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DJ Craze ready to put it down for the Melbourne Massive

Author: Phil Watkins
Saturday, April 9, 2005
DJ Craze, if you don't know, is the undisputed of turntablism according to the DMC world championship who have had competition rinsed by the man three time sin a row. At the tender age of 23, he has now retired with three sets of the golden Technics turntables in his possession and he is coming down to show us how he did it for the Elementz along with the esteemed Shy Fx on Anzac Day weekend , I got the chance to chat with him over the email and this is how it tuned out...

Growing up you would have surrounded yourself in many different styles of music that would have made the amazing achievements in your DJ career possible, what was hot for you when you were young- What helped you get onto the decks in the first place-

The music that was popular at the time when I was first introduced to turntables was Miami Bass. It's what my older brother was listening to so naturally i followed.

As everyone is aware one of the most amazing achievements ever recorded in the DMC World Championships, if not the most, is your three titles. It's takes more than a special kind of talent to achieve this kind of feat, did you ever think when you were in your bedroom that you had what it takes to rinse it like you have-

Naw, I never really thought i could do it but I made sure to give it my best and it ended paying off.

The Allies were also prevailing champions at the championships, for those who don't know how are the group battle dynamics different from the more publicised individual sets-

The team competitions are harder cause you're dealing with more decks and more djs. It's easier to fuck up and make mistakes. The team comps are dope because you can really use the turntables as instruments. The solo comps are more nerve wrecking cause its just you alone on stage

Your achievements have pushed you to the forefront of the turntablist scene worldwide, so much so that you are the most well known figurehead for the style in the world amongst your older company like Q Bert and Mix Master Mike. How do you want to represent turntablism and what message, if anything, do you want to get across to the masses-

I wouldn't put myself in the same category as Q-Bert and Mix Master Mike cause they were my influences and till this day I think they are amazing. I want to represent tablism as an art form for all types of music. That's the dope thing about tablism, the fact that i can take a jazz record and make it a hip hop beat or take a DnB record and make it hip hop.

Man, I was one of the lucky ones to pull a copy of your Nexxsound compilations when it first came, originally a drum and bass fan myself, to see you cutting a mix was a pretty exciting concept even on paper and you backed with the solid London sound in your own trademark style what was it like to move into drum and bass, the only style of music that has it's own mafia like dons. It is not often people get accepted like you were what was it like for you-

It's was kinda difficult trying to break into DnB cause I didn't know shit about it. I didn't know the history, the culture, the sound or the scene. I was pretty much just jumping right into a scene that i had no clue of. I didn't even know who the big dawgs were or who was who. Imagine being introduced to Andy C, Bryan G, Fabio and all the big dawgs and not knowing who these people were. It kinda put me in my own little world and I think it was a good thing because at the end of the day I was just doing what I liked. It took a minute for people to embrace me as one of the scene but I think people accept me now because they know I'm in it for the music so it's all good.

When seeing other turntablists being interviewed it seems that some people really do have their own take on scratching I think it was Mix Master Mike who said that he was actually involved in a higher form of communication with beings not of this planet- Do you carry any philosophy behind you when you play or is
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