Sydney's Clear Cut is one of ten finalists in the 2020 Australian DMC DJ Championships.
What does it mean to be a finalist in the 2020 Australian DMC DJ Championships?An opportunity to contribute to the art and culture of turntablism, hopefully bringing enjoyment to those that love the art form and something that sparks an interest for people unfamiliar with turntablism.
The creative and practical aspects of your championship video set; how’s it all coming together?
It's coming together pretty well. With the time left to record the set to video quickly running out, the creative explorations are just about out of time.
From here on in, it's all about tightening up any minor parts of the set that are yet to be finalised and playing through the set enough to get a great recording.
Describe your championship video set in six words?
Total, pure, unadulterated, audio-visual bliss.
How many hours/ days have you put aside to practice your routine; and biggest sacrifice you’ve had to make to maintain that focus?
I spend about two to three hours a day on experimentation, composition and rehearsal. As a parent of four, the time is hard to find and unfortunately sleep and socialising are what get sacrificed.
Who has been the biggest influence re: your own scratching techniques?
Scratching wise I'm a fan of DJ Klever and the great D-Styles. I also dig Craze's scratching style. One day I'll hopefully be at a level to incorporate some of grandmaster Toadstyle's approach to scratching. I also take inspiration from a few guys in the Sydney Skratcher crew.
When you're not home practising your turntable skills, where can we find you DJing when COVID allows it?
I haven't DJd at clubs for some years, however nowadays you can find me at the Sydney Skratcher meet-ups which are a great place for scratch DJs of any skill level to learn, jam and hone their skills.
Don't get ahead of yourself; from the other finalists, who's your pick to be crowned Australian champion?
I feel like J Red has the best chance of taking out the title. He's a previous International Turntable Federation world champion who's been in the game for so long, and I'm sure he has a treasure trove of routines created over the years that he can draw on for this year's DMC Championships.
You're at a party and someone asks what exactly turntablism is, how do you respond?
Turntablism is the art of using turntables and a mixer to manipulate an audio recording to create a new piece of music.
To watch Clear Cut's routine and comment, visit the official DMC page.
The Australian finalists will each upload a new, four-minute set by 15 October (national finals streamed on 18 October), with the national winner announced on 25 October. The global DMC champion will be crowned 30 November.
