waxdestroyer Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 DJ Cheese entered and won one battle and then went on to do something else. Now he's posting up remixes of Chris Brown songs on SoundCloud. The DMC used to carry some weight. You'd have edited highlights of it on the BBC. Cutmaster Swift was on Wogan after he won - the biggest prime time chat show on BBC1. Those days are long gone though, although Jeff does seem to think it's still the 1980s based on some of his posts, lol. You aware there are 2 DJ cheeses? are you sure youre talking about the one from Plainfield? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted August 5, 2013 Author Share Posted August 5, 2013 Yeah, I'm aware of that. Here's his Chris Brown remix. It even has Word of Mouth samples in it: - https://soundcloud.com/djcheese-muzic-1/dj-cheese-remix-of-chris-brown Check his SoundCloud page. As for learning to mix in 1 day, you're out of your mind if you think that's all it takes. I can teach someone to baby scratch in 5 minutes though, so I guess scratching is even easier. Obviously I'm boiling scratching right down to the basics - but then that's just what you're doing with mixing, so that's fine. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted August 5, 2013 Author Share Posted August 5, 2013 Where have you gone, Jeff? To take that framed photo of DJ Cheese off your bedroom wall? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waxdestroyer Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 yeah i saw a couple of current Dj Cheese clips and he still scratches old skool hiphop besides the R&B he does on SC..doesnt matter..for him his 85 title was still the most rememorable moment he told in a radio interview and we will always remember him for his King Kut scratches..just like we will always remember DST for doing scratches for Herbie hancock. Sorry but i taught ppl how to mix..and most of them could pull it off it after a few hours..not saying everybody can but if you have some musical feeling and rhythm its pretty easy to learn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted August 5, 2013 Author Share Posted August 5, 2013 Yeah, I'm sure they were making wicked mixes after just a few hours practice. You should post them up, cos I bet they're as good as the ones people like Jon make. I did notice your mix in that DV 7" battle didn't have great beatmatching in it though, but perhaps you haven't practiced it for more than 24 hours yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottie(the)goonie Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 Instead of listening to a mix for 30 minutes to understand a DJ's skill level, you can listen to a 2 to 6 minute routine and get an idea of where they're coming from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 Instead of listening to a mix for 30 minutes to understand a DJ's skill level, you can listen to a 2 to 6 minute routine and get an idea of where they're coming from. Different skill sets are needed for both though? Some overlap but they're very different ways of performing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted August 5, 2013 Author Share Posted August 5, 2013 Instead of listening to a mix for 30 minutes to understand a DJ's skill level, you can listen to a 2 to 6 minute routine and get an idea of where they're coming from. Joke post? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dopez Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 mfw this whole thread 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kut_class Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 If theres an assumption that if ur a turntablist u can dj. Its not true... Plenty of top dj examples .. qbert is a great selector with hus finger on the pulse but his scratching is wack. Meanwhile andy c is one of the best scratchers ive ever seen, but his tune selection sucks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 In response to Steve's original post I'd argue that battling isn't pointless.Speaking from personal experience and experiences of others who have also battled and are much better, as well as being really fun, it's great for promotion and it gives you the impetus to develop your skill set. However, being a good battle DJ won't get you club/live gigs these days unless you transfer your battle skills into a different environment, be that writing tracks, producing, DJing, or performing live sets etc, which in turn you'll also have to be really good at. Scratching will still get you kudos and people outside of scratching will admire your dedication to it, but from my experience it's just an extra on top of your DJing/production ability. You need to be well rounded. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike-L Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 Mike - Post the mix that the dood made after 1 day of practice. I think some of you folks are missing the point though. I don't give a shit how difficult battling is. That doesn't have any bearing on the statement posed in the thread title. You shouldn't be getting butthurt that I've dissed your skills - I haven't. Get butthurt cos I've said your skills are largely fucking pointless if they're only used in the context of DMC battles. As a hypothetical, and one unrelated to the main theme of this thread, I would think his mix after a day would be far nearer a professional level than a beatmatching DJ's drumming ability after 1 day. That illustrates the difference in objective skills one has to master in both situations. The subjective things i.e song selection, taste,'soul' are just that ..subjective. In terms of battling, speed,complexity & "aggressiveness" are easier to spot by judges and that has influenced the battle scene to its detriment - and always has, its inescapable. Competitions are not necessary for the evolution of an artform, but can influence the course of its evolution. Drum kit playing is a little over a century old but has evolved loads. There are drum battles - there are entire LP's dedicated to them - but I don't think that's ever been the prime mover of progression. DJ routines are the equivalent to the bit of the Roots shows where Questlove does a crazy solo - it adds something to the show, but too much of it would take away. Even in my most dedicated battle practicing days though, a full night of battle routines would get boring. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waxdestroyer Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 Yeah, I'm sure they were making wicked mixes after just a few hours practice. You should post them up, cos I bet they're as good as the ones people like Jon make. I did notice your mix in that DV 7" battle didn't have great beatmatching in it though, but perhaps you haven't practiced it for more than 24 hours yet. these were 45s with irregular tempos...you should know that todays music is recorded with metronome and software is not the same as 70s and early 80s beats. i also pointed out that mixing with 45s is a bitch..thats why people invented the 12inch to make life a bit easier for DJs. jon is a telented guy, he can cut, backspin juggle and mix..i never said that it only takes one day to do what he does LMFAO! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Symatic Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 Britain's got talent is pointless. and it reels in millions. go figure. golf. that's pointless. bass fishing? pointless. antiques roadshow? pointless. Computer games? really pointless. replying to this thread? pointless 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted August 5, 2013 Author Share Posted August 5, 2013 In response to Steve's original post I'd argue that battling isn't pointless.Speaking from personal experience and experiences of others who have also battled and are much better, as well as being really fun, it's great for promotion and it gives you the impetus to develop your skill set. However, being a good battle DJ won't get you club/live gigs these days unless you transfer your battle skills into a different environment, be that writing tracks, producing, DJing, or performing live sets etc, which in turn you'll also have to be really good at. Scratching will still get you kudos and people outside of scratching will admire your dedication to it, but from my experience it's just an extra on top of your DJing/production ability. You need to be well rounded. But I said it was the "most" pointless thing, i.e. that there are other aspects that are less pointless. Your end goal isn't to be in DJ battles every year, right? If it wasn't used as merely a stepping stone, the same DJs would enter it year on year for a long time. But it's not that great of a stepping stone any more, cos like you say, you're not getting booked solely because you're a DMC champ these days, unless it's to do a showcase at a DMC itself. And the people who don't win don't even get that. @Mike - Skill level is completely unrelated to how pointless something is, i.e. the premise of this thread. @Jeff - Nice excuses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 In response to Steve's original post I'd argue that battling isn't pointless.Speaking from personal experience and experiences of others who have also battled and are much better, as well as being really fun, it's great for promotion and it gives you the impetus to develop your skill set. However, being a good battle DJ won't get you club/live gigs these days unless you transfer your battle skills into a different environment, be that writing tracks, producing, DJing, or performing live sets etc, which in turn you'll also have to be really good at. Scratching will still get you kudos and people outside of scratching will admire your dedication to it, but from my experience it's just an extra on top of your DJing/production ability. You need to be well rounded. But I said it was the "most" pointless thing, i.e. that there are other aspects that are less pointless. Your end goal isn't to be in DJ battles every year, right? Everyone's situation is different. Battling isn't my end goal at all and I'm actually quitting for the forseeable future after this season (for real this time), but it's been a good means to raise my profile (in addition to being fun etc) that, despite the hours I've put in, seemed to me to be 'less pointless' and more honourable than flyering or selling tickets for a promoter to get gigs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted August 5, 2013 Author Share Posted August 5, 2013 So, you could say then, that all the other DJ things you're going to continue doing are "less pointless" as it's not those you're giving up. Discuss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 Nope, I just have lots of things I want to try. My goal has always been to be as good an all round DJ as I can be. I've dedicated a good part of 9 years to scratching/turntablism/DJing and now want to spend some time expanding on production/live stuff more. I'm still going to use turntablism in my sets like I always do, I just don't want it to be my main focus anymore, I find making music more interesting at the moment. At this precise moment I find following what I'm going to enjoy more to be less pointless then something I'm not enjoying as much but in the past I had enjoyed so much that not continuing to practice it at that moment would have seemed extremely pointless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike-L Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 @Mike - Skill level is completely unrelated to how pointless something is, i.e. the premise of this thread. Hence why I said "It is unrelated to the main theme of this thread". I would say it was related to your comment about learning to mix in a day though and the follow up comment about how good my friends mix might be after one day. Nothing that gives intrinsic enjoyment is pointless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted August 5, 2013 Author Share Posted August 5, 2013 Go back to the ISP, X-Men, Beat Junkes era. I know for most of you boys, that means going back to a time where you wore short trousers and pissed the bed, but in those days, those doods actually knew about music. Individually, members of those crews put out tons of mixtapes. And "mixtape" doesn't have to just mean overlapping the ends of a few songs. Their mixtapes were filled with juggling and what have you. Where's the modern day equivalent of that stuff? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike-L Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 So are you now arguing that battling & juggling does have a purpose? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattnice Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 mixing 45's is piss easy, I won the 7" battle one handed filming with my phone in the other hand. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted August 5, 2013 Author Share Posted August 5, 2013 So are you now arguing that battling & juggling does have a purpose? I said that battling was the most pointless shit in the DJ world, but I didn't say it didn't have a purpose. For one, it gets all of the people with Klever backs under one roof at the same time, which has to be worthy of an entry in the Guinness Book of Records. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waxdestroyer Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 mixing 45's is piss easy, I won the 7" battle one handed filming with my phone in the other hand.here you go..you said it..."easy" LOL! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted August 5, 2013 Author Share Posted August 5, 2013 mixing 45's is piss easy, I won the 7" battle one handed filming with my phone in the other hand. You should PM Jeff and offer him some lessons. It'll only take you 24 hours to teach him too. here you go..you said it..."easy" LOL! Not easy enough for you to win though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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