Kukan dUb Lagan

Kukan dUb Lagan

Kukan dUb Lagan is the chill-out and dub project of Itay Berger, an artist from Israel. Berger starts listening to electronic music at the age of 16 and later works for more than three years as a sound engineer for one of Israel’s major sound and light companies. His move into music making is influenced by a trip to Ibiza in 1997–98, when he visits Juan’s studio in the Muses Rapt circle. Around that period he also begins DJing in Israel and abroad, mainly at underground parties.

Early DJ work and international appearances

Berger’s travels take him to Cusco in Peru and to New York, where he plays alongside Total Eclipse. He begins chill-out DJing in Israel in 2002. In that period he is also signed for a year to a UK techno-house label as DJ Itay and performs in Japan, including parties in Osaka and Kyoto.

Project name and style

After returning to Israel, Berger studies sound engineering for a year and focuses fully on composition. He creates Kukan dUb Lagan from his DJ experience, family musical influences, and wider musical background. The name combines three elements: Kukan, meaning “space” in Japanese; dub, referring to the style; and lagan, from the Hebrew word ba-lagan, meaning “chaos”. His music is described as psy-chill free dub and is also tagged as dub, psydub, ambient, psychill, and chillout.

Albums and label work

The debut album, Life is Nice, is released on Candyflip Records in Greece. The second album, Step ina Rasta Step, is released in 2007 on Berger’s own label, MikelaBella Rec. A third album, New Life New Vision, also follows. He also releases a remix album called life still nice connected to Life is Nice.

Other activities

Alongside the project, Berger teaches chill-out and dub at a sound and music school in Israel. He also produces other projects in tech house, progressive, and ethnic styles, and manages his own label releases and artists.