Master turntablist and hip hop producer DJ Yoda (aka Duncan Beiny) is bringing his latest audio-visual live spectacular to Australian stages this month.
From his roots as an underground mixtape selector, DJ Yoda has attained a worldwide reputation for high-calibre live productions.
After gaining traction in the late '90s with his early mixtape releases, DJ Yoda produced 'How To Cut And Paste Mixtape Vol. 1' in 2001, followed by 'Vol. 2' the next year.
In a 2016 interview with Skiddle, DJ Yoda tells Marko Kutlesa about the musical inspirations that guided the production of these seminal releases. “With all of those 'How To Cut And Paste' mixes it's always reflective of my listening habits,” he says.
“What I tend to do is get into one kind of music and I'll spend a good year digging around in that kind of thing, finding the best stuff I like in that world.
“At the end of that experience a neat way to sum it all up for me is to take the best things I've found and make a 'How To Cut And Paste' mix which encapsulates all the different, cool stuff I've found in that particular genre.
“So, when I did the 1930s mix I'd just spent a period listening to things from that era. I think when I did the Asian edition I'd just done two tours of Asia and as I was doing them I was digging around for music, record shopping in Vietnam and Thailand and it sent me off on a bit of a mission.”
His debut album of original material 'The Amazing Adventures Of DJ Yoda' was released in 2006 with subsequent album releases in 2012 with 'Chop Suey' and 2015 with 'DJ Yoda Presents Breakfast Of Champions'.
DJ Yoda's production style, which largely harnesses sampling, has led to him being affectionately known as the 'King Of Cut And Paste' or 'Cut And Paste Champion' and is considered a pioneering force of the form. His collected discography, spanning 20 years and multiple formats, constitutes a masterclass in the art of sampling.
His most recent album 'DJ Yoda Presents Breakfast Of Champions' came out in 2015 and featured an 11-piece band made up of UK MCs and musicians, something of a first for DJ Yoda who is used to working alone in a studio.
“It’s so different to what I normally do as a producer and a DJ,” he tells Angelica Pursley in a 2015 interview with Hunger.
“So much of my time is spent alone, all the creative time is spent at a computer and all the performing is just me turning up to a club or a festival and doing it by myself so I’ve started to realise over the years that the most special moments are when I get a chance to collaborate with other human beings.
“Interacting with humans is a bonus! So with this it’s the other end of the spectrum, to have all these personalities and create something that everyone is happy with, it’s a challenge but really special.”
Whether it's headlining festivals, spinning for his own club shows, re-scoring classic films or any other of the numerous projects he undertakes, DJ Yoda is anything but typical and stands as a unique character on the vast musical landscape he traverses.
Starting in March, DJ Yoda will be travelling Australia on a national tour beginning in Brisbane and taking him through to April where he'll finish up in Hobart. It's an opportunity for local audiences to see a true UK legend come to life onstage.
DJ Yoda Tour Dates
Sun 25 Mar - The Woolly Mammoth (Brisbane)Wed 28 Mar - Beach Road Hotel (Sydney)
Thu 29 Mar - Jack Rabbit Slim's (Perth)
Sat 31 Mar - Mojo's Bar (Perth)
Sun 1 Apr - Oxford Art Factory (Sydney)
Fri 6 Apr - The Brisbane Hotel (Hobart)
