DMC World DJ Championships - DJ Perplex and Stewart Hanna
Right now DJs and mix-lovers the world over are hanging out to hear who is the next World’s best DJ as the DMC World DJ championships are about to begin.
The ‘Turntablist’s Olyimpic Games’ is burning holes in the slip-mats of DJs from over 30 countries. The Australian leg started in Melbourne on Friday 13th July at The HIFI Bar… The crusade for Aussie’s most awesome DJ will roll through Australia during July and August as the reigning champion DJ Perplex defends his title.
I had the pleasure of talking to DJ Perplex and The organiser of the Australian part of the DMC, Stewart Hanna last week about their roles in the championships.
DJ Perplex is widely deserving of his 2006 title, having the honour of DJing at some of the world’s best hotspots for clubbers… Turntabling is vastly recognised as a form of musicianship and, as technology advances, becomes more and more sophisticated.
He generally chooses ‘new stuff’ and ‘modern music, new hip-hop and electronic,’ recommending DJ Kentaro as one to listen out for. DJ Kentaro was a DMC finalist in 2002 who has turned ‘producer with a real turntablist edge.’ Perplex is also using Vadium and some new Jazzy Jeff tracks.
Tearing up the turntables across the cosmos, DJ Perplex has been pumpin’ the planet from UK’s Hammersmith Palais, through a club set in a Berlin bomb shelter, to right here at Melbourne’s Metro which could just be his favourite because ‘the sound system is so colossal!’
Having some awesome nights on this journey of a Disc Jockey… he has ridden more than turntables… he has mounted and battled in the World DMC finals last year, being the best night of his life… and he is about to go do it all again this year!
The competition has been responsible for raising awareness of turntablism around the world bringing the phenomenon out of the underground from the formative days of hip-hop into the modern art-form and physical discipline that it represents today.
Tag teams and dueling make battles more exciting and the variance of sound involved makes for never-a-dull-moment! Much more than a ‘battle of the bands’ this concept is much more high speed and fast moving, blink and you miss a killer move!
The organiser of the event in Australia, Stewart Hanna is ‘pretty busy’ since he is responsible for seven heats and the Aussie finals. Coming a long way with achievements and distance from his beginnings in a Leeds record shop… He used to rave all weekend, fell in love with the industry and certainly had designs on DJing.
Soon he discovered that the level of interest and talent in Australia was no easy competition so got involved with DMC. In ’92 [Stewart] was operating within the ‘DJ agency which also ran training courses. When the DMC [boss] went over to the States, I took over the agency for Australia.’
The DMC has been in action since ’86 worldwide and this year has two awesome sponsors, TDK and Adidas. TDK are now ‘branching into portable audio’ and felt the DMC was a great event to get on board with.
Even though the world is turning to portable audio and we are now a far cry from the world of vinyl, with memory sticks ipods and downloads being the most popular features of the music industry, the world of the turntablist is ‘isolated from that.’ Vinyl is still the way to mix and scratch! In some ways is almost like strings to a guitar, becoming part of a musical instrument… a manual synth!
The most awesome DJ in Australia will go off to the UK for the World Finals... best of luck for all. Check out the tour dates and turn up to support Aussie DJs.
DMC World DJ Championships Australian Dates
Sydney Final - Thursday 26th July / Gaelic Club, Sydney
NT Final - Thursday 2nd August / Discovery, Darwin
ACT Final - Friday 3rd August / Toast, Canberra
QLD Final - Thursday 9th August / The Met, Brisbane
Australian Final - Friday 17th August / The Metro, Melbourne
