We close season 2 with two very special guests, a pair of photographers and documentarians without whom our path in this music thing wouldn't be the same. Brian "B+" Cross and Eric Coleman met in the early 1990s. One was an immigrant from Ireland recently arrived on the US west coast to study, the other was an Angeleno, and they both had a deep lov…

For the penultimate episode of season 2 we welcome one of the kindest and most eloquent proponent of beat culture we have the pleasure to know: Alfred Darlington aka Daedelus. Since the early 2000s, Darlington has been an integral node in the LA underground connecting seemingly disparate scenes and sounds from rave to folk, jazz to IDM. An original…

On this week's episode of A Beat Happening we welcome a producer from Detroit who rarely gives interviews but whose music has been an inspiration to those in the culture with keen ears for over a decade: dakim. Coming to the attention of many in the late 2000s, when he relocated to Los Angeles and involved himself in the local scene, and early 2010…

This week we welcome to the show the only DJ to hold a residency at both Sketchbook and Low End Theory: Elvin Estela aka Nobody. Originally from Carson, Elvin fell into the world of hip-hop and beat making via college radio, including Mike Nardone's KXLU show We Came From Beyond, and trips to South Central LA to hear what was happening at the Good …

This week on A Beat Happening we are very happy to welcome Jimetta Rose: a singer, songwriter, and community activist whose radiance and energy has powered the LA scene for over a decade. The South Central native began her career in the late 2000s collaborating with the likes of Shafiq Husayn and Georgia Anne Muldrow, before self-releasing her debu…

This week we welcome Dibiase to the podcast, a veteran of the Los Angeles underground, the man responsible for that boombox outside Sketchbook, and one of the nicest people we know. The Watts native cut his teeth alongside Ras G at Project Blowed, eventually becoming an integral part of the producer community that flourished around the night's MC s…

For season 2, episode 2 we welcome our first mastering engineer to the show. Kelly Hibbert might not be a name you instantly recognize but you've heard his work for many of your favorites including Flying Lotus, Madlib, and Knxwledge as well as Hiatus Kayote, Arca, and Q-Tip. Originally a drummer, DJ, and studio engineer, Kelly worked privately, in…

For the first episode of Season 2 we welcome House Shoes. Originally from Detroit, now an adopted Angeleno, Shoes is a DJ, producer, and label head who started working at local record stores in the Detroit area where he befriended a young Jay Dee. Soon after he became host of the hip-hop room at St. Andrew's Hall in the 1990s, setting himself on a …

On this week's show we close season 1 with Chris Cole AKA Black Monk, a producer and engineer from Los Angeles who was an early supporter and collaborator of Ras G. Growing up in the Inland Empire, Monk became involved in LA's music scene through attendance at Project Blowed, where he first met G, and as a studio engineer working with Death Row. He…

On this week's show we welcome Gregory Feldwick AKA Slugabed, a producer who has been cutting a distinctive path through beat culture over the past decade. Starting in the MySpace days as part of the Donky Pitch collective in Brighton, Greg made neon bright and bass heavy beats with simple tools (read: FruityLoops) which caught the attention of Pla…

On this week's show we welcome a producer, musician, DJ, and composer with a list of achievements longer than this introduction can afford. A Philadelphia native and proud supporter of his hometown, King Britt has been involved in beat culture since the late 1980s operating across scenes, genres, and roles: He was DJ for Digable Planets during thei…

On this week's show we welcome Suzi Analogue: a producer, songwriter, DJ, and label head whose forward-thinking, global outlook continuously provides fresh perspectives on beat culture. Originally from the Baltimore area, Suzi first came to attention in the late 2000s as part of the Philly-based Klipmode collective alongside mndsgn, devonwho, and k…

This week we welcome Alexander Nut to the show! A DJ, promoter, and the co-founder of Eglo Records, Alex has been an integral part of the London scene for over a decade, both behind the scenes and behind the decks. In the late 2000s, he was one of the most vocal supporters of the global beat scene through his show on Rinse FM, the only non-dance mu…

This week we welcome another old friend to the show: Jim Coles AKA Om Unit. Jim and Laurent first met back in the early 2000s when Jim was blending youthful interests in electronic and dance music with the experimental approaches afforded by bedroom production and turntablism. Jim first attracted attention for his work in the liminal spaces between…

Episode 3, Part 2: Ali explains his decision to not become pigeonholed as the "hip-hop cover band," how Astigmatic helped put together the Lahore session with Tenderlonious and Latarnik, and various stories behind the sessions and the albums that came out of it. This week we welcome to the show Ali Riaz Baqar, a musician, composer, and producer who…

This week we welcome to the show Ali Riaz Baqar, a musician, composer, and producer who bridges North Indian classical music with jazz and hip-hop. Baqar is the driving force behind Jaubi, a quartet based in Lahore, Pakistan who first came to many people's attention with a cover of J Dilla's "Time: The Donut of the Heart" that reimagined the origin…

Episode two, part two: Kutmah, Laurent, and Vanese discuss Jay Dee's impact, the different ways in which instrumental music can be presented, and the importance of mentoring and representation. This week we welcome Vanese Smith AKA Pursuit Grooves to the podcast, one of our favorite people in this modern beat culture. Originally from Maryland, now …

This week we welcome to the show one of our favorite people in this modern beat culture: Vanese Smith AKA Pursuit Grooves. Originally from Maryland, now residing in Toronto, Vanese first came to many people's attention - including ours - via the Beat Dimensions compilation before going on to collaborate with fellow beat scene alumni Onra as well as…

Episode one, part two. Sweatson Klank, Kutmah, and Laurent continue their remembrance of the early days of the L.A. beat scene including first meeting Ras G, the Sketchbook residents, moving to the Little Temple, and how Poobah's eventually replaced Aron's as the record store of the scene. For the first episode of A Beat Happening we welcome Tom Wi…

For the first episode of A Beat Happening we welcome Tom Wilson FKA Take and now known as Sweatson Klank. A part of the L.A. beat scene since the early 2000s, Tom first met Kutmah at Aron's Records and the pair eventually became the DJ duo at the heart of Sketchbook, a club night Kutmah started in Hollywood that set the ground for what would come n…

A Beat Happening is a brand new podcast about beat culture past, present, and future presented by journalist Laurent Fintoni and DJ/producer Kutmah. In this trailer, Laurent Fintoni gives you a quick run down on how it came about and what you can expect. Stay tuned for episode 1 featuring Sweatson Klank dropping August 30. You can find Tim Lawrence…

As promised the next episode of our B4B TV: Japan series is available to download and stream, a few weeks on from episode 4. This latest episode features a familiar face, that of Ken One – close friend of Turntable Radio and one of our favourite scratch guys worldwide. It’s not just that he’s dope, [...]…

Oh hai there. Yes we’re back, dusting off the cobwebs and things. Sorry for the quiet spell but as always life got in the way and both myself and Yoshi, our roving skratch reporter, have been busy elsewhere. Still we’re back for another episode of Beat4Battle TV: Japan, number 4 to be precise. It’s been [...]…

We finish our Skratch Evolution 2 special with two mixes from the official CD that Ken One released ahead of the show. DJ Duct handles proceedings here on TTR while over on Rhythm Incursions it’s Ken One doing the honours. The SE2 special has been a month-long series of mixes and exclusive live audio from [...]…

Week 3 of our joint Turntable Radio and Rhythm Incursions special featuring exclusive live audio from Ken One’s ‘Skratch Evolution 2′ event. If you missed the first two weeks you can catch up here for week 1, featuring Ken One live, and here for week 2, featuring a live set from Naoki. Full details of [...]…

We continue our Turntable Radio and Rhythm Incursions Japan special with week 2 of exclusive audio from Ken One’s Skratch Evolution 2 event, held in Kichijoji, Tokyo in December 09. If you missed part 1 check it here. Up this week we have a live set from Naoki, while over on Rhythm Incursions we have [...]…

As mentioned a few weeks back on Rhythm Incursions we’re starting a series of weekly podcasts, lasting a month, featuring exclusive live audio from Ken One‘s recent ‘Skratch Evolution 2‘ event. Held at Kichijoji’s Star Pines cafe, this musical evening featured a rather interesting mix of Tokyo’s underground music scenes with scratch DJs, producers …

We return for 2010 in full effect with our roving scratch reporter Yoshi and his Beat4Battle TV series. This is episode 3 of the Japan series, which sees Yoshi hooking up with, and filming, a selection of the best, and often slept-on, Japanese turntablists. For episode 3 he went all the way to Tanashi (actually [...]…

We return to the B4B:TV Japan series after a little hiatus, and this time we bring you footage of some of Tokyo’s finest, including Turntable Radio friend and favourite Naoki. Episode 2 was filmed at the August 2009 Scratch Day event, a freestyle scratch event which Yoshi has been organising in Tokyo over the last [...]…

Oh, hi there. Yes you’re not seeing wrong, this is indeed a new Turntable Radio podcast. It’s been 11 months since the last one and while they do say good things come to those who wait I may have just pushed it a little with this. With other duties, projects and life getting in the [...]By Laurent

We return to this side of the pond with a brand new video from the Community Skratch collective, this time summing up their recent 09 tour which saw the crew, and friends, take to various pubs and live venues up and down England for some serious skratch action. The tour rolled through the country in [...]…

Ok so we’re still a little late with the long overdue ‘normal’ podcast show and resuming of the Mr Trick Years broadcast, but in the meantime we’re keeping you entertained with the first episode of the new B4B TV from Yoshi, this time shining a light on the Japanese scratch scene. This first episode acts [...]…

And so we reach the end of the Beat4Battle TV:UK series, with episode 6. As Yoshi put it, it ends on number 6 just like any old BBC series! This time the spotlight it turned on yet another little known scratcher, Mikey originally from Hong Kong but currently residing in the UK. Here’s a little [...]By Laurent

After a little holidaying break, which I’ve just found may have actually been filled with more filming, Yoshi’s back with episode 5 of Beat4Battle TV:UK. This time he shines a light on DJ Clix, someone you may not be too familiar with (I know I wasn’t!). Here’s a bit more explanation from Yoshi: “This episode [...]…

A new week and a new episode of Beat4Battle TV:UK. This time Yoshi stopped by in London for a little informal session with Maroon from NozL, Discuss and Manipulate who are all part of the Community Skratch Games collective. 2tall and myself popped over to catch up with everyone and 2tall was promptly ropped into [...]…

Looks like I made a mistake when I put this live yesterday and forgot to attach the podcast and even put it in the right category! I guess that’s why they say you shouldn’t work while on holidays. All fixed now, subscribers should see the podcast make its way to them shortly. Laurent. And so [...]By Laurent