the first DJ to 'screw' / speed up records in public?

Guybrush

Dittohead
When would that have been, according to Lewis? I am asking since I have a vague memory of reading in Loves Saves the Day about some of the early 70s jocks experimenting with it.
 

swears

preppy-kei
You mean the first DJ to pitch-shift records to mix them at the same speed? Pitching a tune down a little bit to drop the tempo so it beatmatches with the next track is not the same as "screwing". That's a dramatic drop in pitch that gives the whole tune a totally different feel.
 

bunnnnnn

Well-known member
daniele baldelli was pitching disco and electro-pop records right down into a treacly sludge in the late 70s / early 80s. some of his mixtapes make for incredibly incongrous listening: some kosmische cluster record mixed with a thompson twins b-side played at 33 -8, stuff like that.

not sure of the timeline here, i'm sure baldelli wasn't the first dj to play records at the wrong speed, but i'm not sure that's particularly important anyway, it's just an interesting parallel development.
 

Poisonous Dart

Lone Swordsman
Huh?

The first to DJ to actually "screw" records up was DJ Screw (R.I.P.) from Houston, Texas, he developed the full technique...as for just experimenting with playing records at different speeds and pitches at jams/parties/clubs? Afrika Bambaataa...two different things altogether. One.
 

mms

sometimes
daniele baldelli was pitching disco and electro-pop records right down into a treacly sludge in the late 70s / early 80s. some of his mixtapes make for incredibly incongrous listening: some kosmische cluster record mixed with a thompson twins b-side played at 33 -8, stuff like that.

not sure of the timeline here, i'm sure baldelli wasn't the first dj to play records at the wrong speed, but i'm not sure that's particularly important anyway, it's just an interesting parallel development.

i'd really like to hear some of these, where can you get them?
 
mms i can give you those cosmic mixs you want, just dop me an email cos i ust got a new computer and i'm too lazy to try and transfer everyone's email addresses......
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
I thought Frances Grasso was the first person to change the speed of records so that you could overlap the beats (if that's what you're asking).
What I've never understood is how this evolved. It seems bit chicken and egg, how could you do this if the turntable didn't have continuously adjustable speed but on the other hand why would you make turntables that you could do that unless there were people who needed them to do that? I guess that if you were skilled enough you might be able to adjust the speed constantly enough for a short while just by dragging the record or something but that sounds pretty difficult to me.
 

Guybrush

Dittohead
When were the first decks with pitch-control released anyway?
That is what I am wondering too.

I am too lazy to check it out now, but I know that Terry Noel did not ‘beatmix’, he merely ‘beat-matched’ (playing tunes that are close to each other in tempo). From what I remember reading, Francis Grasso did beatmix, but he didn't change the pitch of the tunes he played, thus he could only mix records that were very close to each other in tempo (which he could match using his fingers). I know this is explained in detail in Last Night a DJ Saved My Life, so I get back to you on this one (or some other eager beaver will :) ).
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
"I am too lazy to check it out now, but I know that Terry Noel did not ‘beatmix’, he merely ‘beat-matched’ (playing tunes that are close to each other in tempo). From what I remember reading, Francis Grasso did beatmix, but he didn't change the pitch of the tunes he played, thus he could only mix records that were very close to each other in tempo (which he could match using his fingers). I know this is explained in detail in Last Night a DJ Saved My Life, so I get back to you on this one (or some other eager beaver will )."
I think you're right about TN but in my opinion if FG was slowing down or speeding up records using his fingers then he was altering the pitch. Even if he couldn't alter it very far, surely all the principles of beat-mixing are there?
Just wanna check Qwerty, were you asking who was first to beat-mix or who first played records at the wrong speed for the fun of it? If the latter I guess I'm barking up totally the wrong tree and I have to say that I've no idea.
 
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