ha ha i cant believe this subject came up...
if anyone wants to have an idea of what scratching as the general public knows it has become then check my regular podcasts and sites:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/turntableradio - I recommend the Japan special mix, the january, may and july ones too.
you can subscribe and d/l thru itunes too or just right click and save as all casts with the above link.
http://www.turntableradio.com
http://www.spinscience.org.uk - peep downloads section there and interview/feature archives
As you might see there's stuff being done worldwide which frankly isn't about scratching anymore it's about music. which it should be - there's only so much cutting records will do, but when it comes to making music, like everything else the possibilities are endless.
the majority of 'scratchers' are producers, studio heads and music lovers. The days of cutting up break record samples over hip hop beats have gone tho loads of people still do that.
It's just there's a wealth of music and talent out there today, around the world, which don't get a lot of shine or attention cos tablism, like other hip hop practices as someone mentioned, is still viewed thru a certain lens.
As for cutting and dubstep - i dont feel the need to hear cuts on dubstep tunes, but i agree with rich and diss (we spoke about it at length at DMZ back in march) that there's potential for some stuff to be done which unless it was said 90% of people wouldnt know there was 'cutting' used in the track. It's definitely about more than just scratching fresh - you could add to something live or even help recreate something live. or simply, like most people do use it in the studio as another tool, like a sampler, synth, etc...
It's funny someone mentioning the juggles thing. I saw Joe Nice do it at DMZ and it made me laugh (in a good way), and i've heard it on other sets but personally im not mad about it. Doublin electronic music tracks at certain bpms just doesnt do it for me... tho if done well it can be a nice addition to the mix styles... it's just weird how people seem to like the doubling up in dubstep, or dnb or whatever, but actually in tablist circles doubling and juggling is really a thing of the past for most... it's scratching that got really concentrated on for the last 5+ years. Tho there's cats like Kentaro and izoh in japan who can pull juggles which will leave your jaw open - i've seen izoh make a beat by juggling drum records and you shut your eyes you'd be hard pressed to tell if the beat wasnt actually programmed.
anyways i'd be happy to see some people experiment with it production wise... i fucked around in the studio with 2tall the other day and we made something at 135/140bpm entirely from scratched sounds with added programmed drums and deep bass - it was fun and im sure there's room for people experimenting. boxcutter and vexd have dropped scratching sounds in their tunes from what i can remember.
And i know the NozL boys are on some shit too - im sure they'd have something nice to bring to the table if they did for a laugh
Oh and as a funny side note, a lot of grime and dubstep actually sounds (to some people anyways) not too disimillar to late 90s and early 00s scratch practice beats. Without the fat bass in the case of dubstep tho...
Seriously tho if you're interested i suggest you check the Turntable Radio podcasts - there's some sick shit being done worldwide, in all styles and flavours.
One last plug - The Cuts of Culture compilation we put out last year, there's a new volume coming up in a few months CD/DVD package. It was started with the purpose of just exposing the music being made and showing there's more to it then just funky fresh cuts. Maybe you'll want to peep it
http://www.turntablelab.com/cds/184/350/10950.html
This CD proves turntablism isn't dead, but is alive and well! Cuts of Culture is a cross section of recent turntable music fom around the world compiled and mixed together by UK's 2tall. Amazing stuff throughout from the more known (D-Styles(1), A-Trak(2), Ricci(3)) to lesser known producers like Kypski & Lah, Morse,(4) and Lamont. The diversity of styles on here is pretty mind blowing - from the jazzy, funky compositions of C2C (who absolutely kill it live - check the '05 DMC World Team Battles), the Aphex Twin sounding Morse, downtempo from Excess, to the straight thuggin vibe of A-Trak with Dipset (yes, Dipset!). 2tall(6) himself contributes a killer production as well, with some of the sharpest cuts i've heard in long time.
oh and sorry for hte long assss post. lol
