Turntablism is an art. It involves beat mixing, song juggling, pitch adjusting and, of course, record scratching. The turntable, created to play pre-recorded music, has evolved to manipulate and produce new sounds that have revolutionized today’s clubs, genres and listeners.
The historic journey of the turntablist, venturing as far back as the late 1970s, has never been so accurately recollected as in Doug Pray’s Scratch. Released in 2001, the documentary is heavy with interviews from DJ hall-of-famers and clips from international mixing competitions. It thoroughly and intriguingly explores the turntablist’s way of life.
Many of the featured disc jockeys credit Grand Master DXT with the invention of scratching (despite Grand Wizard Theodore’s claim), first displayed in Herbie Hancock’s “Rockit”. Scratching, which serves as DXT’s introduction and a foundation for Hancock’s song, became an innovative sound and technique that stemmed a new era of hip-hop.
While vocalists and musical groups such as Donna Summer or Earth, Wind, & Fire absorbed most of the mainstream crowd of the disco era, the disc jockey was attracting a new and evolving type of listener. Hip-hop fans gathered to hear Afrika Bambaataa, Jazzy Jay and other scratching founders lay down beats and mix breaks to control and enthuse the crowd.
To intensify their ability to work an audience, DJs hired MCs — masters of ceremonies — to vocally ignite listeners. Jazzy Jeff worked with the Fresh Prince, DJ Premier tag-teamed with Guru — the list goes on and on.
But as hip-hop became more popular, MCs began to steal the show and DJs lost their prominence. Concert tickets began to highlight vocalists over DJs, and record companies replaced high-paying disc jockey contracts with those of rapper MCs. From then on, turntablism was never the same.
The documentary explains how this art has evolved into a more distinct hobby, occupation and skill since its separation from MC compilations. Scratching and mixing have breached limitations and are now incorporated into new genres and styles once inconceivable to the traditional DJ. Modern turntablists, such as Cut Chemist and Grandmaster Flash, mix everything from rock to reggae, folk to funk, and continue to awe their concert, club and radio crowds.
The film visually documents everything from early DJ performances to modern practice sessions and formal studio recordings. It shows exclusive footage from Dilated Peoples, Rob Swift, and The Invisible Scratch Monkeys, making any lover of music consider an investment in a pair of tables and a collection of vinyl. Most importantly, the documentary illustrates a progressive micro-culture of disc jockeys that centers on the turntable but spans multiple worlds.
Scratch highlights the turntable as a stage for creativity and innovation, not as a complementary sound device or audio machine. It recounts and explains how turntablism was defined, has grown and will soon expand. Today’s mixes are different from tomorrow’s, which are different from the next day’s, and the bar is constantly being raised.
Read More
The best albums of 2014
By Noah Zeidman | December 4, 2014Across genres, it has been a pretty great year in music.
Top 10 movies of 2014
December 4, 2014This has been an excellent year for film, offering everything from gripping blockbusters to innovative personal films.
Iggy Azalea is “Reclassified”
December 4, 2014It has become common practice among music artists to repackage their albums in an effort to simultaneously boost single sales and dish out new content by slightly renaming the album or slapping “Deluxe” onto the title.
