Scratch, Rattle And Roll: The Evolving Spin Of `Turntablism'

New Yorker John Carluccio is three things: an architect, an art historian and a hip-hop filmmaker. He sees nothing unusual in this set of credentials; in fact, one craft led directly to another.

"I remember sitting in my art class at Pratt Institute, hearing a Public Enemy song go by in the street. I thought then, `Art history is happening now! Why can't we deal with that! Why not recognize it?' "

In making "Battle Sounds," which he brings to Seattle next week, Carluccio acted on his college epiphany. The film is an in-depth, hourlong documentary that took three collaborators (Carluccio, his brother Paul and pal Rio Valledor) four years to complete. "Battle Sounds" traces the roots and evolution of "turntablism": the musical language being created by virtuoso DJs.

Turntablists emerge from practice spaces to "battle" in public. Their competitions - judged on skills, but also showmanship - take place all over the world. London has its Disco Mix Championships; sites from Australia to Austin, Texas, stage battles for the International Turntablist Federation; and Manhattan hosts the New Music Seminar competitions.

The term "turntablism" was coined by L.A.'s DJ Babu, who defines it as "use of the turntable in the spirit of a musical instrument." Babu is one of a West Coast turntablist crew, the Beat Junkies, founded in 1992 by DJ J-Rocc. Such crews - like the Invisibl Skratch Piklz, the Beat Perverts and The X-ecutioners - expand on the scratching and "beat juggling" of hip-hop's earliest DJs. They are attempting to create a new "audio language," using only a pair of turntables, vinyl discs and a mixer.

Eschewing the term

Seattle's DJ Strath Shepard works for Conception Records, whose compilation "Walkman Rotation" was mixed by turntablist J-Rocc. But like most Puget Sound spinners, Shepard himself eschews that title. "A lot of people might call themselves turntablists. But when you spend serious time working your tables, you know how hard those skills are to attain. You can be a veteran party DJ, a radio DJ, but are you making a new sound with the turntables? Are you making a kind of music that is clearly new?"

Educated listeners, Shepard notes, can tell the difference. "Say someone puts on two copies of a James Brown record. Even with a skilled DJ mixing on the decks, you'll know that record is the one that's up there. But with a turntablist, you won't. You won't be able to hear a tune you know really well. And, unlike sampling, it happens in front of your eyes."

This fact recalls the very beginning of hip-hop, when the genre's focus was on battles known as "throwdowns." When the music moved into best-selling records, however, emphasis was shifted from the DJ's art at the decks to the talents and personalities of the genre's rappers.

`A tremendous work ethic'

Carluccio's film features DJs redressing the balance. "If you say `hip-hop' now, everyone thinks of rap. Rap and a few flashy MCs who get in trouble," Carluccio says. "But that's not what I see. I see discipline, teamwork, open-mindedness. I see a youth culture with a tremendous work ethic."

From the beginning of his project, the filmmaker tried to echo this. He established "Battle Sounds" as a nonprofit collective, one with a monthly newsletter mailed around the world. It told how the film was going, solicited donations and asked about upcoming battle locations. "Battle Sounds" also ran a Web site and sold short videos, previews of the cinematic work-in-progress.

Carluccio has handled his footage like a record collection: He made "director's cuts," "re-mixes" and special projects. At different stages, the interim cuts were screened at sites from Australia's Planet Hollywood to the Whitney Museum of American Art.

Seattle hip-hop fans are very aware of turntablism. Since 1996, its stars have been performing here, including The X-ecutioners and Invisbl Skratch Piklz . Last year, locals Soul and DV One even staged a battle for the International Turntablist Federation.

This month, however, the action moved more above ground. On Aug. 1, Seattle turntablists E-Rok and DJ Ace initiated a venture they called Tech-Styles. Although Tech-Styles began with a turntable battle, it also plans to embrace "open table" freestyling, showcases and DJ classes. To accompany Carluccio's film premiere, Tech-Styles will hold a showcase and a panel discussion.

An emphasis on education

Says E-Rok, "It's important to provide some education; it's the only way you can elevate and advance the music." He laughs. "Besides, you really need those panel discussions. You always get questions like, `When you scratch the record, does that really ruin the vinyl?' "

DJ Ace, a former drummer, steps in to answer. "Vinyl is no different than any conventional instrument. It's just a matter of wear and tear. If you play drums, eventually you have to replace the heads."

For the novice, "Battle Sounds" provides similar education. One, it focuses not on rappers, but on DJs. Two, it traces the evolution of what DJs do, from pioneers such as Kool Herc and Cash Money to stars of the moment such as QBert and Roc Raider. Perhaps most important for any newcomer, it demystifies the DJ's art with demonstrations.

Carluccio sees explanation as important. "Because on MTV, on BET, hip-hop guys always get away with `You know what I'm saying?' I wanted outsiders to know why these guys are artists. So I phrased all my questions very narrowly. I'd say, `No, I don't; I don't really know what you're saying. Break it down for me.' "

The result is a vibrant narrative, one that moves around the world, pauses in different neighborhoods and switches from bedroom practice sessions to international battles. The film charts the rise of a postmodern art form, one that's less about image and language than combinations of sound and silence. "There's not many social issues involved," says Carluccio firmly. "It's all about a music; it's mostly about aesthetics."

The film deconstructs those moves that create turntablism: scratches with such colorful names as the "orbit," the "flare" and the "crab." Inserted into routines, these create a startling language, one that greatly resembles free-form jazz. For Carluccio, this was part of his attraction. "What these guys have created is very like be-bop. They can articulate through scratches, pitch-shifting and cross-fading. Initially, like jazz, this was thought of merely as noise. But now it's not; it's a growing, developing music."

He is not the only one who sees it as a quantum leap. What rock guitars were to the '60s, maintains DJ Ace, turntables will be in the 21st century. "As a DJ, you play records made by other people. As a turntablist, you are making what you play. You can express scratching in terms of eighth-notes and rests. It's not orthodox, but it's a new reality."

It's also selling well. Tapes of DJ competitions are extremely popular, as are videos like "Turntable Wizardry." So are turntablist albums, from The X-ecutioners' "X-Pressions" (Asphodel) to the enhanced CD "Invisibl Skratch Piklz Vs. the Clams of Death." Turntablist groups and fans run extensive Web sites, and the music's audience is extremely diverse.

"Turntablism has a wide group of listeners," says E-Rok. "Sometimes it goes over the heads of hardcore hip-hop people. Of course turntablism came out of hip-hop. But it gravitates towards being its own genre. That grabs a lot of people: electronica fans, ambient heads, all sorts of jazz types."

For Carluccio, the music changed his filmmaking. "I try to use a lot of what I've learned in my editing. To make it soulful and spiritual, not MTV-flashy. It's not just about technique; things need to be meaningful. Take the flare scratch, for instance. You can know how to do it. But if you don't know when to use it, how to put it in to express something, then you don't really understand it at all."

He shrugs. "That's the difference, that's what I try to show. There's a gap between the craftsperson and the original artist."

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-- "Battle Sounds: The Whitney Cut" will be shown at 8 p.m. Aug. 25 at ARO.Space, 925 E. Pike St.; admission $4; 206-320-0424. "TechStyles 2" screens the film at 2 p.m. Aug. 29 at E.H.A.S., 832 Second Ave.; admission $2; 206-324-6958. For more information, e-mail E-Rok at Rok1@yahoo.com

-- At 7 p.m. Saturday, DV One presents an all-star "Freestyle Session" at Seattle Center, 305 Harrison St. This will be followed Sunday by a Park Jam with the same cast. Call 206-975-7853 or 888-789-3462 for information.

-- Listen for live, in-studio scratching on KCMU's "Rap Attack," under new hosts Mr. Supreme and Kutfather, every Sunday from 6 to 8 p.m. on 90.3 FM.

-- The "Battle Sounds" Web site is: www.dubon.com/battlesounds