Interview: Two-times UK DMC Champion, JFB
Two-times UK DMC champion JFB found time during his busy schedule and current world tour for a quickfire interview with somethingyousaid.com’s 25ThC:
Who was the first scratch DJ who inspired you and how did you first hear about them?
Probably ‘Rock Raider’ RIP. I was 17 and my friend came round with the 1995 DMC World Champs VHS.
When and how did you first get into DJ/scratching?
I got turntables in 1996.
What equipment did you learn on?
Turntables and a mixer, not very good ones. In fact, very bad ones until 2003.
Tell us about your current live setup and how this allows you to be creative with your sets…
Two Technics turntables, Rane 62 & laptop, sometimes a midi controller. Anyone can be creative using whatever they have, but I’m very lucky to have what I have 🙂
You won the UK DMC championships not once but twice. How long did it take to prepare for each set and how much pressure were you under to repeat your original win?
In 2007 – two weeks for the first heat, then I stuck with my routine for the UK final. In 2011, I spent about three weeks on my routine. Both of these are on-and-off whilst doing other projects but I dedicated most of my time to it.
I saw you recently support and DJ with Beardyman at Concorde 2. It was a brilliant show. At the end you were sampling and and scratching beats/vocals that he had just recorded. Do you spend a lot of time jamming and practicing stuff like that, and what setup were you using?
Thanks. Yeah, we’ve spent a lot of time messing about over the years. It’s actually just using Serato’s record function.
I see that you will be touring Australia this year. Can you tell us where you will be playing and what you have in store for the shows.
I am on the tour now, four gigs down and eight to go, am having an amazing time with the awesome Canadians. I’ve got eight more gigs in BC then Alberta, then I’ve got some European gigs back home for two weeks then heading out to Auzzyland and Asia for loads of gigs. I will be playing party sets with loads of scratch routines.
You are also working hard on an album this year. Can you tell us what we can expect from this?
It’s nearly finished! I’ve gotta wait until after the world tour to really finish it though. So far there’s lots of D&B, breakbeat tracks, multi-genred.
The world of DJing now heavily revolves around technology. What features would you like to see in future software/updates and how would that help enhance your sound?
I would really like a floating DJ table so there would be less vibration problems affecting the needles for Serato. Also, it would look good. Hologram technology could push the boundaries further. Actually loads of stuff, but I’d be going on for ages.
There are a lot of aspiring DJs out there. What would be your best piece of advice to them to stand out from the crowd?
Well, it depends how much they wanna stand out. They could just make really sick tunes and get well-known for that, or new skillz, or they could do really weird stuff on stage, haha.
You can check out more of JFB’s routines at his YouTube page.
Interview by 25ThC
