Scratches in A Minor
Rob Swift is more than a DJ, he's a musician
2002-10-30
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Not too many artists hold the title of innovator. One look at music on a whole,
and it becomes obvious that it is easier to follow the norm than it is to expand
from it. Not only does it take pure genius, it is a dedication and love for
the art that spawns innovation. Rob Swift is one of these few artists, and his
weapon of choice is a turntable. What Rob
has done to the turntable is similar to what Tony Hawk did to skateboarding. He didn't invent the scratch, but he has elevated the art form both technically, and publicly.
The legacy started in the early-1980s as hip-hop was still in its infant stage. Rob's exposure to turntables came through his father and older brother. "My brother was into hip-hop, and his friends and him would make mix tapes on my dad's equipment. I would watch, and I just followed in their footsteps. I wanted to be a DJ like my dad and brother, so when I was 12 I asked my brother to teach me, and the rest is history."
When Rob started to DJ, he came with a different approach than his brother. "I guess my brother did it just as a hobby, and be known around the block, whereas I wanted to excel at it, and to find myself." With 11 years in the game, Rob has done both of these things, and apart from that, released three solo albums, was one of the founding members of the legendary X-Ecutioners and has a DMC championship and under his belt.
"When I first made my debut, I wanted to be the one of the best DJs in the world. I wanted people to respect me like they do Cash Money and Grandmaster Flash. But now 11 years later, my thing is that I don't need to be the best, I just want to expose the art to people that don't know it exists." The maturity that Rob speaks with is directly translated to his music. His upcoming release, Sound Event, is a perfect example of his elevated vision and skill with the turntables. As odd as it may sound, Rob uses the turntable as a musical instrument, where scratches are just as vital to the song as a horn or guitar.
While working with jazz legends like Herbie Hancock, and more recently Bob James on the latest album, Rob has come with a new understanding for music. "Being around those people helped me realize a couple things. Do I want to make an album showing off? You know, showing people I can scratch 1000 miles per hour, and I have the most technical scratches. Or do I want to make good music? I think a lot of DJ albums come out, and it's one guy showing off his skill, but that's only going to appeal to a certain group of people. Some people don't understand scratching, so you have to present it in a way that is understandable. You have to be creative and well-rounded."
Sound Event is not a typical DJ album, and come to think of it, it's not even a typical hip-hop album. With songs like "Salsa Scratch" featuring Bob James on piano, there is no "hip-hop" other than the scratch, but even then, it's not used in the traditional sense.
To say the least, Rob is a master of fusing hip-hop with other genres of music. On top of working with some of jazz's greatest, he, along with the X-Ecutioners, have worked with mainstream artists such as Linkin Park, not only for their album, but for the last X-Ecutioners album, Built From Scratch. Some of you might scratch your heads over this, and talk shit under your breath, but as Rob put it, "Hip-hop and rock are like siblings."
"If you think about it, rock has been a part of hip-hop since day one. Run DMC did the cover to "Walk This Way" with Aerosmith, Public Enemy did a song with Anthrax. I'm a big fan of Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Anthony Kiedis rhymes all over Blood Sugar Sex Magik. For me, if it sounds good, it sounds good. If it sounds wack, it's wack, whether it's rock, rap or the two together." Word.
As the turntable movement continues to grow, so does the technology behind it. The idea of the turntable as a musical instrument has lead to questions about transcribing scratches to some kind of written form, similar to sheet music. DJs Radar and A-Trak have developed ways, but they have not yet been embraced by the masses.
"I'm more of a freestyle DJ, so when I perform I'm going off feeling. With scratching, I don't have set routines like I do when I juggle." As Bird did with the sax, Rob does with the turntable. The scratches you hear are raw emotion spoken through sound, pure in every sense. The complexity and orchestration of Sound Event, along with Rob's desire to tour has him contemplating transcription. "I was talking to Radar about how we could perform so it sounds like the actual song. When I start touring I might have to delve into the whole transcription thing because how can you remember a song bar by bar, and strictly by heart for 12 songs? You can't. Overall, I think it's dope that DJs are developing ways to transcribe scratches, and I think it can go a long ways."
Throughout all his success, Rob stays humble and focused on his goals not only as a DJ, but as a musician. With his dopest album to date, Sound Event, dropping on October 29th, the legacy of Rob Swift continues to build. The name will live forever, and will be talked about alongside of the greats.
has done to the turntable is similar to what Tony Hawk did to skateboarding. He didn't invent the scratch, but he has elevated the art form both technically, and publicly.
The legacy started in the early-1980s as hip-hop was still in its infant stage. Rob's exposure to turntables came through his father and older brother. "My brother was into hip-hop, and his friends and him would make mix tapes on my dad's equipment. I would watch, and I just followed in their footsteps. I wanted to be a DJ like my dad and brother, so when I was 12 I asked my brother to teach me, and the rest is history."
When Rob started to DJ, he came with a different approach than his brother. "I guess my brother did it just as a hobby, and be known around the block, whereas I wanted to excel at it, and to find myself." With 11 years in the game, Rob has done both of these things, and apart from that, released three solo albums, was one of the founding members of the legendary X-Ecutioners and has a DMC championship and under his belt.
"When I first made my debut, I wanted to be the one of the best DJs in the world. I wanted people to respect me like they do Cash Money and Grandmaster Flash. But now 11 years later, my thing is that I don't need to be the best, I just want to expose the art to people that don't know it exists." The maturity that Rob speaks with is directly translated to his music. His upcoming release, Sound Event, is a perfect example of his elevated vision and skill with the turntables. As odd as it may sound, Rob uses the turntable as a musical instrument, where scratches are just as vital to the song as a horn or guitar.
While working with jazz legends like Herbie Hancock, and more recently Bob James on the latest album, Rob has come with a new understanding for music. "Being around those people helped me realize a couple things. Do I want to make an album showing off? You know, showing people I can scratch 1000 miles per hour, and I have the most technical scratches. Or do I want to make good music? I think a lot of DJ albums come out, and it's one guy showing off his skill, but that's only going to appeal to a certain group of people. Some people don't understand scratching, so you have to present it in a way that is understandable. You have to be creative and well-rounded."
Sound Event is not a typical DJ album, and come to think of it, it's not even a typical hip-hop album. With songs like "Salsa Scratch" featuring Bob James on piano, there is no "hip-hop" other than the scratch, but even then, it's not used in the traditional sense.
To say the least, Rob is a master of fusing hip-hop with other genres of music. On top of working with some of jazz's greatest, he, along with the X-Ecutioners, have worked with mainstream artists such as Linkin Park, not only for their album, but for the last X-Ecutioners album, Built From Scratch. Some of you might scratch your heads over this, and talk shit under your breath, but as Rob put it, "Hip-hop and rock are like siblings."
"If you think about it, rock has been a part of hip-hop since day one. Run DMC did the cover to "Walk This Way" with Aerosmith, Public Enemy did a song with Anthrax. I'm a big fan of Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Anthony Kiedis rhymes all over Blood Sugar Sex Magik. For me, if it sounds good, it sounds good. If it sounds wack, it's wack, whether it's rock, rap or the two together." Word.
As the turntable movement continues to grow, so does the technology behind it. The idea of the turntable as a musical instrument has lead to questions about transcribing scratches to some kind of written form, similar to sheet music. DJs Radar and A-Trak have developed ways, but they have not yet been embraced by the masses.
"I'm more of a freestyle DJ, so when I perform I'm going off feeling. With scratching, I don't have set routines like I do when I juggle." As Bird did with the sax, Rob does with the turntable. The scratches you hear are raw emotion spoken through sound, pure in every sense. The complexity and orchestration of Sound Event, along with Rob's desire to tour has him contemplating transcription. "I was talking to Radar about how we could perform so it sounds like the actual song. When I start touring I might have to delve into the whole transcription thing because how can you remember a song bar by bar, and strictly by heart for 12 songs? You can't. Overall, I think it's dope that DJs are developing ways to transcribe scratches, and I think it can go a long ways."
Throughout all his success, Rob stays humble and focused on his goals not only as a DJ, but as a musician. With his dopest album to date, Sound Event, dropping on October 29th, the legacy of Rob Swift continues to build. The name will live forever, and will be talked about alongside of the greats.
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