Scratch

Doug Pray:
Scratch (USA, 2001)
92 min. - English

Scratch is regarded as the best and most thorough DJ documentary ever made. It is a journey from the streets of 1970s Bronx to the dawn of the new millennium. The passenger list is filled with some of the genre’s most nimble-fingered stars, including Beastie Boys’ Mix Master Mike, Afrika Bambaataa, DJ Shadow, Cut Chemist, DJ Q-Bert, X-ecutioners and naturally, the Technics turntables. Alongside stunning live performances, Scratch paints a picture of the scene from its birth rhythms as a part of the rising hip hop culture to a time when DJs had risen from the ranks of groups to independent stardom. Scratch is a hip hop and music documentary classic that should be part of any music fan’s curriculum.

When DJ Shadow ponders upon the fates of forgotten artists among abandoned vinyls in a basement of a record store, the movie reaches its focal point. More than anything, Scratch is a celebration of those basements, the vinyls stored in them and the skill and perseverance of the turntablists who spin out amazing rhythms and soundscapes from those black grooves.

Few years have brought massive changes to the scene. Since 2001 vinyls and turntables have given way to digitalization and laptops, making Scratch a time piece about a subculture quickly spiralling into an unforeseen extinction. A viewer might wonder if something irreplaceable about the music culture as a whole is going down with the physical recordings.

» dougpray.com

Check out also:

» Tony Silver: Style Wars & Style Wars :ReVisited
» Piers Sanderson: High On Hope
» Banksy: Exit Through the Gift Shop
» Tony Silver: Style Wars & Style Wars :ReVisited
» Piers Sanderson: High On Hope
» Banksy: Exit Through the Gift Shop

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La 19.11.2011 20:00 at Tapio 3