This year marks the sixth time I’ve attended the IDA World DJ Championships in Kraków, Poland. While I haven’t been competing myself after 2013, I’ve really grown attached to the IDA Family and wouldn’t miss that chance to hang out with all those awesome people. It’s the only event with such a high density of raw skill, and every single time I’ve walked home with some new ideas to work on.
Headlined by Qbert, Woody, Ritchie Ruftone and Irie, this year’s event was moved to a massive congress centre called ICE. It sold out, attracting a crowd of 2000 which – if I’m not mistaken – makes it the biggest turntablism competition in history. There’s really nothing I can say here that hasn’t been said before – it’s awesome and words don’t do it justice. Check it out this small selection from the official photo gallery (courtesy of staronphoto.com) and come see for yourself next year if you can. 2016 will be the 10 year anniversary of IDA, and the Zooteka crew will no doubt find ways to top what went down this time.
Although I’ve been busy hosting my #unrealDJing workshop and handling various other affairs at the event, I’ve still managed to set up one of my cameras to capture Woody performing his awesome “Hip Hop is 40” video DJ set on the Rane Sixty-Two. Like Irie (who just became the first DMC World Video DJ Champion), Woody is among the world’s best turntablists using video in their sets. I hear he’s also involved in a theatre production called “Blake Remixed” where he assembles both the soundtrack and 3D-mapped visuals to the piece live. Maybe we’ll be able to catch a glimpse of that some time in the future – for now, enjoy this trip through hip hop history. The other showcase performances and photos will be made available on IDA World’s official Facebook page.