Videos

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

En diciembre, Luis Martínez cubrió la importancia de usar cableado de alta calidad para poder transmitir el mejor sonido. Hoy, Luis explica cómo analizar la calidad de tu música para evitar de tocar canciones que suenen mal. Porque como dice Luis, “de nada sirve poder tener el mejor cableado, el mejor equipo, si la música que estamos utilizando no esta en alta calidad”. Mira el video arriba en un nuevo episodio de Consejos y Trucos de DJcity Latino.

English translation (traducción en inglés):

In December, Luis Martinez covered the importance of using high-quality DJ cables to get the best sound. Today, Luis goes over how to analyze the quality of your music to avoid playing poor sounding tracks. Because as Luis puts it, “it does you no good to have the best cables or equipment if the music you’re using is not in high-quality.” Watch above on a new episode of DJcity Latino‘s Consejos y Trucos.

Related: Consejos y Trucos: Review del Controlador XDJ-RX2 de Pioneer DJ

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

The producers of Ariana Grande‘s hit single “thank u, next” have explained how they made the track on a new episode of Genius’ Deconstructed. The song peaked at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 (currently No. 2) and was the eighth most-downloaded song of November on DJcity.

In the video, Los Angeles-based duo Social House and multiplatinum producer and songwriter TBHits begin by recalling when they knew the song would be a hit. They then discuss how they came up with the vibe for the track before breaking it down in Pro Tools.

TBHits, aka Tommy Brown, has frequently collaborated with Ariana since 2013. He helped produced her singles such as “Let Me Love You” featuring Lil Wayne, “better off,” and “Be Alright.” He has also worked with artists like DJ Khaled, Chris Brown, and Jennifer Lopez.

Social House is made up of Michael “Mikey” Foster and Charles “Scootie” Anderson. They’ve worked with the likes of Chris Brown and J Lo, too, and are also recording artists themselves. Last Summer, the duo released their debut single “Magic In The Hamptons” featuring Lil Yachty.

Watch Deconstructed above.

Related: Watch the Producer of J. Cole’s ‘No Role Modelz’ Explain How He Made the Track

Nas has shared a fitting video for his Nasir track “Cops Shot the Kid” featuring Kanye West. The visual, which sees a man being chased by two police officers, includes a cameo from legendary rapper Slick Rick, whose 1989 classic “Children’s Story” is sampled in the song.

Nick Bike’s edit of “Cops Shot The Kid” was one of the most-downloaded tracks of July.

Watch the video above and download the song on DJcity.

Related: Kanye West and Lil Pump Drop New Single and Video, ‘I Love It’ Feat. Adele Givens’

Bass music DJ/producer Figure has gone from the fringes of Indiana to stages worldwide. He started out as a hip-hop DJ in the rave scene before becoming a household name in dubstep.

Figure’s production skills brought him to Skrillex‘s OWSLA label, where he released his Horns of the Apocalypse EP in 2013. He went on to create his own label, DOOM MUSIC, as an outlet to release heavy bass music from himself and other up-and-coming producers.

On this episode of A Moment With, Figure talks about how DJing helped him learn how to produce, how hip-hop and horror movies have influenced his sound, and more.

Watch above.

Follow Figure on Facebook, Instagram, Soundcloud, and Twitter.

Follow DJs Are Not Jukeboxes on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Youtube.

Related: Watch: Grandtheft Talks DJing and Producing

Bay Area turntablist Miles Medina has delivered a creative mini mix for Serato. His party rocking skills are on display as he flips mostly hip-hop and funk with clever trick mixing.

A veteran of the West Coast DJ scene, Medina gained attention in 2017 as the Goldie Awards DJ Battle champion. In October, he stopped by the DJcity studio for an impressive performance on the MikiDz Show.

Watch Medina’s mix above.

Related: Watch Miles Medina’s ‘MikiDz Show’ Set

A year ago, Mojaxx reviewed Jico’s replacement needles for Shure’s M44-7 and M44G cartridges. He found that they were good alternatives to the original styli, but they weren’t essential because the originals were still available.

However, that changed in May when Shure announced that it was discontinuing its entire range of phono products. Now, with the new-found need for replacements, Mo takes another look at Jico’s styli.

Watch above on this week’s Tips and Tricks.

Jico’s needles can be purchased at their website, PLANT RECORDS, and Scratch Pro Audio.

Related: Shure Discontinues All Phono Products