DMC WORLD DJ CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL 2009 DVD
25 years and DMC are “still turning” – so says the cover for their DVD of the World DJ Chamionship Final 2009 – however the focus is most definitely on the DJs here. Incuding all of the eliminations, showing 23 of the best turntable technicians battling for the crown at this year’s final in London, this DVD has plenty of transfroms, beat juggles, chops and more to entertain. Fans of turntablism and DJs will certainly be using the clearly shot footage to brush up on styles and techniques while the short sets keep the pace moving as each DJ brings his own style to the table. While there are many staple tricks on show here, the subtlety is in how they are worked by each DJ. But the elimination rounds certainly show more than just a series of juggles and crab scratches done by different faces, as nationalities bring their own twists to a very break and hip hop focussed five minutes apiece. Some of the DJs really flip the script with something unusual or new – such as DJ Venom out of Croatia – while others switch it up musically, keeping the many rounds entertaining throughout.
Although the Elimination rounds alone pack a real punch, this DVD, of course, includes the World Final itself. Despite the fact that many followers of DJ culture will know who the winner is, it is still worth seeing how they got there as this year’s best go head-to-head for the final round. Having won regional tournaments in their native countries and then made it through the tough eliminations, the final nine DJs are among the best in the world right now. Given the amount of time and energy it takes to get a DMC-ready routine together there is a marked similarity between portions of this and the Elimination Rounds except, at six-minutes per routine, the DJs need to bring more to the table. Perhaps best watched in a separate sitting than the elimination rounds (unless you are a hardcore turntablist follower) this part of the DVD is no less impressive for the skills on show. DJ Final from Norway, for example, shows the live excitement of the final round as he overcomes some technical troubles to deliver a superb set, while, elsewhere, France’s LigOne brings a very solid, musical set as the DVD builds to a close. You can follow the routines as they happened and decide if the eventual winner was rightfully crowned or not, as you enjoy the skills on display.
With added features including backstage interviews, a tribute to recently decased former champion Roc Raida and bonus showcases from Q Bert, Rob Swift and 2008 Champion, DJ Fly, this set has plenty of content for the cost of admission and is a must-have for aspiring or established turntablists, fans of DJ culture and followers of the DMC finals alike. It’s nice to see Technics, DMC, and vinyl still rocking into 2010…
COURTESY OF GRIND MODE
DMC BATTLE FOR WORLD SUPREMACY / WORLD DJ TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP 2009
While most people will tend to look for the World DJ Championship Finals and think that is the be-all and end-all of the DMC DJ competitions, those in the know will always go just a little bit further. So that is why we decided to take a look at the ‘DMC Battle For World Supremacy 2009’ and ‘2009 World DJ Team Championship’ and see how things went down at London’s O2 Arena as some of the best DJs the world has to offer went head-to-head.
With both competitions on one DVD there is some real value for money, although the ‘World Supremacy’ battle comes out as the heaviest part of this disc with a phenomenal 1 hour and 45 minutes of flares, transforms, juggles, body tricks and more. With two DJs going head-to-head in a back and forth format to impress a panel of judges with 2 routines this is a demandingly competitive showcase. With a real swagger, the competitors throw vinyl barbs at one another while demonstrating their own skills. Indeed the ‘Battle For World Supremacy’ is like an international martial art for DJs as last year saw the USA, France, Japan, Brazil, The Phillipines, Mexico, Austria, Hong Kong and Germany amog the countires represented. While the pace stayed frenetic the 60 second (later 90 second) rounds mean that the DVD passes in a quick-fire fashion.
Of course we won’t tell you if the UK’s Switch kept his title from 2008, but you should be warned that the DVD does contain explicit language as the competitors pull no punches.
The next turntable treat is the shorter ‘2009 World DJ Team Championship’ and here the styles change once more as the nature of the battle takes a more musical turn. With longer sets than previously, this section also has fewer competitors as it clocks in at about an hour.
Teams from the USA to the UK, Algeria and Taiwan all represent as a total of nine groups from different nations take to the stage to try and stop Japan’s Kireek winning a third successive title. Due to the interplay between the turntablists the routines are clearly efforts that have taken great preparation as they show the turntable as an instrument in it’s own right. Of course some routines are better than others, but nobody comes off poorly here – especially given the sometimes unfortunate mis-cues and needle slips that can happen in a live situation. With some real showmanship and the DJs playing tunes in their own right over displaying their skills it is this second competition that is most likely to appeal to the newcomer. However, the skills on show throughout are not to be discounted.
With added showcases from I-Dee as well as Jehst, former Grind Mode Magazine alumni Micall Parknsun and Jazz T there is more than just the competitions to offer value for your cash. Add to this some interviews with the winners and other DJs and there is plenty to appeal. While the inclusion of the winner’s names on the back of the packaing somewhat ruins the surprise of the outcome (if you don’t already know just don’t look in the bottom right hand corner on the back of the box!) this is a slight problem with what is, as expected, a professionally produced and well-packaged title.
DMC again show why they are not just the fore-runners in DJ battling but also the producers of some of the best DJ related DVDs on the market…
COURTESY OF GRIND MODE
