Turntablism Part 3 ( Interview )

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turntablism part 03

TURNTABLISM HIPHOP CULTURE BETWEEN EUROPE & ASIA

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FUTURE OF TURNTABLISM

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DJ EUROPE & ASIA

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RECORD & CD FAIR

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DJ JAZZY JEFF , MOTION , BRISTOL

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CONTENT

CONTENT

CONTENT

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CU LTURE

turntablism hiphop culture between europe and asia 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 hiphop 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.

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CULTURE

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.

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.

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future 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).

“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.

New technological innovations may further enhance Turntablism. Q-Bert prophesizes:

INTERVIEW

INTERV IEW

10 ESKEI83 is one of the leading DJs in Europe: with more than 150 gigs a year in Europe, Asia, and the United States, he’s rated as one of the best DJs on the scene playing in the hottest clubs and at the biggest festivals.

He plays every single genre and brings an incredibly unique style to his sets adding live remixes, turntablism, and originality.

INTERVIEW

1. Where does the name ESKEI83 come from?

- It is pronounced and comes from S.K., the initial letters of my real name: Sebastian Koenig.

I was born in 1983.

2. How did you get started as a DJ/Producer?

- I started at the age of 15 making beats with my computer. I loved the scratch-hooks that DJ Premier did on his beats, and I wanted to add scratches to my beats as well, so I bought me turntables.

3. How would you describe your style?

- I come from real vinyl deejaying, no Serato, only two turntables and a mixer plus my record collection. Until 2005/2006, I was playing straight vinyl. I had my own edits cut to vinyl, added much turntablism parts into my sets, quick mixing, live blends and was using a mixer with effects. I was known for – the ‘little’ extra in my sets.

DJ europe dj ESKEI83 When Serato came up, it gave me even more possibilities to manipulate the music in a club friendly way. I love scratching, turntablism and all that, but at the end it has to be danceable. There has to be a flow. The crowd should be taken on a journey thru my music plus a nice extra on scratches and mixing skills.

4. What do you hope to show the world about German turntablism?

- I really want to put Germany on the map and want to let the world know that we have sick DJs, not only EDM DJs, also Hip Hop and Open Format DJs that are on an international level and can rock crowds all over the world!

5. What is the nightlife like in Germany?

- It’s not that far from what happening everywhere else in the world. It depends on the club or festival. Actually, we are playing the same music as in the states. Trap was totally hot, now Twerk is everywhere. But EDM is different here. I think our House and Techno scene is different to what was happening in the states in the last years.

DJ ESKEI83 in Red Bull Media.

6. Who are some of your favorite DJs (past or present)?

- DJs that have inspired me the most: Z-Trip, Shiftee Craze, Chris Karns, Skratch Bastid, Hedspin, Four Color Zack, Jazzy Jeff, A-Trak.

7. Where do you see the future of DJing going?

- I’m not sure where all this is going. There are people out there playing prerecorded mixes and acting as a DJ, people that are celebrities and can’t do the basic stuff. That’s not cool.

That’s why people losing the respect for the work of a DJ, because with a cheap iPad app you can become a “DJ” as well. Regular guests don’t understand the hard effort we put into learning this, pushing it forward, doing crazy stuff and still make it look easy.

8. Where do you see yourself five years from now?

- I’m spending the most time in the studio working on my own music. I hope I can drop my own tracks soon. Some of them are already finished.

In 5 years, I hope people enjoy the events I’m playing not only for my DJ show but also to see me performing my own tracks live.

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INTERVIEW

DJ Kentaro was just a 20-year-old kid from Sendai when he won the DMC World DJ Championship in 2002, the highest accolade in the ever-so-slightly geeky turntablism scene.

He was the first Asian artist to win the competition, and also the first to do it with a perfect score, but that wasn’t the end of Kentaro’s achievements. Unlike fellow champions including Dopey, ie.MERG and Netik – names to which ‘Huh?’ is the only natural reaction – he’s actually managed to become a bona fide star.

A decade on from his DMC triumph, you tend to see DJ Kentaro at Japan’s largest clubs or on the bigger stages at music festivals: he’s headlining at Ageha this weekend, and is playing on the White Stage at Fuji Rock Festival next month. Much of his appeal is down to the fact that, unlike so many of his beat-juggling brethren, he’s actually fun for longer than the three-minute running time of the average turntablism routine; whether DJing or playing live, his sets put crowd-pleasing ahead of masturbatory displays of technique.

In 2005, Kentaro earned a place on the roster of Ninja Tune, the influential UK label that’s provided him with a regular home ever since. This week, it releases his second solo album, Contrast, the follow-up to 2007’s skittishly entertaining Enter. In keeping with the spirit – if not the sound – of his debut, the album covers a variety of bases, ranging from a scratch-off with Kid Koala and D-Styles to flirtations with grime (Foreign Beggars collaboration ‘Step In’), drum ‘n’ bass (‘North South East West’) and dubstep (‘Higher’). It also gives Kentaro a chance to work with one of his forebears, DJ Krush, who co-produced the atmospheric ‘Kikkake’.

DJ asia dj KENTARO

13 1.What kind of music were you listening to when you were making the album?

- I was listening to four-four stuff, dubstep, lounge, band music. I picked up a CD of Jack Johnson’s Kokua Festival at a supermarket when I was in Hawaii recently, and I really liked that. It’s this festival they do in Hawaii, with all these singer-songwriters like Jack Johnson, Ziggy Marley – it’s ace. But when I was making the album, I probably wasn’t listening to other tracks. I was really focussed on my work.- It is pronounced and comes from S.K., the initial letters of my real name: Sebastian Koenig. I was born in 1983.

3. You’re quite the performer when you play live. Have you always been like that?

- I first started watching scratch videos on TV when I was really young – like, 13 years old, 14, 15 – and practising myself. But then I started organising daytime parties when I was a high schooler. We couldn’t do them at night because everyone was underage, so I’d rent a club during the daytime, on a Sunday or something, then make a thousand tickets and sell them in bunches to other students: ‘50 for you, 50 for you, 50 for you.

INTERV IEW

2. It’s amazing what you can do with technology these days.

-It is, isn’t it? You can do everything over email.

’ The first party, 800 people came – it was a blast. I had this fat wad of cash, like ¥1.5 million or ¥2 million, all in ¥1,000 notes. ‘Man, DJs rake it in!’ I was still just in high school, right? The party went off, and then afterwards it was like, ‘Right: let’s go drink!’ and I splurged a load of money. I was doing the pimp thing, and I gave up on battle DJing for a while, stopped practising – the parties were more fun, lots of people were coming and it looked like a good earner. But, yeah, it didn’t last for long: the numbers soon started dropping off. We had loads of people at first, the money was great, but people stopped coming, the vibe changed, and everyone stopped DJing. I went back to the DJ battle videos, and was like, ‘Man, this stuff is way cooler.’ I got really into turntablism after that, practising like crazy and watching videos. It was fun too, of course. I started off aiming to be a club DJ, then got really into turntablism instead. I probably haven’t changed my style since then.

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INTERVIEW

4. Do you feel like the turntablism scene is too constrictive?

-The scene’s still small – it’s not like, say, pop music or house music, or techno, which is a really big scene in Europe. I don’t think bass music has really taken off in Japan yet – it’s going to get bigger in the future. Turntablism’s really difficult to master, and there aren’t that many people doing it, but I’d like to make the scene bigger, for sure. I’ve got my own style now and I’m going to keep on doing it, regardless of which other scenes get big or small. There are new competitions, too, like Red Bull’s Thre3Style – I think DJ battles are going to carry on.

5. Has turntablism become less important to you?

- Nah, it’s not like that at all. When I play tracks off the new album live, I’ll be beat juggling, scratching, doing live remixes and stuff.

I want to do something new with it.

6. I noticed that you’ve been starting your sets with a Japanese-sounding sample…

- Oh, that’s something I have been playing recently. I call it my “Sakura” routine, changing the pitch on the vinyl to makes different tones – to make actual music with my scratching!

7. When you play outside of Japan, are there any times when you were surprised at the crowd’s reaction to a certain song, or mix? Maybe a different kind of response from a Japanese audience?

- Well, I don’t really remember my sets that clearly… But when I play songs from my album CONTRAST – or a remix from it – people usually react to them pretty well. You know, I feel like the response may be stronger than when I play in Japan!

8. Do you think it’s easier for electronic music artists, whose music usually doesn’t have many, if any, lyrics, to connect with foreign audiences than music with lyrics, for example pop and rock?

- There should be no walls when it comes to music. Music brings people together despite differences in culture, such as languages. Yeah, music unites!

9. Do you feel like your play style is evolving?

- I’d say yes – I feel my set or play style changes every time I play out. It also depends on what sort of music I am into at that moment. In the end, I play what I like!

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R ECOR D & CD F AIR

RECORD & CD FAIR

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R ECOR D & CD F AIR

The fair is located in the brand new foyer building of Bristol’s oldest established concert hall. Spread over three floors, the venue offers a light and spacious enviroment which has proved increasingly popular with the public and traders alike since our first event in 2010.

Entry is free to the public from 10am to 4pm, with multi-storey parking next to the venue. There are three large lifts to all floors and an excellent cafe & bar.

record and cd fair

COLSTON HALL

Traders from all over the South attend the event, with buyers from as far-afield as Japan, Russia & Poland.

This fair is mostly vinyl, with a few CD traders. You’ll find everything in the hall from £1 bargains to expensive rarities, and dealers specialising in most genres of music from the fifties to present day.

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The Record Fair boasts seventy dealers over three floors selling vinyl records, c.d.’s, collectibles and merchandise, and is the biggest event of it’s kind in the South West. Traders from all over the South attend the event, with buyers from as far-afield as Japan, Russia & Poland.

They have a lots 40s Swing, 50s Rock and Roll, 60s, 70s, 80s, Acid House, Acoustic, African, Alternative, Big Band, Blues, Breaks, Cheesy Dance, Country/Americana, Dancehall, Disco, Drum n Bass, Folk, Funk, Hip Hop and more.

Mostly is the aged and turntables record enthusiasts in record fair.

Somebody will listen with earphone with turntables in record fair

The top view on the record and CD fair in Colston Hall.

The top view in record fair at Colston Hall.

They have a lots of different style of the record music in record fair.

Anyway can found out they still using the turntables to play records and music.

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D J JAZ ZY JE FF , MOTION

DJ JAZZY JEF F , M OTIO N

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DJ “Jazzy Jeff ” Townes was born in West Philadelphia and developed a love of music at an early age. Jeff was just 10 years old when he started spinning records at parties using his family’s basement as a training ground for his expert mixing. Since 1985, DJ Jazzy Jeff has wowed us with his flawless turntable skills, innovative production and musical versatility.

From the success of “DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince” with partner Will Smith, to the critical acclaim of his production company “A Touch of Jazz”, Jeff proved time and time again that he would always be a force to be reckoned with.

And he continues to represent with his solo projects, collaborations, mixtapes and live shows. His love of music shines through in everything he does. Over the course of his career, DJ Jazzy Jeff has achieved many accomplishments including a DMC Championship and multiple GRAMMY and American Music Awards and nominations. But he is a humble man who is still doing it as his 2002 hit said: “For Da Love of Da Game.”

DJ JAZZY JEFF MOTION Bristol

25 Over the past few years Motion, the west countries leading underground music mecca has achieved immeasurable recognition not only for its larger than life parties week in and week out but for its undeniable commitment to bass-driven underground music establishing itself as a valuable asset to Bristol’s flourishing music scene. Set in a network of warehouses, Motion’s thriving culture continues to celebrate and showcase some of the most influential and incredible artists from around the world. Unlike any other club in the South West, Motion has provided a multi-dimensional musical platform for diverse promoters and production teams, who have worked together to create some of the most innovative and exciting events in the UK. Its ability to produce a series of sold out events consistently throughout the years has helped shape an exhilarating fan base from all corners of the dance music map.

Motion are proud to have been home to a multitude of monumental events and an illustrious career of incredible music. The teams behind Just Jack, Run, Shit The Bed, Tokyo Dub, Funk From The Trunk, Mad Luv and Hospitality have provided Motion with a plethora of pioneering parties. Their fresh and charismatic approach to their events not to mention a wealth of musical knowledge, have given the venue an undisputed display of outstanding artists, making Motion the leading underground venue in the South West and positioning them at number 37 on the DJ Mag top 100 Clubs in the World!

Most of the people like to dancing at the Motion, Bristol.

A lot of people came to Motion club, Bristol because of the DJ Jazzy Jeff.

The Foreign Beggar performance at Motion, Bristol.

The top view of the motion club, Bristol.

The Sip the Juice Dj’s.

The DJ’s schedule.

Sound effect group at Motion, Bristol.

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Dancefloor in the Motion, Bristol.

DJ Jazzy Jeff performances at M otion, Bristol.

Finally, DJ Jazzy Jeff performance in the Motion, Bristol.

The Sound effect machines at Motion, Bristol.

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The Foreign Beggar and Sip the Juice DJ’s.

Preparation before DJ Jazzy Jeff performances.

DJ Jazzy Jeff performance.

DJ Jazzy Jeff and Rapper was bringing the people to exhilarate.

DJ Jazzy Jeff performance.

REFERENCE Books

Links

Mark Katz - “ Groove Music - The Art and Culture of the Hip Hop DJ ” 2012

http:// www.mti.dmu.ac.uk/events-conferences/sssp2010 http:// www.dblelectronics.comphonoinfo.htm

Christoph Cox & Daniel Warner - “ Audio Culture : Reading In Modern Music ” 2009 Simon Frith & Andrew Goodwin - ” On Record : Rock, Pop, And the Written Word.” 1990 Bill Brewster & Frank Broughton - “ The Record Player : The Story Of Dance Music Told By History’s Greatest DJs ” 2010 Peter Shapiro - ” A History of Electronic Music : Throbbing Words On Sound ” 2000

http:// www.mh-audio.nl/tips%5CTurntableHistory.htm http://www.turntablehistory.com/ http:// www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/feature/the-eart-of-turntablism/ http://www.princeton,edu/~academy/tmve/wiki100k/docs /Hip_hop_culture.html http://www. artofmanliness.com/2012/11/09/a-abeginners-guide-to-buying-your-first-turntables/ http://www.ehow.com/list_7420186_parts-turntable.html http://best-turntables.com/parts-of-aturntable/ http://www.zzounds.com/edu-historyofthediscjockey http://www.jahsonic.com/music.html http://memory.locgov/ammen/edhtml/edcldr.html

By Zyingt