I began DJing at 15, initially using French house records before moving on to hiphop wax. My introduction to turntablism was back in 1998 when I first saw DJ David competing in the DMC World Championships on MTV Base. Using coke cans to stack one Technics 1200 turntable on top of another, he blew my mind! I just knew I had to run upstairs to my Sherwood belt drive decks to try the Baby Scratch for myself. While studying classical music at Leeds University in the early 00s, I took part in DJ competitions. I only had a few DJ friends to share ideas with, and with Youtube only starting to become popular I had to rely on Myspace, bootleg scratch mixtapes from Hip Hop Connection, ropey VHS copies of the DMC championships, the International Turntablist Federation and Thud Rumble’s Turntable TV to learn the newest combos and juggle patterns. I quickly developed my very own ‘skratching chin’ and was hooked on UK and US DJs like DJ Woody, Rob Swift, D-Styles, DJ Swamp, The Invisbl Skratch Piklz, 5th Platoon and The Beat Junkies.

This is a small collection of my favourite turntablist tools, mixtapes and albums, representing the best in turntablist innovation, composition and skill.

D-Styles Phantazmagorea, 2002

D-Styles is one of my favourite DJs, often overshadowed by other members of The Invisbl Skratch Piklz and Beat Junkies, as melodically driven tablists often have been. His releases have had a big impact on turntable composition through their consistent challenging of the hiphop conventions of turntablism. “Diabolikal” is a stand out track incorporating turntable drumming, instrumental and vocal based scratching. Half way through the track, D breaks the track down into a double-time, cut and paste ad lib, rinsing vocal and sci-fi samples through irregular rhythms, tuplets, drumming and scratching where you can literally hear his fingertips on the vinyl patting, reversing and tearing sounds up.

Kid Koala Scratchcratchratchatch, 1996

I’ve always been a huge fan of Kid Koala and this is one of my favourite ever mixtapes. He’s an incredibly clever turntablist who sews together blues, rock, jazz and hiphop with intricate technique and humour in both his live performances and albums. Koala is a DJ’s DJ who appeals to audiences of all musical genres through his musical ingenuity, curiosity and virtuosity. This mixtape sounds just as fresh today as it did over 20 years ago, proving just how timeless good sampling can be and how cool it is to be a scratch nerd.

Q-Bert Wave Twisters, 1997

A brilliantly innovative turntablist release, a landmark in music composition and hiphop, Wave Twisters was one of the first turntablist concept albums with a storyline for both music and comic book fans alike. Initially released as vinyl only, Qbert later added on a feature length animation packing in tonnes of nerdy scratch details like the “Dentist’s Drills” scratch and spaceship “lazer” scratches. A solid visual and sonic experience for both the beginner and advanced turntablist.

Skratchy Seal Super Seal Breaks, 2000

THE classic turntablist sample record full of “aah”, “beep” and “fresh” for all of your chirp, transformer and crab scratch needs. Skratchy Seal AKA DJ Qbert, is undoubtedly a pioneer of solo and team turntable composition, leading the Turntable TV project with Skratchy and Spaghetti Seal, the Thud Rumble DJ empire with spare time to be an intricate part of The Invisibl Skratch Piklz. QBert has built up an incredible and unique legacy, now shared through his Skratch University where he demonstrates every scratch technique using Skratchy Seal and all of its classic turntablist sounds.

Ricci Rucker and Mike Boo Scetchbook : An Introduction To Scratch Music, 2002

A joint release from Ricci Rucker and Mike Boo with guest appearances from D-Styles, DJ Toadstyle and DJ Excess, this album is a strong nod to the practice-tape based tradition of golden era turntablism. With vignettes of turntables tones, drumming, beat-juggling, team composition and sampling, this album cleverly creates a laid back energy while giving the mind something to chew over.

DJ Swamp Tons Of Tones, 2007

An incredible resource for turntablists and a much needed record for DJs learning instrumental scratching and needle dropping. Swamp is famous for his contributions to Hanson’s “Mmmm Bop” and as Beck’s tour DJ but his real genius lies in his neverending enthusiasm for experimenting in hiphop turntablism, breaking conventions and bringing, literally, fire and blood to the decks in the DMCs. His tireless effort to innovate in music is highly commendable and he’s still representing as on tracks by the likes of Kool Keith, Death Grips, Dandy Warhols and Katy Perry.

DJ Swamp Skip-Proof Scratch Tool, 1998

Made for stadium-sized gigs on tour with Beck, DJ Swamp has several editions of these incredible records, where two-second long samples are seamlessly looped throughout the whole side of a record. No matter what comes your way, you will always be ‘locked’ into the right sound while playing out, showing off all of your fancy finger work with a buzz, beep, siren or scream.

Otomo Yoshihide The Multiple Otomo Project, 2007

The only ‘art’ turntablist release I’ve included in this list, I was introduced to Otomo’s music by harpist Rhodri Davies soon after this DVD was released. We often talked about the finer differences between hiphop and experimental ‘art’ turntablism and this was my introduction to improvising with turntables in a new music setting. With this DVD release, Otomo clearly demonstrates extended technique for the turntable, some of which remind me of Qbert, The Scratch Perverts, DJ Craze and even, DJ David.

Mix Master Mike Anti-Theft Device, 1998

An incredible album with a strong nod to tablist scratch tapes, insane scratching routines, heavy hiphop beats with an unrelenting energy – there’s only one Mix Master!

Clocktave Sjam & Kypski, 2006

A rare one of a kind record made especially for instrumental scratching. With every track tuned to C major and a printed Clock Theory label, this record is made for cutting up tunes with instruments like saxophones, strings, synths and pianos all cued up and ready to stretch the imagination of any turntablist.