This year marks the first annual Visual DJ segment of the DMC Online Championships. Some may say that it's been a long time coming. Some may say that it's too early to add it to the prestigious DJ tournament. Regardless of the stance you take, there's no denying that there was plenty of creative talent that shined through the entries from around the world. One such entry was DJ Brace's. The Canadian DJ started out as a serious turntablist and earned several titles including the Canadian DMC in 2004 and the Online World Team, this year, as part of The Fresherthans with DJ Vekked. During his competition stint, he moved into production and won Best Instrumental Album of 2009 with his debut album, Nostomania. If you don't see him on stage as a solo act or casually schooling the competition at a tournament, you can also catch him as the official scratch DJ and remixer for Ancient Astronauts of Thievery Corporation's ESL Music.
The rules were pretty simple this year for the Visual DJ competition: make something dope in 6 minutes that combines turntablism with a visual element. Then the public voted on the top 10 which will go before the judges for the finals. Before the judges announce a winner later today, we wanted to take a closer look at DJ Brace's entry which currently sits at #2. He starts with a classical sample to scratch, paired with a video of a string orchestra. The scratching and video make it look like a live performance. Throughout the routine, the video reflects the vocal sample of choice at the time whether it's a play on words or just for dramatic (Jean-Claude Van Damme) or comedic (Danny McBride) effect. The part that got us was the audio and video sample he uses of Mark Ronson singing the bass for "Check The Rhime" and then bringing in the acapella for the ATCQ track. By adding videos to his set, DJ Brace brings your attention to what he wants you to focus on like a conductor. It's this kind of ingenuity and clean execution that has us excited for the future of this tournament.
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