Turntablists are DJs who use vinyl disc records, and turntable techniques like scratching or beat juggling in the composition of original musical works.
One who engages in turntablism is a turntablist, a term created by DJ Babu, to describe the difference between a DJ who just lets records play, and one who actually manipulates the sounds of a record.
Within the realm of hip hop, notable modern turntablists are the cinematic DJ Shadow, who influenced Diplo and RJD2, among others, and the experimental DJ Spooky, whose Optometry albums showed that the turntablist can perfectly fit within the classic jazz setting.
The contrast with techno dj& and turntablists is the approach to the music and musical ideas.
DJ Shadow is a prime example of this type of turntablist as with most of his album Entroducing.
While scratching may sound chaotic (and a few songs are chaotic) the complexity of the music or instrument might not be relevant to those unwilling to listen.
The term "turntablist" describes an individual who uses the turntables not just to play music, but to actually manipulate sounds and beats on a record, and create their own music or sounds to it.
These two terms were adopted by the International Turntablist Federation in 1996 to separate regular disc jockeys from those who actually create music using the turntables.
Invented by Steve D of the X-ectutioners, this element of turntablism involves the process of using two of the same records, or two different records, to make a different melody by rearranging the beats contained within the song.
Much like a guitarist who writes a song, a turntablist creates original musical compositions by "scratching" two vinyl records back and forth on a turntable.
Using a mixer and a fader, DJs can direct the sound from one turntable to the next spinning beats that sound better than the original records they are working from.
With a flick of the wrist The Muppets sound like Mozart; a Enya track provides the baseline for a Fugees song; and jazz musician Dave Brubeck becomes a hip-hop artist.
Asking a turntablist whether his table is a "high-fidelity" component is as silly as asking a violinist if she plays an "audiophile" violin.
Though I'm an outsider—not because of my Dockers, but because my hands would physically refuse to rock a platter back and forth under a delicate cantilever—it's clear that turntablists are proud to have invented a music that is new and all their own.
The price of this, of course, is that the cartridge will no longer be at the optimal tangential angle to the record's grooves—but that's an audiophile thing, not a turntablist thing.
A simple scratch is performed by moving a vinyl record back and forth with your hand while it is playing on a turntable, creating a distinctive sound that has come to be an almost universally recognized aspect of hip hop music.
Recently, DJs and turntablists have begun developing systems of notation for use in learning different scratches and writing compositions.
A simple scratch is performed by moving a vinyl record back and forth with your hand...
ROLAND MC-307 Groovebox A groovebox designed for DJs and turntablists.
Scratching with the CD-302 is much more forgiving than with real vinyl-perfect for lame turntablists like me. The ability to scratch your own home-brewed CD-Rs opens up a world of possibilities to producers, remixers, and DJs.
The success of Roland's MC-303 Groovebox, the first dance music-oriented sequencer and sound module, proved that the electronic and dance music market was a force to reckon with.
Before you run out to buy your first turntablist album, be warned that most of the best turntablistmusic isn't found on full-length CD's.
The liberation of percussion from the role of musical time-keeper to being a fully integrated partner or even the "solo" star in a musical piece is also reflected in jungle/drum n' bass, free jazz and the 20th century avant-garde.
Although there are exceptions, the majority of turntablist full-length albums released so far have been disappointingly conservative compared to the radical, raw productions available on twelve inches, mixtapes and compilations.
The audience- the turntablist/deejay aficionados, aspiring turntablists, urban music appreciators, and the curious- who came, saw, and supported ITF Canada and the many talented turntablists in their respective communities.
Thirty minute showcase finale by DJ Q-Bert of the Invisbl Skratch Piklz: considered by many to be the best turntablist in the world.
On October 2nd, 1999, at The Studio (1109 St. Laurent, Montreal), ITF Canada is proud to present the Canadian premiere of a highly anticipated DJ event: the Advancement Class Canadian DJ Championships.
The idea is that any sound can be channeled between the decks, anytime – in the course of a minute, a skilled turntablist can change musical styles six or seven times, transmogrifying tempos and creating entirely new rhythms from prerecorded music.
The fact that 90 percent of the tracks kick ass is small consolation to those who wanted to see turntablists pull themselves up by their own sneakers.
Similarly, while Return of the DJ, Volume III (Bomb) doesn't improve on the first two discs, it won't disappoint die-hard fans of the scratch.
Built From Scratch is the follow-up to the X-Ecutioners' revolutionary debut LP which back in 1997 re-established the role of the DJ in contemporary hip-hop.
Amazon.co.uk: Music / Styles / Hip-Hop & Rap / Turntablists
This set compiles much of DJ Shadow's pre-major label material in one convenient package in an attempt to foil bootleggers and bring new fans up-to-date in the curriculum.
Although "scratching" is rooted in African-American "hip hop" music, today's turntablists are multicultural.
Jason Bellmont, better known as DJ Radar, drew on his experience as a classical pianist and computer programmer to create a set of symbols called "articulations," each documenting the placement of a DJ's hands throughout a musical score.
A small circle of musicians, Webber included, has developed a method of notation for turntablists.
By introducing the world to the first full-length turntablist album “X-pressions” and achieving the recognition of being the first turntablist band to be signed to a major label - Loud Records who will be releasing their album “Built from Scratch” in February 2000.
I have the ability to produce and orchestrate music with my SP1200 or Akai 950…I’m not limited to the Technic 1200 turntables.” He strives to be known as a musician.
Rolling Stone goes on to describe the X-ecutioners as “some of the best turntablists on the planet…wowing crowds and elevating the art of DJ’ing with unbelievable displays of technical skill and acrobatics, [making] the Technic 1200 the musical instrument of the future.” The X-ecutioners have broken ground for DJs and turntablists worldwide.
In last year's turntablist documentary "Scratch," D.J.'s mused about the thrill of tracking down rare vinyl, a pursuit memorialized in many a song.
In a genre that is obsessed with notions of authenticity, vinyl signifies a connection to hip-hop's historical lineage, which starts with those South Bronx pioneers who began a global movement with little more than two turntables and a microphone.
"Some people are always going to like the rawness of vinyl," said DJ Q-Bert, the pioneering San Francisco-based turntablist.
On his debut album, turntablistKid Koala stunned listeners with his densely packed, witty sound pastiches.
Kid Koala from Montreal Canada has skillz that only other turntablists can only dream about...This debut ablum is refreshing & a VERY funny display of turntablism/music.This short album (38 min) really proves how entertaining & how much of an artform this type of music can be...
Although this album(turntablism in general) isn't a big hit with people looking for simplistic-beat-driven songs where there is a beat & then some simple scratch-phrases on top.
TableTurns is the show DJs WANT to do as a turntablists and it is the forum that gives the most back to the turntablist community.
The movie is based on DJ Qbert's first album, “Wave Twisters,” which first hit record stores in 1998 and became an underground smash across the globe.
Wave Twisters: The Movie is the first full-length animated Hip-Hop film in history and the brainchild of internationally renowned turntablist innovator DJ Qbert.
This will certainly move the dj and turntablist further towards acceptance as a true musician as it allows the turntable to become a true musical instrument rather than just a tool for playback.
Meet other turntablists in the Forum and listen to sampledj battle routines from our members.
Learn more about mixing records, beat matching, scratching, dj battle routines and more about turntablists.
With a rhythm beat opening up the first side, this track is designed to teach turntablists how to cut more rhythmically over a different style pattern of a beat.
With tracks on Bomb's Return of the DJ Vol 4 and HipHopSlam's Global Turntables compilation he is well versed in the knowledge of what turntablists want and how to make a REAL battle record.
There also is approximately 2 minutes of 2 bar beat percussions - perfect for beat juggling or beat creation.
DJ Radar, who was recently named as one of the "Top Ten Turntablists in the World" by SPIN Magazine, was the turntable soloist, leading this music revolution...
DJs for Life takes place over the 9th and 10th of December and is already being talked about by those who know about these sort of things as the event to be at for DJs, anyone who works with DJs and anyone who just likes DJs...
"They asked me, 'What would be the ultimate?' And I was like, 'Carnegie Hall,' " says DJ Radar, a nationally known turntablist who made his name as one-third...
This incredibly dope LP is a collage; equal parts MC's serving up lyrical treats, producers laying down ill instrumentals, and turntablists tearing vinyl to shreds.
A compilation of both hip-hop tracks and turntablist songs, Cue's Hip Hop Shop Vol.
Possibly the hypest album Dogday has put out to date, Cue's Hip Hop Shop Vol.
Local turntablistsDJ Dice and DJ Roach offered their explanations last weekend, first likening the term turntablists to more generally-known terms like guitarist or saxophonist.
"We like to refer to ourselves as turntablists, because these are like our instruments and we do more than just playing the record," DJ Roach explained.
Turntablists must constantly tell the inexperienced that no, a proper scratch doesn't destroy the record and yes, there is a lot more to it than randomly playing around with vinyl ("wax") on a turntable.
Compered by Cutmaster Swift, instructions are given by UK team champions The En4cers – DJ Pogo & Madcut alongside the Mixologists – Bennie G, DJ Go & Yo1.
The 19th Annual DMC/TECHNICS USA FINALS, filmed live on August 7, 2004 from Henry Fonda Music Box Theatre in Hollywood, CA hosted by DJ Felli Fel of Power 105 in LA. The longest US tour in DMC history with over 20 cities and 600 participants nationwide.
Hector Romero is definitely a DJ'sDJ and one of the rising stars in the turntablistsâ pantheon.
Most DJs will tell you that, in their formative years, their parentals actively encouraged them to spin by purchasing the necessary audio equipment for the wannabe turntablists to pursue their craft.
Ironically, he can't produce a lick, normally the death knell for most aspiring âsuperstarâ turntablists.
While the music industry has co-opted hip-hop and rappers, DJs have been relegated to making music for the sake of creating something new, something totally for themselves, other DJs and their relatively small but fiercely devoted fans.
Though Pray admits he wasn't a hip-hop head before making the movie, as a musician as well as a listener, the turntablists more than convinced him of their validity as quote-unquote “artists.”
"We needed to have the old school guys in the film since the turntablists are so conscious of the music's history and what came before them,” Pray says.
Rooted in the context of free-improvisation, Marclay's latest musical project continues pushing forward the definition of what deejaying is. The new CD features four of the most forward thinking turntablists of the new music scene: Toshio Kajiwara, Erik M., DJ Olive and Marina Rosenfeld.
Mixing a wide variety of LPs on multiple turntables, fragmenting and repeating sounds, altering speeds, playing records backwards, spinning, throwing, scratching, and otherwise manipulating records to create his unique 'theater of found sound,' Marclay's extreme DJ manipulations predate by two decades the turntablists of today.
djTRIO is a rotating trio founded by Christian Marclay in 1996 to showcase the talent of some of the world's best avant-garde turntablists.
It has long been the aim of San Francisco's Asphodel Records to fuse the freshest sounds from hip-hop/techno/breakbeat culture with the experimental spirit of early electronic music (think musique concrete).
With the encouragement of label head Naut Humon, turntablists like DJ Spooky, Mix Master...
Deep Concentration reinforces what you fundamentally love about hip-hop and then proceeds to flip your brain into hyperspace with some of the more progressive DJ compositions from some of the most respected turntablists around.
Architects of the "illbient sound," they match subtle soundscapes with dissonant elements, as if the punks were in charge of making the elevator music.
The combination of soft scapes and hard dissonance is the characteristic sound of We and a few other turntablists like them.
But with varying degrees of weight, recording volume, quality of scratch sentences, beats (some skip-proof), tones and verbal disses currently available in the bins, we thought it worthwhile to ask some scratch jocks what in their opinion stands as the all-time greatest battle-breaks record.
DJ Times Asks Turntablists: Whats Your Desert Island Battle-Breaks Record?
These records are made in ways so that people can scratch in new ways with new and innovative sounds and beats that change up a lot as opposed to just having a constant loop.
It was not until Herbie Hancock's Rockit in 1983 that the turntablism movement was recognized in popular music outside of a hip hop context.
The laser turntable, which uses a laser as the pickup instead of a stylus in physical contact with the disk, was conceived of in the late 1980s, although early prototypes were not of usable audio quality.
See list of turntablists for more influential turntablist artists.
Grandmixer DXT's groundbreaking performance on Herbie Hancock's 1984 hit "Rockit" is given its due, with new resonance added in a scene showing the founder of contemporary DJ culture declaring Qbert, perhaps the world's most renowned turntablist, to be the "grand mixer" of a new generation.
In telling the stories of old-school icons such as Jazzy Jay, Zulu Nation founder Afrika Bambaataa and scratch inventor Grand Wizard Theodore, the film recalls hip- hop's role as a revolutionary movement that reshaped popular music in the salad days before MCs eclipsed DJs and rap stars started urban/suburban clothing lines.
Whether for performance perposes or home professional use, I can see this as having limited applications that suit the users needs rather than starting a trend.
Just a few weeks ago, skratchpiklz.com launched Skratch Radio, a 24-hour RealPlayer broadcast that teases listeners with sounds from obscure Piklz releases and more widely available tracks.
Vinroc, the most recent winner of the International Turntablist Federation competition, moved here a year ago, and Kuttin' Kandy, one of the few powerhouse female DJs, has made noises about resettling.
The Skratch Piklz' website offers insider tips and wisdom that could bestow even an out-of-touch desk jockey with some amount of club finesse: "Before a show, try not to shake [turntablists'] hands because moisture from yours can cool their hands down while they are warming up.
A standard deejay really focuses, first and foremost, on knowing how to mix and placement of records, and breaking in records — and just reading the floor.
You can take two hours to get everybody on the floor and clear everybody in twenty seconds - and if you clear the floor, [it’s] knowing not to panic and put on something to get everyone back on the floor.
I just think turntablists focus on another aspect of deejaying.
