Every year in October the DMC World DJ Championships are held in a different city, and this year in London it was DJ Fly from France who took first place. Watch his full routine below and read our thoughts on what the DMC needs to do to modernize the competition after that:
One of the biggest issues here is that as a result of the introduction of DVS, informed DJs, much less a casual observer, have a hard time telling what elements a DJ is actually controlling when the software is hidden from view. The DMC should make the full transition and every routine should have:
- plenty of camera angles – especially a directly above-the-mixer shot like in our J. Espinosa performance video
- live screen capture to see what tracks are actually playing
What would you make different about the DMCs to modernize them? Let us know in the comments.
If they dont make technics anymore, what do you now win?
i think more camera angles would help… seeing the screen (tracks playing etc) is or could be pointless as most dj doing routines will just have their edits labelled as ‘left deck’ ‘right deck’ or edit the tracks tags also the screen is only for other dj’s to pay attention/geek out too. It may be a nice extra but i wouldn’t put it all down on that. Most casual watchers won;t know what to look for anyway.
the onus is on the djs to still be technical but somehow try to bring the music back. Dj Craze (one of my fav djs to ever do it (and three times) said in an interview the guys these day have more skills and are faster than he ever was. But it means the crowd miss what is going on. He said people need to slow it /break it down then hit them hard.
To me these guys do have crazy skills but if you’re going to buy a routine off a producer such as Le Jad… you could be asking for issues and open your self up to criticism. The last few years or more since maybe Netic onwards the winning routine are just to similar. It will never go back to the Roc Raider days but it would help if observers could at least pick out familiar tracks or sounds… if you look at the difference in crowds at the DMC now to several years ago and venue changes (decreasing in size) it shows there are issues to be addressed. Although that said sadly it may just be a natural decline in interest.
Got bored half way through – this guy was my fave back in the day…. Roc Raider….http://youtu.be/xE4ezpRq80k
I agree with DJ Tech Tools. One camera angle birds eye view(above the set looking straight down),one from behind to capture him and the audience’s reaction(s),one from the front(this too can be from way behind the audience looking at the DJ or directly in front of the DJ and one(this maybe a little tedious),one on a motorized track(semi circle) and/or a boom that can be operated through a panel to capture different angles on one track that the camera is riding on.
Yes on the live screen and also the DJ should have a video monitor in front of him maybe on the floor or where he needs it to be to see his live feed from Serato( or whatever DVS he is using).
That would be a total of at least four angles and 2 video monitors.
Oh,and maybe while they are editing the videos of the competition,they can have like 2 different screen shots running simultaneous on the screen in real time on the video.
If that’s what DMC needs to modernize their competition then yes,of course it will cost a little more money,but it will greatly improve their competition,it’s video sales and thus the prestige will be much stronger.
I was under the impression that effects were not allowed… then @5:15 you can see him as clear as day pushing the effects button…
I’m sure he’s a great DJ. But a DMC winner should elevate the craft. Craze, Q-Bert, Rock Raida, A-Track. They did just that, not sure about this guy.
Funny how they’re still using Technics but covering the Logo!
I say make them buy all the tracks from itunes/beatport etc., no special ‘DMC edit’ tracks…
That way everyone is on a level playing field when they step up to the decks…
good idea! However since the very beginning of the DMCs competitors have been putting using stickers to cue or make loops by having the needle pop against the sticker. Others would glue a 7″ record on top of a 12″ to make two tracks into one. Why not permit this in the virtual world? Admittedly all the old techniques looked heaps more awesome rather than just seeing someone just do crab walks down two identical records.
I am french and I can see there is skills involved, but where is the music?
This sounded like a train wreck. Musical elements were chopped apart without regard for timing. Everything was way off except for a few bits where it came together for a few seconds.
Agreed a different camera angle is needed. Maybe to for the emcee we go back to vinyl no mp3 part of the the skill level should be being able to switch records and change your songs on beat.
Kinda.
Amazing routine. Wish I could have 1/8 of his skills. Mad respect!
Did he just have flux mode on the whole time and his track were just premixed? All this juggling should have changed the placement of the songs but the verses were perfect.
he has his files edited really heavily so (this is a simplified version) if he holds the track back a bar by juggling or scratching he edits out a bar of the song so that it will even out and it will drop where it would’ve without him scratching it… so yea he’s basically simulating flux mode the hard way through pre-production.
this is what its all about… get back to the classics…!!
Without even pressing play, I knew this was the Noize routine from 96. I’ve watched this routine probably 500 times. DOPE DOPE DOPE ROUTINE!!!
DJ Noise would also kill all CunTROLLerists with his skills, not just the Wanna-Be-DJ-Netik-Clones of nowadays DMC-Competition. DJ Vekked is nice though!!!
Wow! Impressive
Watching this video for the first time, I have to agree with the criticism. I mean, DJ Noise didn’t even have a computer and his routine was 10x more creative and entertaining and musical than the current winner. I mean, in the first minute of the DJ Fly routine he played playback and did nothing really, just wave his hands…..for a whole minute!!!
18 years are between these two routines. Puh. Where is the advancement?
scamo
Boring… hate these new style chops…!!
I really preferred Jon1st routine TBH.. For me, Vekked and Jon1st were the “stars” in this years DMC.
Always loved that kentaro vid as well!
good performance, great charisma, but i’m so bored about those sounds. still missing real vinyl grooves.
It seems like alot of people agree here. It’s a technically and tightly produced routine but musically it’s lacking. There’s been a couple of routines like this in the past as well:
DJ Unkut (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ksb5uMiTvQU)
DJ IZOH (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdkq8ZFot74)
Again all the respect to guys that can do these technical routines with Glitch Hop, Drumstep, D&B, but in these particular routines the sonic space is so cluttered. There’s so much stuff happening and so much coming out the speakers it’s hard to tell what the DJ is actually responsible for vs. the original track. Again in these routines the tracks and materials used are so heavy and energetic that when you add what the DJ is doing to the tracks it makes it overwhelming (and I love turntablism).
The Kentaro routine uses really basic material but it’s Kentaro that is giving energy to the material. And with this limited material it’s incredible to hear what he comes up with. He also let’s the routine breathe a bit more and it all flows nicely with obvious start and ends to particular sections of the routine. As opposed to these style of routines which all follow a similar trend 1) Hype intro with a build then drop into some heavy stuff, beat juggle, scratch as fast as possible. 2) Big Drop then builds up into a new beat/material and repeat.
Maybe i’m not right, either way there is something lacking.
you’re pretty on point man, Kentaro’s routine demonstrates an extreme side of the art, one that gets really slept on these days. Neither his beat juggling or scratching are extremely technical… he’s quite possibly the weakest scratcher to win DMC, and his beat juggling is very clean but he’s not doing anything crazy difficult there either.
BUT he manages to make an amazing routine despite all of this, and basically demonstrates it’s not how many techniques you can do/how fast you can do them, but how you put them together and compose a routine. The other point about his routine is that he’s using really bare bones/simple tracks (as you mentioned) and using his technique/skills to drive the routine. If you just played the tracks he juggled he’s using mostly minimal repetitive stuff, but he’s making it interesting/not repetitive at all using his scratching and juggling. These other guys are using very full/complex tracks and letting the progression of the song drive the routine instead of the progression of his technique/composition with the techniques.
i’ll agree about the multiple angles, but the screen capture is pushing it. I think all major DJ Battle events should include a vinyl-only event as well. I’m fine with digital routines, but so many aren’t that great and don’t bring anything new. dope vinyl routines might push the digital turntablists to try harder to create something more unique with the tools provided.. rather than to more easily do similar sounding routines and end up with a less impressive physical performance. i’d love to see past champs, like Craze or Vajra (Chris Karns) who are embracing digital capability, get back into the battle circuit.
DMC actually does have a vinyl-only event, DMC Supremacy. Not saying this is you, but a lot of people complain about DVS and say their should be a vinyl category then don’t pay attention to the vinyl category anyways…
But honestly going back to vinyl isn’t the answer… people were doing the same style routines they have done with DVS on the last few years of vinyl anyways, and it’s hard to understand until you go to create a routine using vinyl nowadays how much different the game is. In theory it seems cool, but buying records just isn’t what it used to be. Every major label used to release every single on vinyl, now barely any singles get released on vinyl. There used to be big records stores in nearly every major city, now maybe 20% of the big records stores or less are still around, and if they do still exist they have maybe 10% of the stock they had 6-7 years ago.
IF everything was like it was up until about 05, then yea it’d be cool if they were still doing vinyl battles but record stores died hard and it’s just not realistic. Even for guys who did kill it in the vinyl era it would be much harder for them to make a routine on vinyl than it ever was while they were doing it.
Is this the real Vekked, from Canada, that participated in this years DMC World Championship?
there better not be fake Vekked’s running around 😛
Haha that’s awesome I follow you on Youtube!!! I’m going to get my first mixer and turntables very soon! Any advice for a first time scratcher?
sweet! thanks for watching my videos :D. Great to hear you’re getting into it yourself, have fun with it!! umm let’s see for advice…
First try scratching with both hands, and with your crossfader normal and reversed and pick what you like best. They’re all pretty much the same just comes down to comfort.
Once you start working on techniques, learn chirps and stabs and really try to focus on those for as long as you can. Try not to get caught up with learning every possible technique. Eventually you learn it’s about how much you can do with each technique, rather than how many techniques you have. It’s better to have only chirps, but 100 different variations, than to have 100 different scratches that you can only do in 1 way.
Last thing is try to keep your hand on the record as much as possible and only let the record play when you specifically want that sound. Try to control the pitch of the sample with the speed of your hand pushing and pulling rather than always releasing the record. It will make your scratching sound more interesting and less monotone… every time you let go of the record it hits the same pitch and begins to sound repetitive even if you use a lot of different techniques.
I think that should be good for your first 6 months 😀 good luck! If you have any more questions don’t be afraid to hit me up on my FB page or on Twitter, I try to respond to everyone.
Vekked your feedback is GREATLY appreciated! I will take note of your advice and like the old saying goes “practice makes perfect.” Keep up the hard work man and thanks again for the advice! Peace.
First, I personally think that the set itself is overly produced, and as a demonstration of skill (not track selection) I would have placed other competitors over DJ Fly. That skyfall routine at the end had vocals cut up so that some were on the left deck.. some were on the right deck.. and with a lot of scratching from one deck to the other, it does have skill involved in it, i mean.. the cuts were nice.. but it’s by no means a juggle. Its a very complex version of what DJ Vekked does at the beginning of his online routine with the “beat juggling like this takes absolutely no skill” intro. I kind of thought that was the point of Vekked’s intro.. a dis to that entire production style of turntablism.
Before getting into my thoughts can I say that in no way does this look like a “lip sync’d” routine. if you look closely at 0:59 right before it turns to 1:00 you’ll see that Fly moved the crossfader over a split second (barely a split second at all) too late and for that fraction of a second there is a pause in the vocal. Watch the routine CAREFULLY.. it’s not being faked.. and to imply it is pretty harsh.
I don’t think that the overall complaint about this routine is that he’s using Serato with comments about “setup”.. I think the overall judgement by the public is that the routine itself shows more that Fly is very skilled in setting up where he’s going to transition from one deck to the next through carefully thought out production. Traditionally, a beat juggle is done with a beat that we as DJs find and flip that beat itself.. manipulating the beat live with our hands. Where as in this case, a lot the manipulation with regards to timing is being done on a computer through production beforehand. But thats just a part of how DJing has evolved. Fly didn’t need serato to do this set.. he could have easily pressed the 2 tracks that he produced onto vinyl and done it just the same.. I didn’t really see him doing anything that required him to use cue points.. and the one effect i saw him use (echo) was onboard and would have worked without the use of a laptop.
With regards to this whole “technical vs funk” argument that is implied in this thread.. I personally feel like difficulty is rewarded in priority to overall sound in these battles… and that’s where turntablism started to lose it’s funk. When it started losing its funk and becoming technical, it also started losing its entertainment value. Which is why I think that the DMCs might not be as popular as they once were. Overall it goes back to what the judges are rewarding.. Just say a competitor disses everyone else in the battle and really gets the crowd going.. If the judges aren’t going to take into account the creativity used for disses, along with the crowd reaction.. and the judges place a competitor last because his/her set wasn’t as complex as the next DJ, then that dj will learn and try to make his set more complex and less creative because he wants to win.. or.. alternatively, become frustrated and not compete the next year. And for those of you who know me.. yes.. that was being passive aggressive hahaha.. Ultimately, the judges dictate how we evolve as DJs.. not for me.. the audience dictates…
If the judges say that so and so wins… and the video goes around the world and 99% of the world feels the same way about it.. Then I believe the people have spoken!!!
(if you’ve ade it this far then sorry it was so long)
This routine has never been bettered IMO. Absolutely flawless, incredibly technical but actually fun to listen to as well http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJLQG0TAp_s
That performance was awesome! Yep, definitely something lost for the DMC when folk switched from vinyl.
Totally agree! Kentaro has been one of the best ever… though Shiftie and others made some nice and fun routines too…
This routine gets me everytime. The beats are really simple but his variations and even simple uses of EQ make this routine standout. When the beats are this simple it’s really easy for mistakes to be heard but his timing is tight.
hell yeah. that routine has tons of breaks i love. an he is making them on the spot!
Thank you for sharing this! Hadn’t seen it before and I had this huge shit-eating grin on my face from start to finish.
If they don’t load tracks – or better – change records, I get kinda bored. Or is was just this set… I rather watch scratch bastard take it away with his gasmask and wig.
The “Unstoppable” Chrissss…..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nt54OfoQv_A
that video was insane
PRE-mix Championships
I wish Shiftee was still competing.
At the very least they shouldn’t be able to have the entire routine contained in one track/file (per deck). They should be able to have it all set up in advance, sure, but the least that should be required is to change the track and cue it up every time there is a new track.
Many of the later winners when it was still all vinyl were getting their whole set cut onto custom records anyway. It would be nice to see the screen though.
Extremely technical, but I miss the groove the old school guys, Craze, Qbert, etc.. had/have.
Yeah, this really fell short in terms of any musicality context. Agreed that it was technically impressive, but I feel like it didn’t go anywhere.
I was just about to post something to that effect, fully agree.
Practising to a metronome wouldn’t have hurt either, for a DMC champion I found all a bit loose.
you can’t really practice this stuff over a metronome, it’s like saying practice mixing over a metronome… I mean it’s possible but you can probably tell when you go off already, and I’m sure he can too but he’s doing hyper technical stuff on an unfamiliar setup in front of heaps of people so it’s gonna get a bit loose.
I dont even think it was technical, he was pretty off beat with everything and always had doubles playing, never actually mixed anything, he was moving his hands fast but that was all I saw.
Dunno, 3:14 was pretty groovin, musically. choppin up that guitar 🙂