Behind the Scenes: My Turntablism Practice Lab
Welcome to my crib. This is where I push the limits of my decks, drill new scratching techniques, and sharpen my beat juggling. It is not polished, but it is real.
This is what learning looks like. Making a shit load of mistakes while practicing beat juggling, but that's how you get on the right path.
Slow and steady wins the race. Here's a late-night practice session where I'm learning some new beat juggles.
Wanted to try the Tupac scratch on the turntables. This is me figuring it out during a practice session.
Learning some juggles with some classic Michael Jackson tracks. You have to know the classics to rock a party.
Part one of a beat juggling practice session. This is the foundation of turntablism, deconstructing and rebuilding a beat in real time.
Part two of the beat juggling session. Getting the timing and hand speed right takes hours of repetition.
A fun session with some random Tamil kuthu tracks. I hit the wrong bar, but when the camera is off, I'm dancing away.
About this collection
People think DJing is just about showing up and playing hits, but the real work happens when the crowd is gone. In these sessions, I am not just listening to music, I am deconstructing it. I am currently obsessing over faderless scratches and beat juggling routines, practicing for hours to get the timing right so when I am on stage, the mayhem is controlled.
My setup is simple: a pair of turntables, a mixer, and a whole lot of trial and error. I do not hide behind pre-mixed tracks. When you book me for a gig, you are getting the same person you see in these clips, just with a much bigger sound system.
Whether I am working on a classic old school hip hop routine or cutting up Tamil kuthu tracks, the goal is always to create a rhythm that locks people into the music. If I mess up a scratch during practice, I just rewind and fix it. That is the beauty of this craft. You have to be comfortable with the noise before you can make the music. I bring this same intensity to weddings, corporate events, and parties across Bangalore. I do not just press play. I perform, I scratch, and I remix live to keep the floor moving.
Karthik Sivaram
Yo, I am Karthik, better known as DJ Wicked Blaze. When I am not out there bringing the mayhem to a dancefloor, you will find me here, tinkering with my decks and sweating over new scratch drills. It is all about the energy for me, and that starts with putting in the hours in my own studio.
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