Mr Switch talks DMC World DJ Championships
The DMC World DJ Championships 2018 rolls back into London for another all day extravaganza on Sunday 7 October 2018. Last year’s champion DJ Rena, at 12 years old the youngest ever in the championship’s 33 year history, is back to defend his title. Previous world champions also return to showcase their skills and provide workshops, and this year there is even a competition for DJ’s using portable decks. 25ThC is heading to the show and caught up with Mr Switch for a quick preview of what to expect:
One of your most recent videos featured JFB and yourself abusing the new Rane Twelve deck using your faces and feet to scratch! You are performing together again at a showcase set for the DMC. How do you go about putting together your set and ensuring that the crowd witness something innovative and fresh?
The routine we did with the Twelves was literally put together in a day! We had to work it all out before the shoot day as we were in different cities. JFB put the tracks together, came up with the rough structure, found the tracks & the parts. Then I played around with them, gave feedback & added my own spins & ideas to them.
Before that the Fatboy Slim routine we did we got to work together on it, and we built it step by step, working out the first bit before moving on to the second, which ensures you have a really solid structure.
JFB & I get on really well whenever we’re together – we both won UK titles the same year back in 2007, pop up occasionally at each other’s gigs & end up jumping on each other’s set. We were really keen to use & abuse the new kit! We’ll get together the week before the finals & work out our show – there are more outrageous ideas planned for the world final!
What are your thoughts on the new Rane Twelve deck and the forthcoming Phase hardware and how they may influence and progress the turntabilism culture?
I think they’re amazing steps forward & well overdue. I was a champion of the Denon 3900 digital turntable – a CD player with a rotating top platter, so you can scratch with them as if they are turntables, and you can also control Serato with them. They were 9 inch platters, compared to the Twelves 12 inch – I don’t think they took off in the same way as the Twelves partly because of that, which I think shows how old school & traditional the turntablist mindset can sometimes be. But I’m really glad the Twelves have exploded in popularity & have been pretty fully embraced.
Together with Fong Fong you are also going to be doing a workshop, which is always popular with fans. What tricks and techniques will you be teaching attendees?
We’ll be covering scratch techniques from the simple to the complex, breaking everything down, and also covering a lot of what is possible with the Twelve, some of the more advanced tricks & secrets that go with it. We might also go into some beat juggling things, and how you can perform top turntablist routines with them. It’s great that members of the audience are going to get to try their hand at brand new kit.
Portabilism is in itself a growing sub culture within the scene and this year at the DMC there is the first ever portabilist specific competition at the DMC. Why do you think this has become such a success with DJ’s, do you own any portable decks yourself and with only one deck how does a portabilist DJ stand out from the crowd?
I think the thing about the portables movement is that it’s really cool & unique – it’s a chance for DJs to get even more tech-nerdy than they generally are already. And scratching is a relative niche within the wider world of DJing, and portablism is kind of a niche within a niche! I think it allows more DJs to get together to jam than before, you’re less constrained by location & how much space there is in a room – you can cut it up on top of a mountain if you want! That’s obviously the other cool bit, you can DJ literally anywhere in the world.
I have a Vestax Handytrax which I use for digging, and also the really cool Mixfader – a Bluetooth free-standing crossfader – which lets you cut it up with vinyl, iPads, and also gives you freedom to be anywhere. I got to judge last year’s Mixfader World Finals which was of a pretty amazing standard. It strips the competition down to a purely scratching kind of level (although there are loads of bells & whistles you can still add), but the best competitors will have a good plan in mind, a rough or firm structure & plan, and give deep thought to which sounds to use, what beats to match them to, and how many techniques they have at their disposal.
Having won the title four times yourself, what advice do you have for the competitors this year and what do you think the Judges will be specifically looking out for?
The main thing the judges look out for is the new champion – someone who is outstanding from everyone else, and does a set that just screams “I’m the new champ”. Generally that will cover doing something technically new, or with amazing execution, a well-thought out & polished structure, with lots of variety in technique & music. My advice to competitors is vary your set as much as possible – it’s a 6 minute showcase, and it does surprise me when some people repeat the same technique with different tracks; show me what else you can do!
There’s a big buzz around this year’s final, DJs K Swizz from New Zealand & Rena from Japan are both competing, 2 of the youngest competitors ever in the competition & both under the age of 15. Rena is defending champion from last year, and K Swiss has a world title under his belt, so it’s going to be a clash! Everyone has to come fresh this year. I’m also especially looking forward to Chris Karns showcase (a previous world champ, DJ for Yelawolf & one of the dopest funkiest turntablists ever), and Prime Cuts of the Scratch Perverts, throwing down a solo battle set for the first time since retiring! So lots to look forward to!
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The DMC World DJ Championships 2018 take place in London on Sunday 7 October 2018. Get your tickets now from: https://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/DMC-World-Championships-tickets/artist/29947?tm_link=search_act_1_name
For more on Mr Switch go here: http://dj-mr-switch.com
Interview by 25ThC.
