Scratch

In 1975, at the age of 12, Theodore Livingston (aka Grand Wizzard Theodore) inadvertently discovered the sound of scratching (manually manipulating a section of sound on vinyl) in his bedroom, after being yelled at by his mom to “turn it down.” He was already on his way to becoming a DJ. As hip-hop music became more formalized in the 70’s, one of its foundations was DJ/MC combos, with MC’s rapping (called “toasting” in the mid 70’s) over complex DJ sonics, the split-second scratching made possible by the invention of direct-drive turntables such as Matsushita’s Technics SL-1200. Eventually, in the ’80s, MC rappers became divorced from their DJ and club roots and rappers became the most financially viable component of hip-hop (as is true today). As Scratch reveals, though, DJ culture, also known as Turntableism, has lived on and in some circles is as vital as ever.

Doug Pray’s Scratch is an important document of the origins of a profoundly influential musical movement. It interviews not only Theodore Livingston, but Afrika Bambaataa, who fought for creating a non-violent Universal Zulu Nation, was one of the first to discover scratching, and virtually single-handedly created the electro funk genre, mixing the sound of disparate electric groups like Yellow Magic Orchestra and Kraftwerk with funk and hip-hop.

Mix Master Mike, known for DJ’ing for The Beastie Boys, is not the only person interviewed who says he was inspired to explore Turntableism due to the 1984 Grammy Awards broadcast of Herbie Hancock and Grand Mixer DXT performing Rockit. Performing since the 50’s (initially performing classical music), Hancock had already been at the forefront of several musical innovations, joining the Miles Davis Quintet in the 60’s, contributing to Davis’ post-bop explorations in the late 60’s and spearheading fusion with the LP Head Hunters (1973). In 1983, he helped spread the new electro funk with his album Future Shock, the first mixture of jazz and hip-hop, utilizing the talents of DXT, “the first person to establish the turntable as a fully performable and improvisational musical instrument.” The live TV performance inspired many kids far and wide, introducing them to scratching.

To appreciate the extraordinary subtlety and precision involved in manipulating and remixing samples, look no further than DJ Shadow, whom Scratch also interviews. The owner of over 60,000 LPs, Shadow’s earliest recordings were genre-busting hybrids of “funk, rock, hip hop, ambient, jazz, soul, and used-bin found records.” In fact, the “trip hop” genre name was created in a critic’s review of his early work. Scratch also covers current DJ conventions and performances, the art of producing beats, and the demand among youth for access to knowledge about DJ’ing.

Although Scratch doesn’t go there, it’s my contention that hip-hop sampling and mixing (used in creating new work) has a clear through-line not just from R&B, funk and reggae, but from classical music of the 20th century. In his pioneering Ethnomusicology, the Hungarian Béla Bartók (born 1881) used and refashioned found folk melodies in his work. American modernist Charles Ives did him one better by speeding up, slowing down, overlapping and dissecting in his compositions hymns, patriotic songs, parlor ballads, and the melodies of Stephen Foster.Conquer your neighbourhood, conquer your city, conquer your country, and then go after the rest of the world. That’s my mantra. ~Grandmaster Flash Later, Edgar Varese, known as the Father of Electronic Music, combined orchestral and tape sound composition, creating art from recordings; he was an influence on both avant-garde experimentalist John Zorn and Frank Zappa. Finally, minimalist Steve Reich used tape loops to create phasing patterns. His first major work, It’s Gonna Rain, composed in 1965, used, as Wikipedia describes, “a fragment of a sermon about the end of the world given by a black Pentecostal street-preacher known as Brother Walter. Reich built on his early tape work, transferring the last three words of the fragment ‘It’s gonna rain!’ to multiple tape loops which gradually move out of phase with one another.” And, “In 1999, Rolling Stone magazine dubbed Reich “The Father of Sampling” and compared his work with the parallel evolution of hip-hop culture by DJ’s such as Kool Herc and Grandmaster Flash.”

Even The Beatles were experimenting with remixed samples by the late 60’s. It’s only a short skip and jump from 60’s experimental music sampling to 70’s hip-hop sampling. In short, music always takes advantage of whatever new technology is there for it to utilize.

—Michael R. Neno, 2017 Oct 4
 

Scratch is available in a two-disc DVD set, packed with extras. Also check out this great 30th Anniversary set.