The Toronto Sun gave Scratch, Skratch, Scratch some shine in their daily print yesterday. Errol Nazareth asked us about our upcoming Toronto Jazz Festival show and gave readers a general introduction to our group.
In order to draw new audiences and stay alive, jazz festivals all over the world have been embracing non-jazz sounds for a while now. So-called jazz festivals in the Caribbean that I’ve attended feature more American R&B than straight-ahead jazz and even festivals here have begun programming more ‘world’ and soul acts. Skratch says this festival is a perfect forum for the group. “The jazz music approach of ‘improvisations on a theme’ is essentially what we do, but in a very non-traditional way. We’re going to give the crowd a show they will not forget.”
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When Skratch Bastid proudly says that he, beat-boxer Scratch, and DJ Starting From Scratch provide listeners with “a totally unique take on music,” it’s not mere hype. Visit his site and listen to Skewed Empathy, a jam he recently composed. In his words, it features “classic Outkast and Raekwon verses over Crystal Castles’ latest single’s infectious rhythm.”
Listening to the track reminded me of something that Public Enemy’s longtime producer Hank Shocklee told Keyboard Magazine many years back.
“We believe that music is nothing but organized noise. You can take anything — street sounds, us talking, whatever you want — and make it music by organizing it. That’s still our philosophy. To show people that this thing you call music is a lot broader than you think it is.”Shocklee’s comments and the fact that a back-to-basics hip-hop show is part of the jazz festival will irk a lot of jazz purists, but later for them, I say.
The trio brings its hot show, Scratch, Skratch, Scratch, to the Mod Club on College St. Thursday and chances are the joint’s going to be packed.“It was inspired by the desire to take the live DJ experience one step further,” Skratch tells me. “As a DJ with two turntables, you can be limited by the amount of ideas you can execute at once. But, by combining two DJs and a ‘human beatbox’ with similar backgrounds in music, we don’t have that restriction,” he adds. “We give the listener a totally unique take on music, beats and songs that they’ve most likely only heard in their original form their whole lives.”
So, what can you expect to hear Thursday other than a whole lotta scratchin’? “With two veteran DJs and one of the best beatboxers in the world (Scratch from the massively popular hip-hop band The Roots), our library of music is unlimited,” he says. “One of the greatest things about our show is that the energy is spontaneous. We really read the crowd and see what they’re feeling and where they want to go musically.
“Our show combines old school hip-hop, funk, soul, rock, house, new hip-hop and R&B and more, so we can really take the show wherever we feel that it wants to go on a given night. And you better believe we’ll be throwing in some nods to the jazz greats this time around as well!”
In order to draw new audiences and stay alive, jazz festivals all over the world have been embracing non-jazz sounds for a while now. So-called jazz festivals in the Caribbean that I’ve attended feature more American R&B than straight-ahead jazz and even festivals here have begun programming more ‘world’ and soul acts. Skratch says this festival is a perfect forum for the group. “The jazz music approach of ‘improvisations on a theme’ is essentially what we do, but in a very non-traditional way. We’re going to give the crowd a show they will not forget.”
As James Brown famously shouted on one of his classic songs, Skratch wants folks to come ready to get up, get into it, and get involved. “Come ready to hear some great music and listen to us take you on a trip using bits and pieces of your favourite music and forgotten classics,” he says. “We hope people walk away knowing that they experienced something that was ‘in the moment’, original, and above all exciting.”
Scratch, Skratch, Scratch – Toronto Sun – June 18 – PDF
