DJ Vajra - 2011 DMC World Finals Routine (Video)

Big up DJ Vajra for bringing the much-needed funk back into battling.

Check out those insane juggles, which were clearly performed at warp factor 9.

Turntable TV Episodes 3-5 (Video)

I'm so glad these have finally surfaced... For those not in the know, DJ Q-Bert & Yoga Frog used to put out Turntable TV on VHS (remember those?) back in the late 90's. They featured scratch footage, amongst other random funny bits and pieces.

These videos are legendary and are a part of turntablist culture. I've got a bunch of these sitting in a drawer somewhere, so I might have to convert them to digital at some point in the near future.

For now, sit back and enjoy!

DJ Shiftee "The Golden Years" DMC Tribute (Video)

After a good few months of anticipation, Shiftee finally unveiled his Golden Years video at the DMC World Finals the other day at Koko in Camden.

This video is a tribute to all the incredible DJ Champions from DMC’s glorious past. I’ve spent countless hours over the years studying masters like Roc Raida, Q-bert, Craze, and A-Trak. My goal: to one day stand in their shoes. Literally…

Shiftee's been on a roll with the videos this past year, as well as constantly pushing the boundaries of turntablism using digital systems such as Traktor Scratch Pro. He's definitely taking artform to a whole new level.

Directed/Produced by John Carluccio (http://cinqua.com, http://battlesounds.com)

"ZIG" Season 3 - Teaser 1 (Video)

Tonytruand is back with another season of "ZIG", which focuses on the battle scene. This time around it's the 2008 DMC World Championships; the same year in which Fly won the showcase, and my boy Switch won the Battle For World Supremacy for the first time. Expect to see a lot of turntablist action, interviews, and random afterparty antics.

DMC World Finals: A Quick Recap...

It's been a hectic weekend...

I've always looked forward to going to the DMC World Finals in previous years; catching up with various friends within the battle scene and meeting new faces is always good, but the past two World Finals have been an awesome experience...mainly due to the fact I've been representing the UK in the Teams category with Bionic Stylus

This year has been in my opinion, the most memorable World Finals weekend for me. Not only did our boy Switch successfully defend his world title in the Battle For World Supremacy, we also placed 3rd in this year's Team Championship! To cut a long story short, we were originally going to work with the same producer who helped us with last year's set. However, this fell through due to reasons unknown...at the very last minute may I add...As a result, we had to build a set within 4 weeks, work out the individual parts, and also work out some kind of swap-around/choreography for visuals...

Bearing in mind we only finished the routine last Wednesday, we're very pleased with our result. Admittedly, our set wasn't as tight as it could have been on the night, but I'm pretty sure we still would have walked away with the same placing if it was performed flawlessly. Traumateam (who came 2nd) were worthy of a 1st place in my opinion, due to the musical structure of their set (their "Bonkers" routine was heavy!), but Kireek came through with a more technical and energetic set, and thus managed to successfully defend their title again, making them 3x World Champions.

The following day saw the grand event, the actual World Final. 24 DJs battled it out in the afternoon eliminations for a place in the evening's final, of which 9 went through. I could give a rundown of everyone's set, but I'd be here for ages...In short, 3rd place went to Ligone from France, 2nd place to Co-ma from Japan, and 1st place to our boy Shiftee from the USA, who came through with proper juggles and great stage presence...None of this head-down, hardcore electronica Euro-style nonsense, which has been all the rage since 2006.

I'm sure more pics and videos from the after parties will surface online soon. Until then, congrats to all the winners.

P.S. Honorable mention goes to both DJ Final from Norway (loved that "Blinded By The Lights" routine!), and DJ Impact from New Zealand. Both could have also placed 3rd in my opinion.

P.P.S. Shouts to Urban Nerds for playing my Bonecrusher blend at the afterparty...That was a pretty surreal experience...

DMC World Championships 11th/12th September!

"For 25 incredible boundary pushing, trend setting, scratched, cut and mixed years, the world’s largest DJ organization, DMC, has been the authority on the DJ battle. The DMC’s annual World DJ Championship competition brings together the world’s brightest DJ talents, vetted by a series of gruelling global heats. By doing so, DMC continues to host one of the most entertaining and jaw dropping shows you will ever witness. This year’s show is no different. In the 25th Anniversary of this prestigious competition, DMC is bigger than ever…"

Some great PA's, showcases, and competitors in this year's World Finals. Hats off to Sally @ DMC for organising what always turns out to be a massive event. The lineup for this is huge!

I'll be representing the UK in the World Team Championships with Bionic Stylus this coming Friday. Our boy DJ Switch will also be defending his world title in the Battle For World Supremacy as well...

If you're about, come down and show your support!

DJ Cheese 86 DMC Set (Video)

DMC Showcases - The History Of DMC World Champions on MUZU.

DMC have Finally dug out this video from their archives and put it up online. For those of you who are unaware of the significance of this set, it was Cheese who originally introduced scratching etc into DMC routines which led to the competition becoming what it is today.

Enjoy a slice of turntablism memorabilia.

DJ Craze & DJ Klever "The Mystery of the DMC Gold Disc" (Video)

I didn't even know it was a real record...mad...

I'm gonna have to get Switch to take a look at his gold disc...I got a feeling it'll be something along the lines of Milli Vanilli.

BONUS! Craze & Klever's Traktor Scratch Duo Demo

Classic Turntablism: DJ P-Trix

Been spending most of today watching old DMC videos 'pon di Youtube. P-Trix's set from the 1999 US Finals is one of the greatest of all time, in my opinion. Dude was truly next level with his beatjuggling...

That De La Soul juggle never ceases to amaze me...

End of The Year: 2008

As we say Game Over to 2008, and welcome in the New Year, I've decided to give a little recap of what's happened this year, along with some of my personal achievements....



First up, history was made this year, with Barack Obama winning the US presidential election (I hope you all downloaded the "Block Obama" Mini Mix). Hip Hop played a very important role in this election, and helped get to everyone out there to vote. I believe that Obama's the right man for the job.



Musically, 2008 was a pretty good year. For Hip Hop, the album of the year for me has to be "Paper Trail" by T.I. This was closely followed by Ludacris' "Theater Of The mind". Those albums are two solid pieces of work, and have been on constant rotation since copping them. Lil' Wayne also proved himself to be the hardest working rapper out there, there's no doubt about that. Other notable releases include The Cool Kids' "Bake Sale" EP, and Common's "Universal Mind Control".

On the other hand, 2008 was full of unnecessary/irrelevant beef (turning the genre into a bit of a pantomime sometimes), autotune, more crap dances (Stanky Legg, anyone?), and also the word "swagger". I somehow hope the above are banned in 2009.



The UK music scene was in good health this year, with artists such as Benga, Dizzee Rascal, Estelle, Donaeo, Bloc Party & M.I.A. all putting out great music. Props to Dizzee for getting to #1 just on legal downloads alone (on an independent label too).



Now, over to Dance music...Drum & Bass has never been healthier: Brookes Brothers, Hazard, Nu:Tone, Blame, High Contrast, and Chase & Status came with some of the best D&B I've heard in a long while. Album of the year goes to Chase & Status, who not only gave us a quality slice of D&B, but also showed that could easily make some disgusting Dubstep! "Eastern Jam" smashed up the dancefloor at practically every venue I played it, whilst "Running", with it's vocals and 80's influenced synths is an awesome joint.



Diplo, A-Trak, Craze, Sinden, Hervé and Fake Blood also put out some excellent work this year too....



Now, 2008 has also been a great year for me as a DJ. Not only was I able to represent the UK at both the DMC World Championships (shout to Sally) & the IDA World Finals, I also won the "Alizé Remixed 2008" DJ Competition (special thanks to everyone at Uproar for making the Tour night happen at Paper). I was also able to support a lot of great artists this year, such as Twista, Bobby Valentino and of course, Grandmaster Flash. To top it all off, iDJ Magazine pointed me out as one of the DJs to watch out for. I guess the hard work does pay off!

To everyone who reads the blog, I wish you all a happy and safe New Year. See you in '09.

DJ's Pfel & Atom - 'Beat Torrent' Promo Video (Youtube)

Wow....I know 4x DMC World Champs Pfel & Atom are incredibly dope (well, in fact all of C2C are dope), but this new promo video of their current 'Beat Torrent' tour is crazy!

Check out their Daft Punk remix halfway through...Their whole show is done on 4 turntables, with MIDI controllers. Speaking of which, when the hell is my MPD32 going to turn up?!

For dates/more info check out the Beat Torrent myspace.

BONUS! Their 2005 DMC routine - Greatest Team routine ever in my opinion.

DMC Championships 2008 - UK Heats Announced

Wow, Battle Season sure comes round fast....DMC (Disco Mix Club) announced the dates for their UK Heats last week.

Luckily, I won't be stressing a week before the competition because one of my routines doesn't sound tight enough...I've taken a year out from battling this season, mainly to focus on doing more shows, practise, and to work on production....Anyhow, to all battle junkies, here are the heats:

2008 UK Heats:

Friday 25th April - Plymouth Heat @ Quay Club
Sunday 4th May - Manchester Heat @ The Urbis
Friday 23rd May - Bouremouth Heat @ The Consortium
Tuesday 27th May - Northampton Heat @ Roadmender
Thursday 29th May - Bristol Heat @ Walkabout
Friday 30th May - Birmingham Heat @ The Custard Factory
Saturday 21st May - London Heat @ 93 Feet East

Thursday 17th July - UK Final & Battle For UK Supremacy @ Islington Academy, London

Hosts this year will be Cutmaster Swift, MC Trip and 2007 DMC World Champion DJ Rafik.

The winner of the UK Final and the winner of the Battle for UK Supremacy will represent UK (surprisingly enough) at the World Championships at the Indigo02 in London on Friday 26th & Saturday 27th September...To anyone who wishes to enter, hit up Sally @ DMC for an entry form.

To anyone on the battle circuit this year, I'll be popping up at some heats to check out the competition, and to give some of my mates support....

Get practising, chaps!