DJ competitions are treasure troves of different styles and techniques being showcased; giving DJs from all over the world to prove their skills. Red Bull’s Thre3style competition came to an exciting close last Saturday where Germany DJ Eskei83 brought down the house with a routine full of scratching, live sampling, and creative track selections. See what caught our attention in this world renowned set and watch his full routine below.
Eskei83 Highlights: Turntablism, Samples, and Genre Mash-ups
Turntablism: The first aspect of the routine that caught my attention was the amount of scratching techniques that Eskei83 incorporated into his set. At 4:36, the cameras are focused on the turntables and mixer as Eskei83 manipulates the records bringing a more traditional vibe to his set which juxtaposes the playing of current hits. (Also check out 5:20) This is a great example of how technique and track selection both make up the delivery of a mix.
Samples: Being a huge fan of hip-hop, the sampling that went into this set is what probably got me the most excited watching it. An addition that Eskei83 had added to his Serato set-up was a Maschine MK2. The MK2 is known for sampling and its live implementation which is shown in his routine. It appears Eskei83 used the MK2 to launch different samples throughout his set which not only added a treat to his listeners but the incorporation of timing and sample selection is what turns average into amazing. See if you can ID all the samples he used in the comments below!
Blending Genres: Each genre has something about it that gets people excited about the music. However, each genre varies drastically in sound so it can be difficult to switch between genres. Eskei83’s routine starts out with hip-hop and trap influenced tracks but moves along into Moombahton, Electronica, and Alternative rock. Look how he transitions from each genre into the next to get some ideas on how you can incorporate multiple genres into a set. Ean also has an excellent tutorial offering tips on value-added mixing to create more dynamic routine, like this one.
