#2019
We want to thank everyone in the Worldwide scratch community and those that work with self less commitment for supporting TTW.
With your support, we have had a number of successes in 2019 and we look forward to the forthcoming year on building on the following initiatives:
#scratchinschool
TTW are honored to be involved as a lead partner in the Programme. The purpose of the Programme focuses on introducing Turntablism into the UK School curriculum.
The last major update we provided was at the start of the year, since then, there have been 3 major developments.
Pilot Project
The #scratchinschool Turntablism unit, devised by Bradley Smith at Leicestershire Schools Music Service (LSMS), continues to go from strength to strength.
From the 2016 to 2019 academic years, the scheme of work has successfully been delivered across several Primary and Secondary Schools around Leicestershire. The project has reached over 6500 pupils from KS2 to FE, mainstream to SEN. This academic year has seen the most schools sign on to the project with many now making repeat bookings.
LSMS now has 5 class 'unit' sets of turntables, and are working with schools around Leicestershire in bringing this musical experience to pupils.
By working with educational examining boards, Bradley Smith has begun working with pupils to put them through their Music GCSE with the Turntable being the pupil’s instrument of choice for coursework and performance related examination. The course uses an adapted version of the Turntable Transcription Method (TTM), developed by John Carluccio in 1997. The first publication, in 2000, of TTM can be found here.
An open day specifically for parents, teachers and students was organised in the latter half of the year. It included the first 'Scratch Competition' in the Leicestershire area for qualifying Secondary School students. The event video below was premiered during the UK & Ireland IDA Finals at BEATGEEK 19.
Equipment - Going Forward
During the Pilot Project, the instrument of choice was the Numark PT01 Scratch portable turntable. During this phase, both TTW and LSMS worked on case studies and beta testing other solutions. The decision was taken to use the newly introduced Reloop SPiN portable turntable. The reasoning behind this was solely down to 'out of the box' capability and back end brand support.
TTW have been working with LSMS requirement requests, to research and procure all pre-requisite ancillaries in order to support a deliverable 'unit'. This includes the design and development of bespoke 'Class Cuts' branded transit cases courtesy of Magma Bags to the collation of all amplification and cabling equipment(s).
National logistics will be co-ordinated by TTW while the licensing and marketing will be co-ordinated by LSMS.
2020 - What's Next?
LSMS are proud to be working with SKY Music Hub (based in Liverpool) and Severn Arts Music Hub (based in Worcester) to take this initiative to a national level. With other UK Music Hubs waiting in line, 2020 looks to be an exciting year that hopes to see Turntablism reach more young people in schools across the country.
Further updates to follow.
#beatgeek
2019 saw BEATGEEK go from a day event to a weekend.
Held under the Leake Street Arches, in the famous Banksy tunnel, this iconic location is fitting and apt for what BEATGEEK offers. Whilst this event is neither a battle, or a trade show, or a showcase nor networking event, it actually encompasses all this plus more. It has been officially referred to as a life style event, dedicated to #djlife #portablism #beats and #art. The fact that the whole event is free, underpins the core values.
The video below explains more.
BEATGEEK now has 5 key events.
Portablist Lounge
The annual Portablist Lounge battle ran over 2 days on the street. Saturday was dedicated to qualifying rounds, open cyphers and networking. Sunday was structured to accommodate all the qualifying competitors to battle it out through quarterfinals up until the Final.
Powered by Reloop and presented by Turntable Training Wax, Magma and Jesse Dean Designs - Portablist Lounge has established itself as one of the leading Portablist events Worldwide, attracting international competitors and followers.
The Roll of Honour can be found here.
UK & Ireland IDA Championships
Inside Aures, with 54.10 Surround Sound, the Friday evening had BEATGEEK host the UK & Ireland IDA Championships for the first time. The judges for the evening were Ritchie Ruftone, DJ Tigerstyle and DJ VaZee. Hosts during the evening were the multiple World Beatbox Champions The Beatbox Collective.
Like any regional battle qualifier, the aim was to have UK and/or Ireland representatives for the IDA World Finals that were held in Krakow, Poland.
Powered by RANE in association with Technics, the 2019 UK & Ireland IDA Championships held physical battles for all categories - Technical, Show and Scratch.
Beat Cypher
Inside Aures, with 54.10 Surround Sound, Saturday daytime hosted a beat and rhyme cypher presented by AKAI in association with Serato.
Other brands performing demonstrations and tutorials were Teenage Engineering and Playground.
There were also rap battles, demo's and a whole host of other engaging interactive activities.
BG Traders
The Link Tunnel along side Aures hosted 10 trading and/or demonstrating booths that catered for all DJ and beat making needs.
The main high street retailer was Westend DJ.
Other brands/companies were Turntable Training Wax, AKAI Professional & Numark, Playground, Dynamic Distribution & Magma, Reloop, Phase and Scratch Pro Audio.
Educational institutions, specifically, SAE Institute and Leicester-shire Music Services provided their support, supplying information on courses and the #scratchinschool Programme respectively.
DJcity Annual Link Up
On the Sunday, inside Aures, with 54.10 Surround Sound, DJcity held their annual link up
Powered by RANE in association with Serato, this was a fast paced showcase with performances, networking, demo's and talks by the world reknowned Latin Prince.
#beatgeek2020 plans and preparation start early 2020. There is something extra special in store for this one.
#turntabletrainingwax
TTW have been working hard in the background on the elements mentioned above as well as providing their core services to the scratch community. In addition, TTW have been working on a number of business infrastructure activities.
Other successes include the release of the Reloop SPiN portable turntable system. This has been a highlight due to the engagement with the brand during its development. The time line of this release heavily supported TTW’s road map with the #scratchinschool Programme.
It was also such an honour for TTW to sign the legendary DJ Tigerstyle to the label, which resulted in the superbly produced Battle Break: DUO vinyl.
In 2020, there will be 3 new exciting releases coming out on the Turntable Training Wax label. There is also another collaboration release and 2 major projects that are currently in the initiation stages. Updates will be provided via Social Media channels.
Have a fantastic leap into 2020.
As always, many thanks for supporting TTW!
#TTW #scratchinschool #beatgeek #2019
