Krafty Kuts

In the lead up to Field Day, no one's more excited than Martin "Krafty Kuts" Reeves. It will be his third Field Day appearance and no wonder he loves them: the 2004 gig was the highlight of his career. Bad weather caused an early closure of the breaks stage where he was due to appear so instead he got to finish the last hour of the festival on the main stage in front of 25,000 people. "The crowd was singing the words to my music, loving every single thing I had to offer. That kind of togetherness is what enjoying music is all about. After that I went back to my people in England and said, ‘This is what we should have'".

Reeves is a huge fan of the Australian festival culture, which seems strange for an Englishman with all of Europe's best festivals on his doorstep. No doubt he's seduced, like many a Brit, by our climate and outdoor culture, but beyond that it's the Aussie crowds he loves. After all, while breakbeat was still a relatively obscure underground genre in much of the world, artists like Stanton Warriors, Plump DJs and Freestylers were playing major Australian festivals.

It's the danger and the beauty of having a music culture that is festival rather than club-based: the promoters have a huge influence over what we listen to. But in Reeves' opinion, they've been doing a great job. "Music has really moved forward in the last five years and Australia has been at the pinnacle of it by bringing in so many good international acts to one show in one city. People can see their favourite DJs all in one day and that's what makes Field Day, Summadayze, Big Day Out amazing."

An already prolific touring DJ, producer, record label owner and entrepreneur (who is soon to release his own iPhone app), Reeves is acutely focused on upping his game since we last saw him. To that end he's been furiously slogging away in the studio producing fresh material, developing new visuals that will be unique to each show he does in Australia, and making sure he's in top form when it comes to the signature tricks and beatjuggling which make his live shows so exciting.

For Reeves, creating music on the spot rather than premixing is the trick to connecting with an audience that could wander off to another stage at the first twinge of boredom. "If I was going to a show as a punter, especially an artist I had seen before, I'd want to see a DJ that interacts with the crowd and plays a set that's exciting, spontaneous and fresh-as-day. I've got a short space of time to impress so I intend to give 110 per cent and make sure my show is magnificent to the point of being talked about until I come over again.

"If you come and see me and don't have the time of your life, I personally will feel disappointed in myself."

Krafty Kuts plays at Field Day, the Domain on 1 Jan.

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