Scratching - A lost art ?

[RDR]

Hmmm

i dont really know what to say TBH

thanks for the props calvin, its very kind of you.

Yes its true, i can scratch, but in terms of who the rude boys are, i aint one of them. How ever i can do the following:

Clickflare
baby
scribble
uzi
chirp
crab
orbit
Beat Juggle (badly)

And i do scratch in techno sets and breakbeat sets.

It depends on the scratching you want to do, there are somethings that are NOT acceptable depending on what you are scratching to.

Scratching depends entirely on the scratcher (obviously dodgy.. haha)

I would recommend scratching to EVERY DJ it is one of the corner stones of making your turntable skills ill. If you can scratch it really does give you abilities that very few DJs have, esp techno ones.

I personally dont see how people can call themselves DJs without having even the most basic ability to do this. it means that you can have complete and total mastery over the vinyl (CDs still dont cut it *YET*)

As the saying goes "What is a DJ if he cant scratch"

This is not to say i think the other skills are not worth anything, they are all equal but what is one without the other.

It amazes me that in this day and age and after all this time people still regard scratching as an esoteric skill, in part i blame the turbtablists for making the art some kind of 'black art' purely so that they can differentiate and legitimise what they do. and i suspect its put people off.

I LOVE djing and the buzz of DJing to a crowd cannot compare.

there are somethings that annoy me about DJing, the use of FX instead of the use of ones mind and skills. I makes me so angry that people use technology as a substitute for their own skills rather than using it to increase their skills.

As a group we could be SO much more respected as DJs instead of being the butt of jokes we could be the ones getting hired.

A sad state of affairs.

Aside from the negatives, there are MANy positives, but its up to us to demonstrate them, get out ther and start scratching, cutting, rewinding, juggling, sampling, effecting and BEING the best DJ you can be.

*phew* /rant

[eyeswithoutaface]

i hate scratching in Techno unless its done really well. Ben Long is the best exponent of the scratch as it were that ive seen Techno wise, but you gotta look outside of "modern dance music" to see the really skilled artists.

Wait till you've seen Scratch Perverts or Dj Cash Money live, then you'l understand what scratching is really about

[RDR]

i hate scratching in Techno unless its done really well. Ben Long is the best exponent of the scratch as it were that ive seen Techno wise, but you gotta look outside of "modern dance music" to see the really skilled artists.

Wait till you've seen Scratch Perverts or Dj Cash Money live, then you'l understand what scratching is really about

+1

But as an aside do you think that scratching sounds bad in techno because people are not used to it, or because techno DJs as a general rule cannot scratch properly. or because those who CAN scratch properly prefer not to do it because they dont have the balls?

Personally i dont believe in boundaries and have a real dislike of preconcieved ideas about 'HOW TECHNO SHOULD BE DJ'D'.

(im talking generally scott, not at you mate)

[TechMouse]

Wait till you've seen Scratch Perverts or Dj Cash Money live, then you'l understand what scratching is really about

Scratching in Techno... DJ Kentaro, end of story.

[v0ins]

Bad Boy Bill does it well. I think if you do it right it soudns good in techno, breaks, dnb, house...i guess pretty much everything as long as its no longer than a min or two =)

[The 818 Kid]

not rely a huge fan.. but it does seem lost tho..

[eyeswithoutaface]

Scratching in Techno... DJ Kentaro, end of story.

wow id forgot about Kentaro. Have an excellent vid on my computer upstairs from a festival, he's amazing.

but i think as a rule, the reason why scratching isnt as popular in techno is because it's just not one of those techniques that lends itself to the music as well as it does other genres. There is certainly a place for it, but if you notice it does always tend to be incorporated into techno with djs who have that very old skool, hip hop style, fast and choppy, loose (in the good sense), willing to risk things for the mix etc etc

[JohnBlack]

Organ donors are wicked for scratching too....