A couple of weeks ago, we reported about how the reborn and DJ friendly Technics brand was returning to the DMC DJ Battle. It’s a welcome return and brings back a certain nostalgic value to the event. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that DMC is harking back to glory days, for they’re embracing the hot young thing that is portablism, and along with Numark have set up a Portablist final.
Obviously there are rules — this is from their Facebook post:
Numark presents The 2019 DMC Portablist Final – DJs can upload their 60 second videos today! Anyone can upload their set for their chance to represent at The DMC World Final on Saturday 28th September.
Videos must be 60 seconds long and the DJs must use a Numark PT01. The final 3 DJs chosen by the DMC World Champions perform on stage at the world final for their chance to be crowned the Numark 2019 Portablist Champion.
(DJs who enter are responsible for their own travel to London).
And this is from the above link, and details the whole process:
PORTABLIST EVENT 2019
Welcome to the Portablist Event Final.
Uploading begins: Tuesday 30th July
Videos sent to the Judges: Tuesday 20th August
Winners announced: Tuesday 27th AugustHOW IT WORKS
HOW THE DJ COMPETITION WORKS
This Portablist DJ competition launches on July 30th and is open to any DJ that is able to take care of their own costs to travel to the DMC World Final (Saturday 28th September, Islington Assembly Hall, London).
The Portablist online event opens on 30th July and closes on 20th August 2019.
There will be one online round. There is no public voting in this event. DJs can submit and upload their performance online and on 20th August they will be sent to DMC World Champion judges who will decide which 3 DJs will perform in the Portablist Final on stage at The DMC World Final on Saturday 28th September @ Islington Assembly Hall.
On 20th August the judges results will be revealed and we will announce the three DJs that will go through to the LIVE World Final.
DJs click here to sign up (not yet active)
(THERE WILL BE NO PUBLIC VOTING. THE EVENT WILL BE JUDGED BY THE DMC WORLD CHAMPIONS ONLY)
HOW TO ENTER
Step 1
If you are a DJ and want to enter the online competition you will need to register!Step 2
Once you have registered to enter the DJ competition, you will receive an email giving you instructions on how to upload your video.Step 3
Once you have uploaded your video your video and the video has been accepted, we will email you to confirm. We will send the videos to the World Champions on Tuesday 20th August and will announce the winners on 27th August.
I HAVE QUESTIONS
Obviously this is great news. Battling has always been part of turntablism, and now for better or worse, it seems part of portablism too. It’s certainly validation for the scene, and gives portablists an officially recognised title to aim for. Now, someone can be crowned the one true Portablist.
Being part of the DMC battle, the question of prizes springs to mind. I was pondering the regular DMC battle, and how the gold Technics turntables were a much coveted prize.
Q. Is Technics putting up any prizes?
Q. If so, is a pair of gold 1200 MK7s going to be a prize for the main final winners?
Q. If however a DJ uses Rane TWELVEs to win, would they win gold TWELVEs or gold 1200s? Or both?
Q. In the case of the Portablist battle, will there be a gold PT01 Scratch for the winner? (Hint — it definitely should be).
Q. Does the Portablist winner walk away with not a full-sized, but a very small DMC winner’s jacket? ;)
Given that the three online Portablist winners have to fly themselves to London from their corner of the world (you need to bear this in mind before deciding to enter), there needs to be something solid on offer, and not just walking away with another PT01 Scratch.
Getting back to the actual competition, it was supposed to start yesterday, but there appears to be no way of signing up and submitting video at the time of writing. Keep checking back at this page for updates.
I think its pretty cool. Having to eat my own travel costs kills it for me tho.
They should win a jacket the size of those mini football kits you see hanging on the back windscreen of those beat up Corsas and Astras.
Usually Man City or Everton.
I’ll take it. Anything to divert from the predictably impressive and skillful monotony that has become of DVS in the DMC.
unnecessary in my book. its just a scratch battle but with lower quality of gear.
But it brings new skills due it’s weight, torque, arm… specifications. I suppose all modifications are allowed.
OTOH how djs are going to manage the skill level between portables and twelves? Without arm there is still scratching?
I still see a lot of contradiction but the fact Technics is returning and DMC tries to reinvent itself could bring a spark of hope for the die hards… even maybe Technics keep pushing the envelop in ttablism…
I still see this dying from relative numbers of aficionados but almost keep alive with the underground (as usual).
Things like the new Numark mixer which is great and seems better build than Z2 but then market seems weird (top mixers 3x expensive but focused on ttablism meanwhile NI and other brands going bedroom…) so Portablism in DMC makes sense. It could bring the new generations and makes a good start price point (the new reloop portable seems well balanced in price/specs)
IDK… I want to believe… and I was scratching two weeks ago with 20 yo friends… but if I should invest money my pocket is still on Z2 or APCs etc. Smartmixing is even nichier than ttablism but it’s potential market is infinite against it in my country (and I’m not going to live or gig to States). Someone should sponsor Rasteri and brand the SC1000 for the masses so kids could buy these like calculators… it would be enough? Probably not but “as is” I can’t see the popular crowd regrowing interest on Scratch Arts.
Musicality needs to be more integrated in DMC to get the same popularity than Threestyle IMHO.
So, Numark asks from the DJs to use their own TTs only, DMC pockets the sponsor money and the portablists are left with a “DMC type of honorable prize”, while paying for the whole thing out of their own pockets.
GTFOH.