The Invisibl Skratch Piklz are an American group of
turntablists.
The members of the group were originally
hip-hop
Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...
DJs, who were among the pioneers of the
turntablism
Turntablism is the art of manipulating sounds and creating new music, sound effects, mixes and other creative sounds and beats, typically by using two or more Phonograph, turntables and a cross fader-equipped DJ mixer. The mixer is plugged into ...
movement in the 1990s; turntablists create musical pieces by mixing samples from records, and by using multiple turntables as instruments.
History
The group started in 1989 as Shadow of the Prophet, with
DJ Qbert
Richard Quitevis (born October 7, 1969) known by his stage name DJ Qbert or Qbert, is a Filipino American turntablist and composer who has heavily influenced the History of DJing. He was awarded America's Best DJ in 2010, was DMC USA Champio ...
,
Mix Master Mike, and DJ Apollo, who left the group in 1993.
The group later added
DJ Disk, Shortkut,
DJ Flare, Yogafrog,
D-Styles, The Tomkat and
A-Trak
Alain Macklovitch (born March 30, 1982), known professionally as A-Trak, is a Canadian DJ, record producer, and record executive. He came to prominence in the late 2000s as an international club DJ and remix artist, known for incorporating highl ...
to their lineup.
They released numerous mix projects and albums and were featured in
documentaries
A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". The American author and media analyst Bill ...
such as ''Battle Sounds'' and ''
Scratch''. The Invisibl Skratch Piklz performed their last show on July 1, 2000 at the Skratchcon 2000 conference in
San Francisco, California
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
.
They were asked by the
Disco Mix Club (DMC), an international DJ association, to stop competing since they were discouraging other DJs from entering.
The Piklz produced most of their work around 1995–2000.
During that period, they also gave numerous performances and seminars around the world, helped in the design of various DJ products for
Vestax and
Ortofon, and developed the "break record", a tool used by most present-day turntablists.
One of their most notable performances was an International Turntablist Federation (ITF) battle between themselves and the X-Men (now the
X-Ecutioners) of
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
. Their group routine for this battle, shown on bootleg videos, was later recorded in a studio and released as ''The Invisibl Skratch Piklz Vs. Da Klams Uv Deth''. All previous members of the group have gone on to solo careers, most notably DJ Qbert & Mix Master Mike. Qbert, Mix Master Mike, Shortkut, and
DJ Disk are featured in a live performance on the
Praxis album ''
Transmutation Live'', recorded in 1997. They performed altogether under the name Invisibl Scratch Piklz at Soundset Festival 2017. On September 21, 2019 the original trio was on hand and performed a set at the Fool's Gold Day Off event at Midway SF.
Discography
*''Mongoose Shuttle'' (1997) (unreleased)
*''Vs. Da Klams Uv Deth'' (1997) (Asphodel)
*''The Shiggar Fraggar Show, Volume 5'' (1998) (Hip Hop Slam)
*''The Shiggar Fraggar Show, Volume 4'' (1999) (Hip Hop Slam)
*''The Shiggar Fraggar Show, Volume 3'' (1999) (Hip Hop Slam)
*''The Shiggar Fraggar Show, Volume 2'' (1999) (Hip Hop Slam)
*''The Shiggar Fraggar Show, Volume 1'' (2000) (Hip Hop Slam)
*''Shiggar Fraggar 2000'' (2000) (Hip Hop Slam)
*''The 13th Floor'' (2016) (Alpha Pup)
See also
*
Alternative hip hop
Alternative hip-hop (also known as alternative rap and experimental hip-hop) is a subgenre of hip-hop music that encompasses a wide range of styles that are not typically identified as mainstream. AllMusic defines it as comprising "hip-hop group ...
*
Filipino hip hop
*
Turntablism
Turntablism is the art of manipulating sounds and creating new music, sound effects, mixes and other creative sounds and beats, typically by using two or more Phonograph, turntables and a cross fader-equipped DJ mixer. The mixer is plugged into ...
References
External links
Official site
{{Authority control
American hip-hop groups
Musical groups established in 1989
Musical groups disestablished in 2000