Turntablism by Ying Tan

TURNTABLISM

TU RN TABLIS M

TURNTABLISM

EVERYTHING ABOUT ONE THING

TURNTABLISM

EVERYTHING ABOUT ONE THING

TURNTABLISM

01 02 03 INTRODUCTION

TURNTABLISM DJ BATTLE CULTURE

02- 05

06 -07

04 05 06 FUTURE TURNTABLISM

TECHNIQUE TURNTABLISM

08- 09

10 - 21

TURNTABLISM HIP HOP CULTURE USA & JAPAN 22 - 25

EVERYTHING ABOUT ONE THING

CONTEN T

CONT ENT

HISTORY ORIGINS TURNTABLISM

TURNTABLISM

01 Turntablism is the art of manipulating sounds and creating music using directdrive turntables and a DJ mixer. The word turntablist was coined in 1995 by DJ Babu to describe the difference between a DJ who just plays records and one who performs by touching and moving the records, stylus and mixer to manipulate sound. The new term coincided with a resurgence of the art of hiphop-style DJ-ing in the 1990s. John Oswald described the art: “A phonograph in the hands of a ‘hiphop/ scratch’ artist who plays a record like an electronic washboard with a phonographic needle as a plectrum, produces sounds which are unique and not reproduced—the record player becomes a musical instrument.” Some turntablist DJs use turntable techniques like beat mixing/matching, scratching and beat juggling. Some turntablists seek to have themselves recognized as traditional musicians capable of interacting and improvising with other performers.

INTRODUCTION

TURNTABLISM

EVERYTHING ABOUT ONE THING

TURNTABLISM

02 H ISTO RY

HISTORY OF TURNTABLLISM

TURNTABLISM

HIS TORY

Is the art of manipulating sounds and creating music using direct - drive turntables and a DJ mixer. The words TURNTABLIST was coined in 1995 by DJ Babu to describe the difference between a DJ who just plays records and one who performs by touching and moving the records, stylus and mixer to manipulate sound. The new term coincided with a resurgence of the art of hiphop-style DJ-ing in the 1990s. Some turntablist DJs use turntable techniques like beat mixing/matching, scratching and beat juggling. Some turntablists seek to have themselves recognized as traditional musicians capable of interacting and improvising with other performers. Block parties in mid-1970s New York and Philadelphia established the DJ at the heart of hip-hop. At that stage, MCs were employed solely to big-up the already fiercely competitive skills of their DJ. By the mid-1980s, though, affordable samplers and drum machines had replaced the DJ in the rap combo, and rapper-as-auteur MCs were now the star. DJs, though, continued to hone and expand the language of scratching and other techniques in garage parties and on mixtapes. The arrival of The Return of the DJ compilation in 1995 signified a major seachange in hip-hop – the first-ever all-DJ/no-MC album. By now, supergroup virtuoso crews like Invisible Skratch Piklz and X-ecutioners were establishing instrumental hip-hop as a viable artform, and the movement had a new, baiting name courtesy of DJ Babu, who proudly proclaimed himself to be a “turntablist” rather than a DJ – a musician, the hip-hop equivalent to a lead guitarist.

TURNTABLISM

02 ORIGINS

ORIGINS OF TURNTABLISM

TURNTABLISM

Turntablism originates from Hip-Hop Djing, particularly from “battle” DJ culture. Though Turntablism has a fairly recent history, its roots can be traced to the origination of Hip-Hop. The turntable and Hip-Hop have gone hand-in-hand. Kool Herc (a.k.a. Clive Campbell) helped give birth to Hip-Hop in 1973 when he took two turntables and two copies of identical records to isolate and loop certain “breakbeats.” This basic foundation of beat-extending gave B-Boys and MC’s their platform, the seed from which Hip-Hop would grow. As early as 1977, Hip-Hop pioneers such as Grandmaster Flash and Afrika Bambaata would battle at local dances and in parks. Battles at his time, though, were mostly about who could crank the most wattage and attract the bigger crowd. But also in 1977, Grand Wizard Theodore would forever change DJ culture when he invented the “scratch.” While cueing a record back and forth through headphones, Grand Wizard Theodore heard a funky, rhythmic sound, and DJing would never be the same.

“Chirping” was another scratch developed in the 80’s, still remaining popular with its rapid-fire cutting sound. New scratches developed rapidly through the early-mid 90’s, with new scratches coming on a seemingly daily basis. Some influential scratches include the “flare,” developed by DJ Flare, the “crab” which was fully-realized in 1996 by Q-Bert and Disk, and the “tweak” which has been utilized to great effect by Mixmaster Mike. Along with scratching, the second integral component to Turntablism is beat juggling, which was pioneered by Steve D and introduced the DJ community at the New Music Seminar (NMS)/Superman Battle for World Supremacy in 1990. DJ Yoshi from Japan also contributed to beat manipulation with the introduction of “strobing,” which was further developed by DJ Shortkut of the Invisbl Skratch Piklz. Hip-Hop DJ’s were already manipulating tones and melodies through cutting and scratching. With the ability to create original beat compositions on turntables, DJ’s were truly creating original music, being that music is defined as the integration of rhythm and melodic/tonal manipulation.

ORIGIN S

While scratching was integral to old-skool Hip-Hop culture, it wasn’t until 1983 that the mainstream became clued-in. Legendary Jazz musician Herbie Hancock scored a hit using legendary Zulu DJ Grandmixer D.S.T. to scratch on the song “Rockit,” and it wasn’t long that kids from all over the USA (and world) were ruining needles on their parent’s stereos trying to imitate D.S.T. But the point that DJs could be true musicians was hammered home.

TURNTABLISM

EVERYTHING ABOUT ONE THING

TURNTABLISM

EVERYTHING ABOUT ONE THING

TURNTABLISM

03 CU LTURE

TURNTABLISM & DJ BATTLE CULTURE

Turntablism arose primarily from DJ “battle culture.” Battling is a mainstay of both Hip-Hop and Jazz cultures (in Jazz the term is “cutting” or “cutting heads”). In both of these cultures battling has helped push the development of each artform, with each opponent reaching to newer and more innovative heights to show mastery of their craft. DJ battles, like Clark Kent’s DJ Battle for World Supremacy, continued to grow throughout the 80’s and early 90’s. The Disco Mix Club (DMC) for example held its first world DJ battle in 1987 and has continued to hold one of largest DJ battles of its kind. DMC however has been criticized for cashing-in on Hip-Hop DJ culture without putting much back in to it. “You win a battle and probably get a cheap plastic jacket and some slip mats. While the person organizing the battle is walkin’ away with 20 G’s in his pocket, plus the video tape sales.” (Rob Swift, Subculture magazine, Winter 1996.) With these shortcomings in mind, large-scale battles like DMC have helped bring much-needed exposure to Turntablists and Hip-Hop DJ’s. “I’ll be the first to admit that DMC is one of the establishments which have provided DJ’s like myself a forum to display our creativity,” concedes Rob Swift. (Rob Swift, On the Go magazine #15.) DMC, for example, helped introduce Rocksteady DJ’s/FM20 (Q-Bert, Mixmaster Mike, Apollo) to DJ culture. Rocksteady DJs, now Invisbl Skratch Piklz, pioneered crew routines in the 1992 DMC. With those three DJs simultaneously scratching and manipulating beats, the results were fully-realized turntable compositions. Crews are increasingly battling each other, such as the historic X-Men vs. Invisbl Skratch Piklz battle in 1996. Nevertheless, with the rise in Turntablism’s prominence, organizations like the International Turntablism Federation (ITF) are seeking to provide a better environment for DJ battles by addressing common complaints and problems found in DJ battles (i.e clueless judges, politics, etc.). In the end, while Turntablism exists on its own merits, Turntablists continue to enter DJ battles. Battling gave Turntablists their initial platform, and the two are still close at hand.

TURNTABLISM

Battling involves each turntablist performing a routine (A combination of various technical scratches, beat juggles, and other elements, including body tricks) within a limited time period, after which the routine is judged by a panel of experts. The winner is selected based upon score. These organized competitions evolved from actual old school “battles” where DJs challenged each other at parties, and the “judge” was usually the audience, who would indicate their collective will by cheering louder for the DJ they thought performed better. Often, the winner kept the loser’s equipment and/or records.

CULTURE

Like many other musical instrumentalists, turntablists compete to see who can develop the fastest, most innovative and most creative approaches to their instrument. The selection of a champion comes from the culmination of battles between turntablists.

TURNTABLISM

EVERYTHING ABOUT ONE THING

TURNTABLISM

EVERYTHING ABOUT ONE THING

FUTURE

TURNTABLISM

THE FUTIRE OF TURNTABLISM

With Turntablism being defined in only the last few years, it seems that Turntablism will continue to grow at its already rapid pace.

Melo-D of the Beat Junkies is also reaching living rooms across television land as a member of Vibe T.V.’s house band. New record and CD compilations are highlighting the influence of modern Turntablists, such as OM record’s “Deep Concentration” and the two volumes of “Return of the DJ” (Bomb Hip-Hop Records). New technological innovations may further enhance Turntablism. Q-Bert prophesizes: “In the future they’ll have some kind of mechanism where you can scratch without the needles hopping everywhere...it probably won’t even be a needle. It’s some kind of mechanism where you can sample sounds and you can touch it.” (Turntable Wizardry video, 1995.) In short, Turntablism is still in its early stages and its growth will be limited only by the imagination and techniques of its purveyors.

F UTURE

Turntablists are increasingly collaborating with traditional musicians, such as Apollo’s continuing work with jazz saxophonist Branford Marsalis’ band Buckshot le Fonque, and DJ Disk who is part of the futuristic rock band Giant Robot II (GR2). Disk has already contributed cuts on the song “Junkie Man” by punk stalwarts Rancid, and sat-in live with ska band The Mudsharks and San Francisco punk/funk band MCM and the Monster.

TURNTABLISM

EVERYTHING ABOUT ONE THING

TURNTABLISM

EVERYTHING ABOUT ONE THING

TURNTABLISM

TECHNIQUE OF TURNTABLISM SCRATCHING

TECH NIQUE

Scratching or sometimes known as Scrubbing is a DJ or turntablist technique used to produce distinctive sounds by moving a vinyl record back and forth on a turntable while optionally manipulating the crossfader on a DJ mixer. While scratching is most commonly associated with hip hop music, since the mid-1970s, it has been used in some styles of pop and nu metal. Within hip hop culture, scratching is one of the measures of a DJâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s skills, as in DMC World DJ Championship or IDA (International DJ Association) former ITF (International turntablist Federation) where the DJs can use only scratch oriented gears (turntables + mixer + digital vinyl systems or vinyl only, and there are many scratching competitions. In recorded hip-hop songs, scratched hooks often use portions of different rap songs.

TURNTABLISM

VINYL RECORDINGS Most scratches are produced by moving a vinyl record back and forth with the hand while it is playing on a turntable. This creates a distinctive sound that has come to be one of the most recognizable features of hip hop music. Over time with excessive scratching the stylus will cause what is referred to as record burn. The basic equipment setup for scratching includes two turntables, and a DJ mixer, which is a mixer that has a crossfader and cue buttons to allow the DJ to cue up new music without the audience hearing.When scratching, this crossfader is utilized in conjunction with the “scratching hand” to cut in and out of the scratched record.

Using a digital vinyl system (DVS) consists of playing vinyl discs on turntables whose contents is a timecode signal instead of music. The turntables’ audio outputs are connected to the audio inputs of a computer audio interface. The audio interface digitizes this signal from the turntables and transfers it to a DJ software. DJ software uses this data to know the playback status, speed, scratch of the hardware turntables, and duplicates them on its virtual turntables. The DJ thus controls how the computer plays back digitized audio and can therefore scratch computer tracks. There is not a single standard of DVS, so that each piece of DJ software has its own settings, some DJ software as Traktor Scratch Pro or Serato Scratch Live supports only the audio interface sold with their software (so that if you must use 2 audio interfaces to use both software on the same computer).

TECHNIQU E

DIGITAL VINYL RECORDINGS

TURNTABLISM

TECHNIQUE OF TURNTABLISM SCRATCHING

NON-VINYL SCRATCHING

TECH NIQUE

While most turntablists consider the only true scratching media is the vinyl disc, there are other ways to scratch, as: CD players for DeeJays, CD player with a jog wheel allowing the DJ to manipulate a CD as if it were a vinyl record, have become widely available. Vinyl emulation software allow a DJ to manipulate on a computer the playback of digital music files via a DJ control surface (generally MIDI or a HID controller). DJs can scratch, beatmatch, and perform other turntablist operations that would be impossible with a conventional keyboard-and-mouse. DJ software performing computer scratch operations are for example Traktor Pro, Mixxx, Serato Scratch Live & Itch, Virtual DJ, M-Audio Torq, DJay, Deckadance, Cross. DJs have also used magnetic tape, such as Cassette or Reel to Reel to both mix and scratch. Tape DJing is rare but Ruthless Ramsey in the US and Mr Tape in Latvia use exclusively tape formats to perform.

SCRATCHING CULTURE While scratching is becoming more and more popular within pop music, sophisticated scratching is still predominantly an underground style. The Invisibl Skratch Piklz from San Francisco focuses on scratching. In 1994, the group was formed by DJs Q-Bert, Disk & Shortkut and later Mix Master Mike. In July 2000, San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center for the Arts held Skratchcon2000, the first DJ Skratch forum that provided “the education and development of skratch music literacy”. In 2001, Thud Rumble became an independent company that works with DJ artists to produce and distribute scratch records. In 2004, Scratch Magazine, one of the first publications about hip-hop DJs and producers, released its debut issue, following in the footsteps of the lesserknown Tablist magazine. Pedestrian is a UK arts organisation that runs Urban Music Mentors workshops for youth in which DJs tell youth how to create beats, use turntables, MC, and perform.

TURNTABLISM

USE OUTSIDE OF HIP -HOP Scratching has been incorporated into a number of other musical genres, including pop, rock, jazz, heavy metal and classical music performances. For recording use, samplers are often used instead of physically scratching a vinyl record. Rage Against the Machine (and former Audioslave) guitarist Tom Morello performs scratching-inspired guitar solos. In the song â&#x20AC;&#x153;Bulls on Paradeâ&#x20AC;?, and many other songs in which he solos, he creates scratch-like rhythmic sounds by rubbing the strings over the pick-ups while using the pick-up selector switch as a cross-fader.

TECHNIQU E

Since the 1990s, scratching has begun being used in a variety of popular music genres, such as nu metal acts (like Linkin Park, Slipknot and Limp Bizkit) and in some types of pop music (e.g. Nelly Furtado), and in some types of alternative rock (e.g. Incubus).. Scratching is also popular in various electronic music styles, most particularly in hard-groove techno.

TECH NIQUE

TURNTABLISM

TECHNIQUE OF TURNTABLISM BEAT MATCHING

The technique was developed to keep the people from leaving the dancefloor at the end of the song. These days it is considered basic among DJs in electronic dance music genres, and it is standard practice in clubs to keep the constant beat through the night, even if DJs change in the middle. Beatmatching is no longer considered a novelty, and new digital software has made the technique much easier to master.

PITCH & TEMPO The pitch and tempo of a track are normally linked together: spin a disc 5% faster and both pitch and tempo will be 5% higher. However, some modern DJ software can change pitch and tempo independently using time-stretching and pitch-shifting, allowing harmonic mixing.

TECHNIQU E

Beatmatching (or Beatmaxing) is a disc jockey technique of pitch shifting or timestretching an upcoming track to match its tempo to that of the currently playing track â&#x20AC;&#x201D; i.e., the kicks and snares in two house records hit at the same time when both records are played simultaneously. Beatmatching is a component of mixing which employs beatmatching combined with equalization, attention to phrasing and track selection in an attempt to make a single mix that flows together and has a good structure.

TURNTABLISM

TECHNIQUE OF TURNTABLISM BEAT MATCHING

TECHNIQUE

TECH NIQUE

The beatmaxing (or beatmatching) technique consists of the following steps: 1. While a record is playing, beatmatch a new record to it, using headphones for monitoring. Use gain (or trim) control on the mixer to match the levels of the two records. 2. Restart and slip-cue the new record at the right time, begin the new record on beat with the record currently playing. Pay attention to track structures; careful phrasing can make the mix seamless. 3. If the beat on the new record hits before the beat on the current record then the new record is too fast, reduce the pitch and manually slow the speed of the new record to bring the beats back in sync. 4. If the beat on the new record hits after the beat on the current record then the new record is too slow, increase the pitch and manually increase the speed of the new record to bring the beats back in sync. 5. Continue this process until the two records are in sync with each other, it can be difficult to sync the two records perfectly, so manual adjustment of the records is necessary to maintain the beat synchronization. 6. Before fading in the new track, check that the beats of two tracks match by listening to both channels together in the headphones, as the sound from the speakers can reach you with a delay. 7. Gradually, fade in parts of the new track while fading out the old track. While in the mix, ensure that the tracks are still synchronized, adjusting the records if needed. 8. The fade can be repeated several times, for example, from the first track, fade to the second track, then back to first, then to second again.

TURNTABLISM

TECHNIQU E

TURNTABLISM

TECHNIQUE OF TURNTABLISM DJ MIX / DJ MIXER

TECH NIQUE

A DJ mixer is a type of audio mixing console used by disc jockeys. DJs playing music for dancers at a club use the mixer to make smooth transitions between different songs which are played on sound sources that are plugged into the mixer. These sound sources could be turntables, CD players, or iPods. A “scratching” DJ uses the mixer in combination with turntables or specialized DJ CD players to create unique sound effects. The key features that differentiate a DJ mixer from other types of audio mixers are the ability to redirect (cue) a non-playing source to headphones, in order to find the desired part of a song and the presence of a crossfader, which allows for an easier transition between two sources. DJ mixers are also used to create DJ mixes, which are recorded and sold. And DJ mix or DJ mixset is a sequence of musical tracks typically mixed together to appear as one continuous track. DJ mixes are usually performed using a DJ mixer and multiple sounds sources, such as turntables, CD players, digital audio players or computer sound cards, sometimes with the addition of samplers and effects units, although it’s possible to create one using sound editing software. When a DJ mixset is recorded onto some medium, it is referred to as a mix tape. When it is produced live, it is called a live set.

TURNTABLISM

TECHNIQUE A DJ mixset is usually performed live in front of an audience in a nightclub, party, or rave setting. Mixsets can also be performed live on radio or recorded in a studio.

Track choices are also due, in part, to where the DJ wishes to take his or her audience. In this way, the resulting mixset is brought about through a symbiotic relationship between audience and DJ.[1] Studio DJs have the luxury of spending more time on their mix, which often leads to productions that could never be realized in real-time.

DISTRIBUTION DJs often distribute their recorded mixes on CD-Rs or as digital audio files via websites or podcasts for promotional purposes. Many popular DJs release their mixes commercially on a compact disc. When DJ sets are distributed directly via the Internet, they are generally presented as a single unbroken audio file; cue sheets may be provided by the DJ or fans to allow the set to be burned to a CD, or listened to, as a series of separate tracks in the way it would be produced as a commercial mix.

TECHNIQU E

In live situations, the progression of the DJ set is a dynamic process. The DJ chooses tracks partly in response to the activity on the dance floor. If the dance floor becomes less active, the DJ will make a judgement as to what track will increase dance floor activity. This may involve shifting the tempo or changing the general mood of the set.

TURNTABLISM

EVERYTHING ABOUT ONE THING

TURNTABLISM

EVERYTHING ABOUT ONE THING

TURNTABLISM

TECHNIQUE OF TURNTABLISM CUTTING / CUT MIXING

TECH NIQUE

In hip hop music, cutting is a disc jockey technique, originated by DJ Grandmaster Flash, which is “manually cueing up duplicate copies of the same record in order to play the same passage, cutting back and forth between them.” This is necessary to isolate and extend breaks into breakbeats.

TURNTABLISM

TECHNIQU E

TURNTABLISM

EVERYTHING ABOUT ONE THING

TURNTABLISM

EVERYTHING ABOUT ONE THING

TURNTABLISM

06 HIP HOP

TURNTABLISM HIP HOP CULTURE BETWEEN AMERICAN AND JAPAN

Previous to the inception of hip hop, soul dancing became popularized in Japan in the 1970s. Shows like ‘Soul Train’ spread the African-American style of on-going dance that would soon be picked up by varying cultures all over the world. It is this style of dance that laid the foundation for the globalization of African-American culture due to its universal criteria. Anyone can dance to soul music, which is not the case in terms of rapping, b-boying, etc. As movies like ‘Flashdance’ (1983) reached the islands, more and more young people began dancing on the street and other public arenas, which added to its cultural integration. Soon, Japanese culture was ready to alter the very structure of their language in order to partake in hip hop. Japanese Hip-Hop fan sports an Afro and shows some Japanese style bling Hip hop was thought to have originally become popular in Japan because the Japanese people wanted to imitate African-Americans. The Japanese would hear these rapper’s music spinning in clubs, exposing to them a small, narrow view of West Coast hip hop. It was not only the music they latched onto, however. They came to love the entire hip hop culture, including the loose-fitting clothes, graffiti writing, and break dancing. Some Japanese hip-hop fans would even go to tanning salons to darken their skin, and style their hair in afros or dreadlocks to imitate the “cool” looks of African-Americans, although they are ridiculed by others, including other hip-hoppers.

TURNTABLISM

HIP HOP

TURNTABLISM

Originating in America, hip-hop culture is now being re-territorialized in new settings and evolving along the way. Hip-hop culture is the perfect instance of Whitehead’s airplane example, for its cultural norms, accessories, methods of linguistic discourse, and philosophy of life were first tested in the richest ghettoes of urban New York City and grafted into the multiplicity of the world’s communities. Asia is a prime example of this successful cultural transfusion, an example that many of us knowingly and subconsciously sculpted by the essence of hip-hop culture in the United States are immensely proud of.

HIP HOP

Turntablism as practiced by Marclay and Yoshihide, who’ve been tilling the field since the mid and late ’80s, respectively, is a far cry from dj-ing as known in dance clubs, house parties and the dub/hip-hop worlds just about as long. There are no beats in their music, no ostensible cross fades or clever matches, some sampling and looping but very rarely a snatch of a recognizable theme. In their first improv, one of the duo invoked a distant, woodsy flute for a few moments, but it was like vapor in an air near-random sounds. In the second there were two quotes, separated by several minutes, of identifiably Asian folk motifs. Most of the time the pair worked with timbre (the textures of sound) rather than tonality.

TURNTABLISM

EVERYTHING ABOUT ONE THING