Blog - Lumlux Art

The Break That Would Not End

Before sampling software could loop a drum break automatically, Grandmaster Flash developed what he called Quick Mix Theory.

He used two copies of the same record on two turntables. When the rhythmic break on one copy approached its end, he switched to the other copy at the beginning of the same break, then reset the first record while the second played. Repeating the process could extend a few seconds of percussion almost indefinitely.

That seems almost obvious now because looping has become a basic software command.

But Flash had to invent the loop physically.

Two records became temporary memory.

The mixer became an editing system.

His hands became the transport controls.

What interests me most is that the technique did not merely reproduce an existing song. It isolated the exact part dancers wanted and changed its duration.

That is already sampling logic before the sampler.

Sometimes an entire technological revolution begins because somebody wants eight seconds of music to last a little longer.

https://invention.si.edu/invention-stories/hip-hop-and-african-american-innovation

#GrandmasterFlash #HipHop #Turntablism #SamplingHistory

The Break That Would Not End invention.si.edu Before sampling software could loop a drum break automatically, Grandmaster Flash developed what he called Quick Mix Theory. He used two copies...

When the Turntable Became the Soloist

Herbie Hancock’s “Rockit” is often remembered as an early meeting between jazz, electro and hip-hop, but one detail still feels radical: Grandmixer D.ST’s turntables were not hiding behind the production. Scratching became one of the record’s most recognisable musical voices.

Hancock’s own account of the production describes multiple synthesizers, a vocoder and D.ST’s contribution. The Fairlight CMI used by Hancock to compose “Rockit” is now preserved by the Smithsonian. When the track reached the 1984 Grammy stage, D.ST stood visibly behind turntables while Hancock performed with electronic keyboards and a clavitar.

That visibility matters.

A record player had spent decades being the machine that reproduced finished music.

Hip-hop reversed its role.

The playback device became the instrument.

Move the record manually and recorded time moves with your hand. A fragment can be stopped, repeated, pushed forward or pulled backward.

“Rockit” helped place that idea in front of a huge mainstream audience.

There is a broader lesson here about creative technology.

An instrument does not always have to be invented.

Sometimes an existing machine becomes an instrument the moment somebody uses it incorrectly enough.

Feature: The Making of ‘Rockit’

#HerbieHancock #Rockit #Turntablism #HipHopHistory

When the Turntable Became the Soloist Herbie Hancock Feature: The Making of 'Rockit' - Herbie Hancock In February of 1984, most of the world had never seen anything like it. As the camera panned across a thundering standing ovation at the 26th Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, the thoroughly mind-blown expressions on the faces of Julio Iglesias, Latoya Jackson, and Brooke Shields said it all. Jazz heavyweight Herbie Hancock and his ...