WAIT” + “THIEF IN THE NIGHT” (feat. COUCOU CHLOE), which starred in the latest Need For Speed game, as well as the music video ‘WE CAN GO (BUCK SHOTS 2)’ - filmed in Morocco last month. It was the first time Krash visited the country, and was a very memorable trip for him so the news of the earthquake was heartbreaking for Krash, and the video is dedicated to all those affected by the tragedy.
The last few years have seen Kelvin Krash establish himself as one of the leading producers in contemporary rap, working with A$AP Rocky, Skepta, Giggs, Jeshi, A$AP Twelvvy, Lancey Foux, and Kasien. “WE CAN GO (BUCK SHOTS 2)” is Krash’s follow up to 2018’s “Buck Shots”, which originally appeared on A$AP Rocky’s TESTING album, and produced entirely by Kelvin Krash.
Krash isn’t just a beatmaker; think of him more of a studio collaborator, an intuitive creative presence that turns good ideas and engineers them into great tracks. Rocky spotted his talents early on, signing Krash up to his creative agency AWGE. The next few years were a blur: flitting between the UK, the US, Europe and Japan, late nights collaborating in the studio or creating audio work for brands including A COLD WALL, Louis Vuitton, Beats by Dre, and Diesel.
If HARSH sounds more coherent than its piecemeal creation might suggest, it’s because it’s a work of pure self-expression. Entirely self-produced and mixed with Krash on vocals throughout, it blends sleek hardware synths and club-ready percussion with a reflective, introspective quality that shines throughout.
Instead of taking a conventional label route, he’s opted to release HARSH through Krashed, an online platform that’s home to all his creative projects, including his Discord: a thriving community space where Krash speaks directly to his fans, a way of breaking down that wall between performer and audience. As you’d expect from a creative who’s done things his way from the beginning, Krash is fiercely protective of his own narrative, with an eye on the big picture. “It sets a good example for me to build things myself, push the values I believe in,” says Krash. “With Krashed I want to keep adding more bricks to the building – it’s about trying to create a world.”