Being able to scratch well is a great addition to any dj’s repertoire. But what happens when you want to take the art to the next level? It’s all very well standing behind the decks and moving your hands faster than a camera can keep up with — but it can get pretty boring to watch. Praise be then to those that take it that little bit further — the show-boaters of the scratching world! Ever seen a dj scratch with their nose? Or a kitchen sink? Or put a turntable on their back and scratch with it?
Cally & Juice are the foremost exponents of crazy scratch techniques in the hard dance world. Their roots lie in hip-hop music and culture, and the two of them have had a strong passion for turntablism ever since they started playing. Blending hip-hop scratch styles with hard beats was a stroke of genius, and helped them to become the stars of the scene that they are today. Ahead of their exclusive back-to-back with scratching contemporary Kutski at Tasty on September 16th, the Welsh Wizards guided us through their 5 top turntable tricks and gave us an insight on how they pull off these crazy little stunts. One for all y’all dj geeks out there — and for those that don’t understand the terminology, just check out the pics of the boys pulling of these tricks at some of their gigs.
Crab scratching
“Although this is not a new trick it’s definitely one of the more difficult scratch tricks in the turntablist’s dictionary. It was invented by DJ Q-Bert around 1995. To do a crab scratch the dj quickly taps the crossfader with 3 or 4 different fingers in sequence starting with the pinkie or ring finger while using the thumb as a spring to cut the fader back out after each tap (or in if doing scratching hamster style). The result is much like a 3 or 4 tap transform (or a 3 or 4 click flare if you scratch hamster style) only much quicker than you could do with one finger. This trick however can only properly be performed with a crossfader that has an adjustable curve on it, so it isn’t always possible to perform out as it depends on the mixer you are provided with at a club.”
Verdict: A quickfire scratch that chops sounds up into tiny little nuggets!
Rotational scratching
“Many of the tricks we come up with ourselves are done to make use of 2 pairs of hands on the decks that only a back to back dj team could perform. As most djs perform as a single person we know these tricks can’t be copied then by just one person. This trick involves one of us scratching the first 4/4 of a drum & bass or hip-hop break of a track, then after 4 lots of 4 beats, one of us steps behind with the other moving to the front. We basically rotate around each other in a circular motion several times each taking it in turns to scratch. There are many variations we do with this trick, like one scratching in front of the deck and one behind, if there are more than 2 decks then we just alternate using a different deck and so on and so forth.”
Verdict: The merry-go-round of scratches! Visually stimulating and tricky to co-ordinate.
Blindfold scratching
“We came up with this trick when we were performing a variation of rotational scratching where instead of rotating, Juice stood behind Cally and put his arms either side of him to continue scratching (without being able to see the record or the mixer). When we looked at the crowd we could see the front row were looking in disbelief at the fact that he carried on regardless without making any mistakes. Then we came up with the idea of covering Cally’s eyes while doing a scratching solo during the next set that was performed. This then got so many requests from the crowd that it’s become a regular feature of our bigger performances. Only once this trick has gone slightly wrong when, Juice not only covered his eyes with his hands, but his palms rested on his ears so he also couldn’t hear properly! However Cally still managed to just about keep in time by feeling the vibrations of the percussion through the monitor . . . feckin’ hell!”
Verdict: Only for the pros! Stevie Wonder would be proud!
Foot scratching
Lisa Lashes looks on in disbelief
“This again is a trick we came up with which just developed over the space of a few months through different tricks. Firstly we wanted to create a scratching trick that we both did at once, so it started off as Juice would move the record with his hand while Cally cut it up with the crossfader. It then progressed through different variations including Juice stood on a stool and scratching with his hand between his legs again while Cally cut the fader, until Juice had the idea of sitting on Cally’s shoulders and using his foot to scratch. This proved to be very difficult to keep balance while both were working on the mixer (especially after a few drinks!) so we finally chose to get Juice to stand one foot on his record box (or above the decks) and the other on the deck and use his foot to scratch, once again while Cally cut the fader. This is probably one of our most visually striking tricks and we’ve managed to improve it over the last 2 years so it now involved quite complicated scratch patterns. Again this has been a very popular trick amongst the crowd and gets requested by members of the crowd at most gigs. Believe it or not, aside from the occasional needle jumping we haven’t had any major cock-ups with this trick (yet!).”
Verdict: Unbelievable! It actually sounds as good as it looks too . . .
Handspin on the deck
“Definitely the most unbelievable site you’ve ever witnessed taking place on a turntable. This one we didn’t come up with ourselves, we saw DJ David (Germany) do it as his final move when he won the Technics World DMC Championships. As Juice used to teach breakdancing years ago and could already do the move he didn’t see why he couldn’t pull this off himself but with his hand on the deck instead of on the floor. The problem was finding somebody who would let him try it out on their precious Technics lol. Eventually, one morning after coming back from a club, Juice took one of his own decks into his back yard and carefully started to place all his weight onto the deck. Amazingly it held him with no problem and within minutes he was spinning round like a demon (much to the amazement of his neighbour who was now staring in disbelief through the garden fence). Juice always uses this deck for the trick because no promoter will let us try it on their equipment. Oh and in case you’re wondering the deck still plays records just fine (God bless Technics!). This one is definitely kept for the bigger performances we do, especially ones with a big stage like Brixton Academy.”
Verdict: Possibly the ultimate in showboating! Has to be seen to be believed!
And what about other tricks that these guys have seen but have yet to master? “You only have to put on one from any of the DMC finalists to see why we can’t single out just a few. They perform a six minute set, which some of them have practised a whole year for and pull off tricks which even watching them you find hard to believe are even possible. Our favourite djs probably include greats like, Noise, Cashmoney, Scratch Perverts, Craze and of course, the legend . . . Q-Bert. Watching him scratching it’s hard to imagine anyone ever being better than him.”
Want to know more? You can check out some amazing videos from the last few years of the DMC World Mixing Championships Finals at their website to see some of the stunning DJs that Cally & Juice hold in such high esteem. Warning to all djs: you may find the immense quality of these finalists to be rather depressing for your self-esteem!
Tasty – The Harder Revolution, to all non believers – The future is before your eyes. To all those who know all things hard & fast are the most exciting our music has ever been … The belief starts here, WITH ALL OF US. Tasty – Generation Energy proved our scene has taken an exciting new turn. Tasty – The Harder Revolution will confirm that between all of us we are once again an unstoppable force and the way we all party to the sounds of the future is the only way to do it. Out goes boring beats played by dj’s who want to be “too cool for school”, out goes tired venues that have been done to death, out goes uninspiring sound and production. Enter Tasty – The Harder Revolution, where the beats are played harder & faster by the exciting new generation of dj’s WHO BELIEVE. Enter The Renaissance “Rave Rooms” the UK’s new home to all things hard & fast. Enter sound & production that lives up to your expectations, AND MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL, enter a new generation of radical music lovers and party goers who know THE HARDER REVOLUTION STARTS HERE. Tasty – still pioneering, still setting the standard and still throwing the best hard & fast parties on the planet …. DO YOU BELIEVE???
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