There's not much left to say about DJ Craze that hasn't been said already. And that includes our interview with the talented man. Despite us running out of praiseworthy synonyms, he still pumps out new music and routines as if he just started DJing. Craze still has a big hand in running Slow Roast records, touring the world, starring in Grand Marnier commercials, and working with other established DJs to remind the world about the craft of turntablism. We always wondered when he would take a break but we may never get an answer at this rate.
Native Instruments has started a series of exhibitions and talks with some of the world's best to unite "NI users, experts, and the wider music community together to explore the future of music making with KOMPLETE, TRAKTOR, and MASCHINE." Aptly called Native Sessions, one installment featured a routine and Q&A with Craze. Craze starts with the remix of Jay Z's "Excuse Me Miss Again." But when he juggles the song, he slips in some scratches and body tricks that seem impossibly fast. His production skills have only gotten better as he uses the records to make his own remix. He gradually mixes between faster versions of the same song to show off his dexterity. Next he showcases his scratches and uses his back and elbow to slow the record down. Is there a scratch that Craze can't pull off? Afterwards, it's onto the hot keys on his Traktor mixer to recreate Kanye's "Blood On The Leaves" live. For the fourth segment, he mixes all of the previous parts into a beat juggling, scratching, and hot key hodgepodge. As the crowd applauds, he cues up a Russell Peters bit also used in DJ Captain Crunch's recent UKF in the Mix routine. Then it's back to Kanye with "New Slaves." It's important to take note at how Craze seamlessly includes various elements of turntablism into one movement. So he'll hit a trigger key, switch to the other turntable, and scratch a record in one swift motion. It doesn't end there. He uses his whole forearm to slow a record down to create a slow motion scratch. This is one advanced routine. And in typical battle DJ fashion, Craze includes a few vocal samples to reiterate that he's still the best around.
Lucky for Craze, technology isn't really an inhibiting factor for his creativity since he's close with Jim Mazur, the Director of Traktor Products. After the set, Craze takes the time to answer some questions including what his favorite scratch sample is, producing as a DJ, having fun during your sets, trends, his story on acid and getting into turntablism at 15, and more.
Keep up with Craze on his website, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube. For everything Slow Roast related, check out their website, Twitter, Youtube, and Facebook page.