SE2 week 3 – Jam session live @ Star Pines cafe
February 7, 2010 by Laurent
Filed under Guest Mixes, Live Sessions, Podcasts (all)
Week 3 of our joint Turntable Radio and Rhythm Incursions special featuring exclusive live audio from Ken One’s ‘Skratch Evolution 2′ event. If you missed the first two weeks you can catch up here for week 1, featuring Ken One live, and here for week 2, featuring a live set from Naoki. Full details of the month-long series is at the bottom of the post.
This week we’ve got a very tasty jam session from the event on Turntable Radio featuring the combined talents of Ken One, Naoki, Ichiro_, DJ Duct, DJ Keita, Audace and XLII. Over on Rhythm Incursions we’ve got edits of the Dolbee & Sibitt and XLII, Audace and Dyna live shows.
The jam session took place at the end of the evening and features pretty much every artist who performed on the night. The line up is: Ken One, Naoki, Audace, DJ Duct and Keita on turntables, loopers and effect, XLII on the laptop and Ichiro_ on guitar. For an improvised session, the 30 minutes that came out are of an impressive quality, spanning the spectrum of influences and styles that these guys each cover – from downtempo to hip hop beats, electronic to dub vibes.
Be sure to check each individual artist’s myspace and website for more on each. They all have various releases out now and upcoming and I recommend that if you like what you hear you check them all out, the music is well worth your time.
And don’t forget to check Rhythm Incursions for live edits from sets by Dolbee and Sibitt and XLII, Audace and Dyna.
For now though sit back and enjoy this improvised jam session with some of Tokyo’s finest and come back next week for the final installment in our series.
Download Skratch Evolution jam session (right click and save as)
SE2 special line up:
- Week 1
- Rhythm Incursions – Ichiro_ live
- Turntable Radio – Ken One live
- Week 2
- Rhythm Incursions – DJ Duct live
- Turntable Radio – Naoki live
- Week 3
- Rhythm Incursions – XLII + Dolbee&Sibitt (志人） live edits
- Turntable Radio – Skratch Evolution jam session
- Week 4
- Rhythm Incursions – Ken One Skratch Evolution promo mix
- Turntable Radio – DJ Duct Skratch Evolution promo mix
- Week 1
- Rhythm Incursions – Ichiro_ live
- Turntable Radio – Ken One live
- Week 2
- Rhythm Incursions – DJ Duct live
- Turntable Radio – Naoki live
- Week 3
- Rhythm Incursions – XLII + Dolbee&Sibitt (志人） live edits
- Turntable Radio – Skratch Evolution jam session
- Week 4
- Rhythm Incursions – Ken One Skratch Evolution promo mix
- Turntable Radio – DJ Duct Skratch Evolution promo mix
- Week 1
- Rhythm Incursions – Ichiro_ live
- Turntable Radio – Ken One live
- Week 2
- Rhythm Incursions – DJ Duct live
- Turntable Radio – Naoki live
- Week 3
- Rhythm Incursions – XLII + Dolbee&Sibitt (志人） live edits
- Turntable Radio – Skratch Evolution jam session
- Week 4
- Rhythm Incursions – Ken One Skratch Evolution promo mix
- Turntable Radio – DJ Duct Skratch Evolution promo mix
SE2 week 2 – Naoki live @ Star Pines cafe
January 31, 2010 by Laurent
Filed under Guest Mixes, Live Sessions, Podcasts (all)
We continue our Turntable Radio and Rhythm Incursions Japan special with week 2 of exclusive audio from Ken One’s Skratch Evolution 2 event, held in Kichijoji, Tokyo in December 09. If you missed part 1 check it here.
Up this week we have a live set from Naoki, while over on Rhythm Incursions we have a DJ Duct live set. Full schedule of the 4-week long special is at the bottom of this post.
Naoki is someone I discovered thanks to Ken One when I was living in Tokyo. Well actually I met him alongside Ken, as he’s one of the few fluent DJs living in Tokyo and was an integral help in setting up the sessions we did in Tokyo in 07 and 08. It’s at that time I learnt he had already been making a name for himself on the Tokyo and Japanese tablist scene, most notably coming runner up at the 05 Vestax freestyle battle. He lost to Enfoe, from Texas, in a battle many agree is one of the closest and best Vestax ever ran.
Following this he’s been working alone, as well as with Ken One and Shige with whom he forms the Exsample band. Unfortunately I don’t think he has a myspace or website, but last I heard he was working on a break record that should be out now. We’ve also aired a few exclusive tracks of his in the past so be sure to check the archives for more.
EDIT: Turns out he does have a myspace, which you can check here for tracks and videos.
This live set is quite different from some of the music we’ve featured from him in the past and it’s a refreshing listen – electro and house styles sitting comfortably alongside more straight forward live tablist action and some seriously heavy drumming and cutting. I think it’s fair to say that this live set shows just why this young man is one of the country’s most talented tablists. I sure hope we get to hear more from him in the future.
So sit back and enjoy 40 mins of Naoki live, and be sure to also check Rhythm Incursions for some DJ Duct action this week.
Download Naoki live at Star Pines cafe (right click and save as)
SE2 special line up:
SE2 week 1 – Ken One live @ Star Pines cafe
January 24, 2010 by Laurent
Filed under Guest Mixes, Live Sessions, Podcasts (all)
As mentioned a few weeks back on Rhythm Incursions we’re starting a series of weekly podcasts, lasting a month, featuring exclusive live audio from Ken One’s recent ‘Skratch Evolution 2‘ event. Held at Kichijoji’s Star Pines cafe, this musical evening featured a rather interesting mix of Tokyo’s underground music scenes with scratch DJs, producers and MCs coming together for a series of live showcases alongside some live painting. This was Ken’s second such event, up a notch from the first which was a more scratch-centered affair.
These podcasts also form the first joint Rhythm Incursions and Turntable Radio series, something I’ve been wanting to do for a while but hadn’t yet been able to. Every weekend for the next month we’ll be airing two exclusive live sets from the event, one on Turntable Radio and one on Rhythm Incursions showcasing the majority of the acts that appeared on the night. The schedule goes something like this:
So as you can see plenty to get stuck into, from the laid-back beats of Ichiro_ to the electronic hip hop of XLII via some of the best scratchers on the Tokyo underground.
We start the series on Turntable Radio with our old friend from Tokyo Ken One himself, who delivered a live set on the night that is true to form – plenty of quality routines, scratches and re-interpretations. Ken’s live sets keep getting better it seems, as he doesn’t rely on old tricks and always brings something new to the sets, whether it be a re-interpretation of previous productions/routines or something entirely new. Regular listeners will know that we’ve featured a fair bit of his live stuff in recent years and this is by far my favourite live set of his I think. If you’re new to his work then I suggest you hit up our archives to keep up to speed on the man and the music.
Not only was Ken’s set on the night rather good, he’s also to thank and congratulate for pulling this event together – a step up from his first attempt and definitely a nice opportunity for people to discover the variety and talent on the Tokyo underground, something that is too often difficult to discover when you’re not on the right side of the world.
For more info on Ken and his recent releases (including an excellent mix he released for free) head over to his myspace.
And if you like what you hear than be sure to check Rhythm Incursions for Ichiro_’s live set, which is also a keeper.
Massive thanks go to Ken One and all the artists for making this possible. It’s a real pleasure to be able to showcase more of the Tokyo underground to the rest of the world like this.
We’ll be back next week with part 2, featuring the rather incredible DJ Duct and Naoki. Till then crank up the volume and 聞いてください！
Download Ken One live at Star Pines cafe (right click and save as)
Beat4Battle TV: Japan – Episode 3
January 5, 2010 by Laurent
Filed under Live Sessions, Podcasts (all), Video Podcasts
We return for 2010 in full effect with our roving scratch reporter Yoshi and his Beat4Battle TV series. This is episode 3 of the Japan series, which sees Yoshi hooking up with, and filming, a selection of the best, and often slept-on, Japanese turntablists.
For episode 3 he went all the way to Tanashi (actually not that far, it’s in the suburbs of Tokyo) to film DJ Rockhill, a seriously talented guy who I think most people definitely aren’t really up on – I know I wasn’t, even if the name was a little familiar from my time in Japan.
As with our previous episodes B4B TV is brought to you in .m4v format, optimised for iPod and iTunes viewing but viewable on all media players and computers. If you have any problems we recommend updating your codecs before anything else. This episode is 9 mins long and comes in at 105mb in size.
Many thanks to Yoshi for his work and time and to Rockhill for coming through. A seriously tasty show to start us off in 2010!
Look out for a series of special joint Turntable Radio and Rhythm Incursions podcasts coming up later this month and focusing on the Japanese scene once more, this time featuring both producers and scratch DJs that appeared at Ken One’s ‘Skratch Evolution’ party. This series will feature both audio and video podcasts.
For now though, sit back and enjoy Rockhill’s freestyles. You can stream the episode above and download it below. And if you don’t want to miss another one than we suggest you sign up to either our RSS, iTunes feed or email newsletter to be informed everytime a new podcast goes out.
Download Beat4Battle TV:Japan ep 3 (right click and save as)
Beat4Battle TV: Japan – Episode 3
Featuring: DJ Rockhill
Filmed and Edited by Yoshi. Filmed at Rockhill’s studio, Tanashi, Tokyo in September 2009.
Beat4Battle TV: Japan – Episode 2
November 2, 2009 by Laurent
Filed under Live Sessions, Podcasts (all), Video Podcasts
We return to the B4B:TV Japan series after a little hiatus, and this time we bring you footage of some of Tokyo’s finest, including Turntable Radio friend and favourite Naoki.
Episode 2 was filmed at the August 2009 Scratch Day event, a freestyle scratch event which Yoshi has been organising in Tokyo over the last couple of years. Following his recent move to Europe he has moved the event from the Vestax PACO shop to what is possibly Tokyo’s most appropriate location: Miyajima’s scratch school in Tachikawa (which is located in the suburbs of the Japanese capital). Regular listeners and visitors will remember Miyajima from our Japan special podcasts, as well as from his appearance at DMC in 08 and in various DVD documentaries about the Japanese scratch scene. It’s fair to say that for many, including some of the country’s best scratch DJs, Miyajima is seen as the best freestyle scratch DJ in Japan, a real purist who approaches scratching with the same rigorous mentality some people approach martial arts. And yet he’s still friendly and approachable and far removed from scratch nerds – he’s just someone who takes what he does seriously. Scratch Day events are now organised everytime Yoshi goes back to Japan. The latest one took place last week and we should see footage from that in the near future. Anyone interested in finding out more about the events or taking part should drop Yoshi a line via the site’s contact page or any of the social networks.
For this episode, Yoshi’s chosen to feature 5 of the DJs who took part on the day: Shintaro, Audace (a French DJ and producer who we’ve also featured on Rhythm Incursions recently), LAN, Naoki and Samu. This time he has gone for a tighter edit highlighting each DJ and their cutting in more detail. The footage also gives a nice view of Miyajima’s school and what the day was like. Definitely reminds me of the couple of live sessions I organised while in Tokyo, with a similar, relaxed vibe.
So that’s it, sit back and enjoy episode 2 and look out for the next one coming this way soon.
This episode is 10 minutes long, and comes in at 109mb. As with all our video podcasts it’s optimised for iPod and iTunes (.m4v file) viewing but can be played with all standard media players as long as you have the latest codecs.
You can preview/stream it above and download it right below. To make sure you don’t miss an episode subscribe to our podcast feed on iTunes or in any feed reader/aggregator/podcatcher.
Download Beat4Battle TV:Japan ep 2 (right click and save as)
Beat4Battle TV: Japan – Episode 2
Featuring: Shintaro, Audace, Samu, Lan and Naoki
Filmed and Edited by Yoshi. Filmed at Miyajima’s school in Tachikawa, Tokyo in August 2009.
Beat4Battle TV: Japan – Episode 1
September 9, 2009 by Laurent
Filed under Live Sessions, Podcasts (all), Video Podcasts
Ok so we’re still a little late with the long overdue ‘normal’ podcast show and resuming of the Mr Trick Years broadcast, but in the meantime we’re keeping you entertained with the first episode of the new B4B TV from Yoshi, this time shining a light on the Japanese scratch scene.
This first episode acts as a teaser of sorts too, as the series won’t actually start as such until next month. Yoshi’s moving to Europe for the year to study and so with the move and other important things on the line the actual B4B TV:Japan series won’t be broadcast weekly until later in October.
Here’s what Yoshi had to say about this particular episode, which features a rather unknown Tokyo skratch kid by the name of Lunch:
I was introduced to Lunch by a good friend of mine, LAN, who competed with him in a DJ battle called “Scratch Colosseum” that took place in early June this year. It turns out that Lunch is a student of Miyajima, another friend of mine and whom I consider to be one of if not the best scratcher in the world. This video was shot at Lunch’s friend’s house (Lunch said his own place was too messy to be filmed!) in Hon-Atsugi on the 30th July 2009. Please sit back, relax and enjoy the show!
Actually another change to the series, apart from the geographical setting, is the decision to keep episodes down to 10 mins in length. This is taking in feedback from various viewers and others. It also means the podcasts should be a little easier on your desktop/iPod/portable viewer!
This episode is 10 minutes long, and comes in at 106mb. As with all our video podcasts it’s optimised for iPod and iTunes (.m4v file) viewing but can be played with all standard media players as long as you have the latest codecs.
You can preview/stream it above and download it right below. To make sure you don’t miss an episode subscribe to our podcast feed on iTunes or in any feed reader/aggregator/podcatcher.
Download Beat4Battle TV:Japan ep 1 (right click and save as)
Beat4Battle TV: Japan – Episode 1
Featuring: DJ Lunch
Filmed and Edited by Yoshi.
Beat4Battle TV:UK – Episode 6
August 19, 2009 by Laurent
Filed under Live Sessions, Podcasts (all), Video Podcasts
And so we reach the end of the Beat4Battle TV:UK series, with episode 6. As Yoshi put it, it ends on number 6 just like any old BBC series! This time the spotlight it turned on yet another little known scratcher, Mikey originally from Hong Kong but currently residing in the UK. Here’s a little background info from Yoshi:
“Before I came up with the idea of “B4B TV” in early June, I didn’t have any plans for the summer other than a personal trip to Hong Kong with my friends in August. I knew that there was this one DJ from Hong Kong called Mikey, who is the 2006/2008 DMC champion there and also a very talented scratcher. I admired his exceptional skill and was eager to meet him, so I contacted him on Myspace to see if he would be free in the period that I’d be in HK. He replied to let me know that he in fact lives in Victoria, a fact to which I was delighted since I was already in the UK at the time. I went to his house on that weekend to have a session together and I continued to meet him for a session each weekend after, until my return to Tokyo. After I had filmed the material for the first five episodes of the series, I asked if he was down to be filmed for the sixth episode of “B4B TV: UK” to which he agreed. I think we filmed the episode on the second or the third of our weekend meets. Well, I hope that you enjoy this episode!”
This episode is 17 minutes long, and comes in at 206mb. As with all our video podcasts it’s optimised for iPod and iTunes (.m4v file) viewing but can be played with all standard media players as long as you have the latest codecs.
You can preview/stream it above and download it right below. To make sure you don’t miss an episode subscribe to our podcast feed on iTunes or in any feed reader/aggregator/podcatcher.
Despite this being the last Beat4Battle TV:UK episode it’s far from the end of the series itself. Up next we have a bonus episode (TBC), a Beat4Battle TV:China episode and then a new series focusing on the Japanese scene Beat4Battle TV:Japan. Before all of this, and unless my ridiculously charged schedule gets more ridiculous, I’ll be airing a new Turntable Radio podcast full of new music. More info on all of that soon!
Download Beat4Battle TV:UK ep 6 (right click and save as)
Beat4Battle TV: UK – Episode 6
Featuring: DJ Mikey
Filmed and Edited by Yoshi.
Beat4Battle TV:UK – Episode 5.1
August 11, 2009 by Laurent
Filed under Live Sessions, Podcasts (all), Video Podcasts
After a little holidaying break, which I’ve just found may have actually been filled with more filming, Yoshi’s back with episode 5 of Beat4Battle TV:UK. This time he shines a light on DJ Clix, someone you may not be too familiar with (I know I wasn’t!). Here’s a bit more explanation from Yoshi:
“This episode features DJ Clix, who is quite unknown but a very good scratcher and beatmaker. He contacted me through Myspace when he saw that I was looking for scratch DJs to film for B4B TV and we met up a day after the original e-mail. I already knew who he was because I saw a video he had out on YouTube a while back where he scratches and was quite impressed then. I’m glad that I can give him more exposure on Turntable Radio, in the amount he rightfully deserves for his skill. That’s what B4B TV is all about…”
So without further ado we proceed with episode 5. This episode is 18 minutes long, and comes in at 216mb. As with all our video podcasts it’s optimised for iPod and iTunes (.m4v file) viewing but can be played with all standard media players as long as you have the latest codecs.
You can preview/stream it above and download it right below. To make sure you don’t miss an episode subscribe to our podcast feed on iTunes or in any feed reader/aggregator/podcatcher.
Download Beat4Battle TV:UK ep 5 part 1 (right click and save as)
Beat4Battle TV: UK – Episode 5 part 1
Featuring: DJ Clix
Filmed and Edited by Yoshi.
Beat4Battle TV:UK – Episode 4.1
July 29, 2009 by Laurent
Filed under Live Sessions, Podcasts (all), Video Podcasts
A new week and a new episode of Beat4Battle TV:UK. This time Yoshi stopped by in London for a little informal session with Maroon from NozL, Discuss and Manipulate who are all part of the Community Skratch Games collective. 2tall and myself popped over to catch up with everyone and 2tall was promptly ropped into a couple of sessions too.
As with episodes 2 and 3, this is part 1 and the remaining parts will be put on Vimeo shortly for you to stream.
As usual big thanks to Yoshi for his hard work, and big ups to Discuss and the boys for the hospitality and laughs. Roll on the Community Skratch Tour later in August.
This episode is 22 minutes long, and comes in at 266mb. As with all our video podcasts it’s optimised for iPod and iTunes (.m4v file) viewing but can be played with all standard media players as long as you have the latest codecs.
You can preview/stream it above and download it right below. To make sure you don’t miss an episode subscribe to our podcast feed on iTunes or in any feed reader/aggregator/podcatcher.
Download Beat4Battle TV:UK ep 4 part 1 (right click and save as)
Beat4Battle TV: UK – Episode 4 part 1
Featuring: Discuss, Maroon, Manipulate and 2tall.
Filmed and Edited by Yoshi at Discuss’ house.
Beat4Battle TV:UK – Episode 3.1
July 21, 2009 by Laurent
Filed under Live Sessions, Podcasts (all), Video Podcasts
Looks like I made a mistake when I put this live yesterday and forgot to attach the podcast and even put it in the right category! I guess that’s why they say you shouldn’t work while on holidays. All fixed now, subscribers should see the podcast make its way to them shortly. Laurent.
And so we continue our Beat4Battle TV:UK series with Episode 3. This time Yoshi headed south to Brighton to hook up with some of the city’s best, namely Blood 1, Fidel Cutstro and Ideal. Regular listeners of the show will know these guys, all of which are also linked to the Community Skratch collective.
This episode is 24 minutes long once more, and comes in at 280mb. As with all our video podcasts it’s optimised for iPod and iTunes (.m4v file) viewing but can be played with all standard media players as long as you have the latest codecs.
You can preview/stream it above and download it right below. To make sure you don’t miss an episode subscribe to our podcast feed on iTunes or in any feed reader/aggregator/podcatcher.
Download Beat4Battle TV:UK ep 3 part 1 (right click and save as)
Beat4Battle TV: UK – Episode 3 part 1
Featuring: Fidel Cutstro, Blood 1, Ideal
