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The Vinyl Frontier, Part One: It's Not Just for DJs Anymore
Turntablists are the new musicians. We say you can't beat 'em -- so you might as well join 'em.
by James Rotondi
August 15, 2000
'You don't need to be Steve Vai to make compelling guitar music, and you don't need to have mastered DJ Craze's moves to make compelling turntable-based music'
There was a time when a rock band was a rock band, and a hip-hop crew was a hip-hop crew. Guitar was the virtuoso instrument in a rock band, and the turntable served the same purpose in a hip-hop crew. While guitarists went "wheedily-deedily-woo!" turntablists went "pucka-pucka-pucka!" and everyone was happy.
DJ Lethal (second from left) is Limp Bizkit's cut master.
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But times have changed: Big-time rock acts such as Beck, deftones, Limp Bizkit, Korn, and Incubus boast top turntablists, while rap stars enlist guitar heroes to spruce up their acts, as witnessed by the Puff Daddy/Jimmy Page connection on the Godzilla soundtrack's "Come with Me." The turntable, once a novelty in non-hip-hop outfits, has become an instrument in its own right.
In this article, we examine the basic technical and artistic elements of turntable performance. A more detailed examination of beat matching, scratching, and DJ gear will follow in part two, scheduled for publication at Harmony Central on September 12.
Next Page: What You Need to Know....
The former Features Editor of Guitar Player, James Rotondi has also written for Spin, Mojo, Keyboard, CMJ New Music Monthly, Bass Player, Amazon.com, The Wire and many others. As a guitarist he has recorded and performed with the Grassy Knoll, Ellis Paul, Trilon (featuring Michael Shrieve), Kai Eckhardt, and Metatron, and he's performed or co-composed on dozens of national TV and radio ads. He currently plays keyboards and guitar for Mr. Bungle. |
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