When DJ decks and turntablism went underground
The practice of turntablism was born in hip hop, and its performance format of the MC (vocalist) and the DJ (musician). As hip hop evolved through the nineties, however, the importance of the DJ decreased as the use of new studio techniques were preferred. As the DJs were distanced from the genre, they went underground and created a sub-culture of their own.
Hip hop DJs were now isolated from the MC culture, and left to concentrate purely on using DJ decks and a mixer to manipulate sounds and create music. Those who had grown up listening to hip hop took the art underground and began developing new techniques and scratches. It was at this point that the term 'turntablism' was coined, although it is unclear whether the term came from one artist or evolved naturally from exchanges within the movement as a whole.
As DJs continued to move away from hip hop formats, turntablism was engendering its own pioneering artists, groups and events. Artists organised DJ battles to exchange ideas and showcase new techniques using DJ decks as instruments. The scratching technique featured heavily as a technique and morphed into many different techniques that DJs used to create original sounds and complex rhythmic structures.
This period of creativity and experimentation resulted in the elaboration of another technique: beat juggling. Two DJ decks are used with a mixer to create drum patterns, either from two different or two identical existing recorded patterns. Mastering this demanding technique allows the DJ to create completely new and intricate rhythms from drums and sounds.
These DJs became known as turntablists and were starting to be considered as musicians in their own right, requiring as much skill and creativity as classically-trained musicians. As the year 2000 approached, turntablists were widely respected in hip hop circles and beyond.
Recognition resulted in further changes to the expanding movement. Some of the rising turntablists kept strong links with hip hop; while some applied their techniques to experiments on other musical genres and techniques such as club music and even jazz. Others concentrated on using DJ decks as an instrument in music production - both in isolation and alongside other production tools.
Hip hop DJs were now isolated from the MC culture, and left to concentrate purely on using DJ decks and a mixer to manipulate sounds and create music. Those who had grown up listening to hip hop took the art underground and began developing new techniques and scratches. It was at this point that the term 'turntablism' was coined, although it is unclear whether the term came from one artist or evolved naturally from exchanges within the movement as a whole.
As DJs continued to move away from hip hop formats, turntablism was engendering its own pioneering artists, groups and events. Artists organised DJ battles to exchange ideas and showcase new techniques using DJ decks as instruments. The scratching technique featured heavily as a technique and morphed into many different techniques that DJs used to create original sounds and complex rhythmic structures.
This period of creativity and experimentation resulted in the elaboration of another technique: beat juggling. Two DJ decks are used with a mixer to create drum patterns, either from two different or two identical existing recorded patterns. Mastering this demanding technique allows the DJ to create completely new and intricate rhythms from drums and sounds.
These DJs became known as turntablists and were starting to be considered as musicians in their own right, requiring as much skill and creativity as classically-trained musicians. As the year 2000 approached, turntablists were widely respected in hip hop circles and beyond.
Recognition resulted in further changes to the expanding movement. Some of the rising turntablists kept strong links with hip hop; while some applied their techniques to experiments on other musical genres and techniques such as club music and even jazz. Others concentrated on using DJ decks as an instrument in music production - both in isolation and alongside other production tools.
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