Turntablism is a subgenre of pop music which emerged from hip hop. One who engages in turntablism is a turntablist, a term coined by DJ Babu whose mix-tapes bore the name "Babu the turntablist". Turntablists are DJs who use vinyl disc records, and turntable techniques like scratching or beat juggling in the composition of original musical works. Turntablism is generally focused more on turntable technique and less on mixing, rapping or vocal delivery. Some turntablists seek to have themselves recognized as a legitimate musician capable of interacting and improvising with other performers.

Turntablists like Roc Raida, Q-Bert, A-Trak, and Kid Koala owe a distinct debt to old school DJs like Grand Wizard Theodore, Grandmaster Flash, Afrika Bambaataa, and DJ Kool Herc who originally developed many of the concepts and techniques that evolved into modern turntablism. There are also more experimental turntablists such as Christian Marclay, Otomo Yoshihide, Philip Jeck and Janek Schaefer. Within the realm of hip hop, notable modern turntablists are the cinematic DJ Shadow, the experimental DJ Spooky and the jazzy RJD2. Cut Chemist and Nu-mark, members of old school hip hop collective Jurassic 5, and Mixmaster Mike, who collaborated with the Beastie Boys on 1998's Hello Nasty, are also known as virtuosos of the turntables.

Turntables were actually first used as musical instruments in the 1940's and 1950's by musique concrète and other experimental composers, such as John Cage, who used them in a manner similar to digital sampling. Hip hop DJs developed independently of the earlier techniques.

The International Turntablist Federation is an organisation which aims to promote turntablism, it also organises a turntablist world championship on a yearly basis (1997 - Present). Another prominent turntablist world championship organiser is the DMC Technics World Dj Championship (1986 - Present).

The selection of a champion comes from the culmination of the battles between turntablists.

Battling involves each turntablist performing a routine (a combination of tricks) within a limited time period, after which, the routine is judged by a panel of expert judges. The winner is selected based upon score.

See also

• List of turntablists
• Hip hop
• Beatmatching

Bibliography

• Eshun, Kodwo More Brilliant than the Sun. Adventures in Sonic Fiction. London: Quartet Books 1998. ISBN 0-7043-8025-0
• Poschardt, Ulf: DJ Culture. London: Quartet Books 1998. ISBN 0-704-38098-6

External links

• A History of Turntable Music (http://www.speech.kth.se/~hansen/turntablemusic.pdf)
• A History of Vinyl: Turntablism (http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/features/vinyl/turntable.shtml) from the BBC
• International Turntablist Federation USA (http://www.hip-hop.com/)
• DMC Technics DJ World Championships (http://www.dmcworld.com/technics/)