Turntablism

Spanish DJ/producer DJ Soak is back with a scratch routine for DJcityTV. The Valencia native showcases his skills over What So Not‘s 2013 trap anthem “Touched.”

Soak is a two-time DMC Spain champion and the 2006 ITF World vice-champion. In his last routine for DJcityTV, the turntablist performed an uptempo flip of Cassie‘s “Love a Loser” featuring G-Eazy.

Watch Soak’s routine above.

Follow DJ Soak on Facebook, Instagram, Soundcloud, and Twitter.

Related: Watch: ‘Inside Turntablists’ Puts a Spotlight on DJ Soak

Thomas Elbers a.k.a. Kypski started out as a turntablist, becoming a three-time DMC Netherlands champion. Eventually, he followed his heart and entered the realm of sound design, music composition, and production, where he has collaborated with artists in almost every genre.

Now, Kypski is experimenting with “syntablism,” a new technique that enables turntablists to create and manipulate sounds on the fly using a turntable, mixer, and modular synthesizer. It was introduced by Luigi SirCut Comito in 2016.

DJcity’s DJ TLM recently spoke with Kypski to learn more about the technique. The Q&A coincides with the release of Kypski’s new routine, which is a syntablism flip of his remix of Fatima Yamaha’s “What’s a Girl to Do.” The video was praised by his fellow Dutchman, Laidback Luke, who tweeted that it “mesmerized” him.

Watch the routine and read the interview below.

How did you get involved with syntablism?

Luigi SirCut introduced it to me. It was so inspiring! When I realized the potential it opens up for turntablists, I was hooked and dived in right away. It also came at a time when I was kind of bored with manipulating samples and pre-producing my own sounds to scratch with later, which is something so many people do. Syntablism is all about creating sounds in the moment, and scratching and playing them at the same time.

The system I have now is far from finished. I doubt I will ever really finish it. I have many more features I want to add to it and then release a full syntablism album. Until that time comes, I will be releasing a lot of singles and videos. Luigi and I have just finished another syntablism live video in which we will be playing and scratching our systems together in a more Q&A fashion.

If Luigi hadn’t introduced it, someone else might have, because the concept is so brilliant yet simple. It’s great to see more and more people trying out syntablism all over the world now.

What equipment do you need to start experimenting with syntablism?

A modular synthesizer is ideal because it’s not prewired like a regular synth. However, a semi-modular like the Korg MS-20 will do the job. Also, I consider an envelope follower, comparator, and pitch to be key modules. You can build the rest around them. My system is set up so that my Traktor control signal plays a sine wave, which is converted to pitch control voltage. I send that voltage to many different destinations. For example, at the beginning of my new video, I scratch the tail of the reverb. It can be anything! Also, the crossfader is set up so that it produces gate signals, another signal which the modular synth is happy to receive. Together, it gives one the possibility to scratch the core elements of the synth in real time.

You’ve done turntablism collaborations with DJs such as D-Styles and musicians like the Matangi Quartet. Do you have any syntablism collaborations planned?

Yes, this year I will be collaborating with the Amstel Saxophone Quartet from Amsterdam, with whom I will be playing a live show honoring Kraftwerk. I will also be bringing my syntablism live set to the Eurosonic festival in Groningen, Netherlands, and to the Superbooth festival in Berlin, which I’m really looking forward to. For collabs and shows that need a more traditional DJ approach, I use my Native Instruments Maschine setup which still works like a charm for that purpose.

Related: Watch: Turntablist and Singer Asian Hawk Performs His Track ‘Fire’

Turntablist and singer Asian Hawk is back with a routine for DJcityTV. In the exclusive video, the former DMC UK champion performs his soulful yet energetic song, “Fire.” The Bristol native creates a beat by scratching and finger drumming before adding his smooth vocals to the track.

Watch above.

Filmed by Revrt.

Follow Asian Hawk on Facebook, Instagram, SoundCloud, Twitter, and YouTube.

Related: Watch: DJ Brace and Asian Hawk Join Forces on Routine

DJ Tech’s Handy Kutz isn’t a traditional DJ mixer; it’s a tool for turntablists with portablists in mind.

A two-channel device, the Handy Kutz is equipped with a mini Innofader Pro and internal battery for true on-the-go use.

Watch Mojaxx‘s review above.

Related: Upgrade Your Portable Turntable With the 1.2.4-C Pulse Fader

After taking time off to prepare for the Red Bull Music 3Style IX U.S. Finals, DJcity’s Arizona representative Chris Villa is back with a new Trends Mix. He performs a routine using three tracks from DJcity Trends, two throwbacks, and one classic TV theme song.

Tracklist:

1. Too Short – Blow The Whistle – Acapella
2. Andy Griffith – The Andy Griffith Theme
3. John Hartt ft. Too Short – Whistle – Instrumental
4. DJ Snake ft. Selena Gomez, Cardi B, & Ozuna – Taki Taki – Acapella
5. DJ Snake ft. Selena Gomez, Cardi B, & Ozuna – Taki Taki
6. N.O.R.E. ft. Nina Sky & Tego Calderon – Oye Mi Canto – Acapella
7. J Balvin – Reggaeton – Da Phonk Re-Drum

Follow Chris Villa on Facebook, Instagram, SoundCloud, and Twitter.

DJcity Trends is a monthly collection of tracks intended to help DJs discover new and buzzing club tracks. The songs are hand-picked by influential DJs from around the world.

Related: Watch: Chris Villa Drops Routine for Serato

DJcityTV received over 10 million views in 2018, and a big chunk of that was DJ routines. Here’s a compilation of the year’s best performances, which includes snippets from one-off routines and series like the Cutting Room and Bedroom Sessions.

Related: DJcityTV’s Best DJ Routines of 2017

Over the past year, Battle Avenue director Antriks has explored some of the best places for turntablists to find vinyl. On this episode of DJcityTV’s Fresh Press, he shares some of his favorite record shops that cater to scratch DJs.

When shopping for scratch records, Antriks prefers to buy from independent global retailers, local shops, or directly from the record label. Listed below are some of his favorites.

Independent Global Retailers

HHV
Mega DJ Center
Turntable Lab

Record Labels:

At The Ave Records
Cut & Paste Records
Turntable Training Wax
Thud Rumble

Local Shops:

1 Stop DJ Shop
Rock and Soul

Watch the episode above.

Related: Antriks Reviews DJ Woody’s Scratch Record, ‘Scratch Sounds No. 1’

DJ ELEOS, a member of the U.S. Air Force, has dropped a mix for DJcityTV’s Bedroom Sessions. His upbeat mix blends Latin pop, dancehall, and baile funk.

The Puerto Rico native is currently stationed in the U.K. He is the co-founder of the Military DJ Network, a worldwide platform for DJs serving in the armed forces.

Watch ELEOS’ routine above.

Tracklist:

1. Rihanna – Pon De Replay – Tall Boys Taki Taki Bootleg
2. DJ Snake ft. Cardi B & Ozuna – Taki Taki – Refresh Dancehall Blend
3. Lorna – Papi Chulo – DJ Bekman Remix
4. Jason Derulo & David Guetta ft. Nicki Minaj & Willy William – Goodbye
5. Buju Banton – Champion
6. Cidinho & Doca – Rap Das Armas – Acapella
7. DJ Kass – Scooby Doo Pa Pa – Samuel Pomata DJ, DJ Varu, & Benavente Coolie Riddim Bootleg
8. MC João – Baile De Favela – DJ R7 Mix
9. Enur ft. Natasja – Calabria

Follow DJ ELEOS on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Mixcloud.

Got what it takes to be featured on the next “Bedroom Sessions” episode? Send a sample video to brs@djcity.com.

Related: Watch Sonny Kraft’s ‘Bedroom Sessions’ Routine

After a successful Ladies Linkup in Los Angeles in November, seven of the region’s best turntablists threw down a scratch session for DJcityTV’s Cutting Room.

Filmed at DJcity’s headquarters in Culver City, the session featured DJs Javin, PattyClover, Nikki Duran, Young 1, Annalyze, Step1, and Shortee. The ladies got busy over an instrumental produced by Faust, Shortee, and Step1.

Related: Female DJs Connect at Ladies Linkup in Los Angeles

Spanish DJ/producer DJ Soak has dropped a routine for DJcityTV. In it, he flips Cassie‘s “Love a Loser” featuring G-Eazy.

Based out of Valencia, Soak is a two-time DMC Spain champion and the 2006 ITF World vice-champion. Earlier this year he dropped his debut EP Paradiso, which features the Anderson .Paak collaboration “Run Away.”

Watch Soak’s routine above.

Follow DJ Soak on Facebook, Instagram, Soundcloud, and Twitter.

Related: Watch: ‘Inside Turntablists’ Puts a Spotlight on DJ Soak