Back catalogue: DJ Tools

Review: Private Stock Records serves up a treat for DJs and turntablists with a new 12" packed with beats, scratches, and skipless tracks. Four skilled DJsiBig Once, Cutso, Double A, and Nick Bikeicontribute their skills to this collection, offering a diverse range of flavours for scratching and beat juggling. Each DJ delivers a 'Scratch Sentence' and a selection of beats at various tempos, providing a versatile toolkit for creative routines. The inclusion of skipless tracks adds another dimension, allowing for seamless blends and extended mixes. With its focus on functionality and quality, this release is a must-have for any serious turntablist or DJ looking to expand their arsenal of sounds.

Review: On vinyl only comes the new Knockouts compilation, laying down six acapella utilities to add to the collective turntablist's belt. The Kunming, China label - owned and run by Sausage Fingaz - flaunts an unmatched hip-hop diggership, compiling six un-pass-uppable classics, including those of Mary J. Blige's 'Family Affair', LL Cool J's 'Mama Said Knock You Out', Eminem's 'My Name Is' and Run-DMC's 'Peter Piper'. Specially designed for mashups and remixes, these are exclusively sourced vocal grooves, always to be cherished and celebrated.

Review: Aldebaran Records presents Murder Patternz, the brainchild of legendary DJ D-Styles, renowned for his contributions to turntablism with groups like Beat Junkies and Invizibl Skratch Pklz. This quadrilogy of battle tools kicks off with volume one, featuring skipless effects at 100bpm on the A-side and a 133 bpm rendition on the B, encouraging the exploration of ultra-pitch techniques. With only 300 copies available, this limited edition release promises to delight turntablists and scratch enthusiasts alike. D-Styles' mastery of the craft shines through in every track, showcasing his unparalleled skill and innovative approach to scratch music. Murder Patternz is not just a collection of breaks but a testament to the enduring influence of DJ D-Styles on the world of turntablism. Whether you're a seasoned scratch artist or a newcomer to the scene, this quadrilogy is a worthy addition to your collection, offering endless inspiration and creative possibilities.

Review: Talk about a time capsule. While the obvious nostalgists out there scour and share their cassette eight packs, desperately converting the mixes they contain to digital files before the inevitable unspooling renders the original recordings obsolete, here comes Death Is Not The End - a record label that lends its name to (well, hosts) a show on NTS Radio - with the ultimate trip back to a time many weren't lucky enough to live through.

As the name suggests, this is literally a collection of no less than 40 radio adverts that appeared at some point or other on London's once-plentiful pirate radio stations between 1984 and 1993. Many are poor quality in terms of production, a good number use samples from some of the biggest dance tracks of the day, loads namecheck some legends of the UK rave scene, and every single one would be loads of fun to drop into a mix or use as a sample for productions. Not that we're recommending doing anything without license.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve slightly damaged, records slightly warped***


William Tramontozzi aka. DJ JS-1 first released this battle tools compendium as a DVD-r edition sometime circa 2000. Scratch Roulette aimed at one goal and one goal only: to compile all the best slices of samplerific sass onto one medium. Now reissued via Ground Original in 2xLP form, we're now met with several hundred sound effects, phrases, hits, drums and tones on wax. There are no redundant loops or beats here: only scratch sounds and phrases (if you want drums, go sift them out of a record like the best DJs used to do). Time-capsuling an era into a distinct sonic bottle, this one's yet another compendium proving that certain genres aren't just made by form, tempo or rhythm alone; it's often the embellishments, the specific sounds used, that make a classic a breaks, hip-hop, or garage classic.

Review: Woodwurk serves up a record here that is purely for the adventurous and dexterous hip-hop DJs who might be out there: It is a series of apparently skip-proof scratch loops from DJ Robert Smith. It takes the form of several short scratch words and phrases as well as full sentences split across 39 tracks all under a minute in length. These ultra-pitch tools are ripe for experimentation and will bring some undeniable old-school hip-hop cool. This useful long player comes with a cool illustration by skate industry legend Mark 'Fos' Foster.