When it comes to electronic music, some might be unaware that DJ culture has its roots in vinyls. Back when you had to manually beat match and switch out the 1’s and 2’s yourself, scratching aka turntablism, was a highly popular art form. Turntablism is still prevalent in the underground today, and while you probably won’t see many turntablists out at festivals, there are still a handful of performing scratching artists to represent the scene. So let’s take this time to respect the pioneers of the decks because turntablism is not dead.
1. A-Trak
A-Trak is half the brain behind Fool’s Gold Records with Nick Catchdubs, best friends with prominent DJs Diplo and Skrillex, and the main man who toured with Kanye West as his personal DJ. But did you know that he was also the first to win all three major DJ competition titles? He claimed all three titles for Disco Mix Club, International Turntablist Federation, Vestax, and even won five World Championships. At 15, A-Trak dominated the DMC World DJ Championship, making him the youngest and first Canadian to win. Not only is he a brilliant producer and entertaining personality, his smooth liquid slides and technical scratching makes him one of the world’s most skilled turntablists.
2. DJ Shadow
DJ Shadow was a pioneer in the instrumental and experimental hip hop movement, and is legitimately one of the most talented producers and scratch artists out there. With his first full-length release, “Endtroducing…..,” he made history in the Guinness World Records for the “First Completely Sampled Album” in 2001. Subsequently, TIME Magazine noted the masterpiece album as one of its “All Time 100 Best Albums.” Shadow’s music is well respected for its genius samples, profound collaborations, dark, macabre undertones, and deeply emotional content.
3. DJ Qbert
One of the head turntablists in the game, DJ Qbert originated from the pioneer turntablist collective, Invisibl Skratch Piklz. They were the first to apply the notion of layering drums, basslines, and scratch solos on top of one another. (A-Trak was an honorary member of this famous crew) Furthermore, he joined the notorious Rock Steady Crew and won the ’92 Disco Mix Club World DJ Championships. Moreover, he’s developed his own scratching instrument with Vestax, and launched the Qbert Skratch University in 2009. DJ Qbert is respected for his insanely technical scratches.
4. DJ Craze
DJ Craze is an immensely talented turntablist and DJ, being the only individual to win the DMC World Championships three times in consecutively. He also released two of the most popular battle records in existence, “Bully Breaks” and “Bully Breaks 2.” With his fellow homie DJ Kill The Noise, the two formed Slow Roast Records, distributed by Fool’s Gold Recs. Luckily, you can usually catch Craze on tour spinning the hottest clubs and parties, or being the personal DJ for Kanye West and Yelawolf.
5. DJ Shiftee
Another prodigy on the decks is the amazing DJ Shiftee. He won the 2009 DMC World Dj Finals as the only American DJ to conquer the DMC Battle for World Supremacy. He is also the youngest champion to date to have won the DMC NYC Championships. Shiftee’s dedication to the art form extends to teaching as a professor at NYU, and being the Director of DJ Curriculum at the Dubspot school in NYC. One can easily see how talented Shiftee is the minute he performs on the 1’s and 2’s.
6. Sara & Ryusei
Sara (5) and Ryussei (2) surfaced in a viral internet video showing the siblings from Osaka, Japan literally baby scratching with their father’s DJ setup. Their technique on the decks are otherworldly for their age, and both displayed talent for music at very early ages. DJ Qbert even performed a guest scratch session with the duo during a Japan tour with D-Styles in ’02. DJ Sarah exhibited her incredible turntablist talent at the Warner Music Group GRAMMY Awards After Party in 2008. Vestax has also featured both of them on their website as the youngest PRO members to date.
7. Mix Master Mike
The legendary Mix Master Mike was crowned “one of the greatest DJs in history.” His main claim to fame was for winning the ’92 New Music Seminar/Superman Inc. DJ Battle for World Supremacy in NYC. He was the first West Coast DJ to ever win the title, and is best known for his work DJing for the Beastie Boys. After retiring from competitive turntablism, Mix Master Mike became a judge for the ’95 DMC Championships. He is also credited for inventing the “tweak scratch,” a scratch performed by moving the record back and forth while the platter motor is stopped.
8. DJ Babu
DJ Babu’s victorious reign lasted in various competitions including the Vestax World Championships and multile International Turntablist Federation titles. Debuting his historical “Blind Alley” routine during the ’97 ITF “Beat Jugging” category competition redefined the art form forever. “Beat jugging” is when two or more samples are manipulated to create a new composition, using multiple turntables and one or several mixers. This process can involve pauses, scratching, backspins, and delays, something that has transferred to modern DJing.
9. UZ
Not much can be found on this secretive trap entity, other than he has releases on Mad Decent/Jeffree’s/BNR/Mau5trap/OWSLA/Fool’s Gold Record labels and continues to travel the globe spinning shows. He is best known for his highly acclaimed “TRAP SHIT” series, available for download on SoundCloud. UZ was largely speculated to be DJ Troubl, an experienced turntablist, but we may never know for sure. In the meantime, enjoy this quick scratch session from 2013
10. Cashmere Cat
Cashmere Cat is another enigmatic figure in EDM, originally hailing from Norway as a turntablist and producer. He represented his country in the DMC World DJ Championships (as DJ Final) from 2006-2009. He began his early international career by creating interesting remixes and bending genres into an innovative new sound.
Now that you’ve read this article on the masters of turntablism, are you inspired to start wrecking on the decks?
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