Native Sessions: Rafik and Unkut talk turntablism

Time for some more Native Sessions courtesy of NI. This time, Rafik and Unkut take to the stage to deliver some history and performance.

https://www.facebook.com/traktorpro/videos/vb.47407107527/10153891692382528/?type=2&theater

Just before Christmas, Native Instruments ran one of their numerous Native Sessions. This one was focussed on the art of turntablism and featured Rafik‘s history of the craft, followed by a cool routine by Unkut, as well as some back and forth interviewing. Enjoy.

https://www.facebook.com/traktorpro/videos/vb.47407107527/10153901335722528/?type=2&theater

Mark Settle
Mark Settle

The old Editor of DJWORX - you can now find Mark at WORXLAB

Articles: 1228

20 Comments

  1. https://vimeo.com/42460111

    https://vimeo.com/25272459

    The first which upgraded their equipment were Dub producers searching for their own sound. Also dubplate (as the name points) came from them.

    As human beings became crystalized into “styles” that followers “copy” instead to “understand” they become replicators which defend “facts” that no one stated or were opinions. Then freedom to explore and keeping alive the “soul” are censored to keep the “form” as “identity” as group over “personality” as individual.

    This makes a gap between Live and living, between words and human being.

    Even the word turntablism limits individuals to a single gear and maneuvers making finger drumming something new related to controllerism which again is limited in the form of not including turntables in its original definition by Moldover (definition actualized it seems in some moment extracted from facing it against Ean Golden few time ago) when mpc and grooveboxes were in HipHop from early days… so and so…

    Words over human creativity to keep ourselves “real” and not “cheat” related to… what we enjoy or what we learn it should be the “artform”?

    I respect the effort from Rafik and the open mind when he talks about don’t want to make this point of view the only right or most important (debate later) and how digital djing could make things fall in their right place by themselves. Also NI to try keep the culture even when they seem leaving it to drop jogwheels from controllers. Maybe they understood that the best controller for scratching is just a turntable.

    When we start to understand these are tools to expressing ourselves the most authentic we can?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yCeduVJW9s

    Listen to Sifu Lee and try to make your own looking to the moon…

      • Well unkut in the second video said “I go from complex to simplicity”

        I can link the entire “Lost interview” but anyone could check it at youtube and see the moon…

        it only took 43 years to start understand. Not bad.

            • what i like about that video(of course its not the first “scratching in a car” vid) is that it makes you think the idea of djing/scratching might just become a integrated part if our daily lives, away from home.
              I first wrote about this right here at skratchworx in the comments of my review of the idj live. I wrote that I though people would be taking their portable scratcher (i incorrectly anticipated it would be an digital device like this one i made https://vimeo.com/31160008 ) with them to school and work.
              I was going to college and would often see guys bring guitars to school to play during their breaks and thought that djs could do the same thing.

  2. Definitely there were more major scratch releases before Rockit.

    Although Unkut has proper skills he talks about if some track isn’t dope he won’t put in his routine, but wat is the definition of dope these days? All i hear is club tunes wich end up in the garbage 99c sale bin in case it was a tangible.

    • As I understood he said that he should adapt himself to “fit” in club crowd taste and it find himself going from complexity (superfastcuts skillovermusicality) to simplicity (musicality and common sense content). He still could do some fast cuts but it is not an obsession or competition against himself to prove nothing to purist or self pride.
      It is the same than C2C vs Birdie Nam Nam debate.

      • this routine was more like a battle routine/workshop, i was talking about the music he played, he could have picked something dope for this audience, club music is for clubs but on the other hand Craze was there, he’s known to play garbage as well.

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