Flare /flɛː/
1. noun: Sudden recurrence of an inflammation or other medical condition "Corticosteroid treatment for Crohn's or Colitis flares"
2. verb: Burn or shine with a sudden intensity
3. DJ: Flare is a well known DJ and most known for his invention of the flare scratch.
No clubs? No problem…Time to brush off those ‘Lockdown’ blues with some fresh cuts from our friend Dj Rasp. Rasp is true party rocker behind a set of decks, he made a name for himself on the battle scene winning 8 British DJ Titles (DMC and IDA champion). You can find Rasp captivating crowds in clubs and events worldwide (Socially distanced!) with a healthy balance of musical selection, showmanship and technical skills.
So for those who don’t know, where in the world are you from? And what’s your day looking like?
I'm from Warrington in the North West of England, my day is good, it's a blessing to be here.
How would you describe your mix? How did you find cramming a whole bunch into 10 minutes?
The mix that I did is a mashup of all different of styles music, I had a lot fun putting it all together. I kept a balance of good selection and a healthy dose of skills in there just to give it flavour.
Who would you say are your biggest musical influences?
I have so many inspirations within music, I like to see & hear good djing skills from around the globe and from different eras too (that's really inspirational to me).
Listening to different genres of music gives me energy, I like variation (in my opinion there's too much good music out there just to be into one style).
What albums would be your top 5 digs from the crates, if you had to pick your desert island discs?
That's a super tough question because I listen to lots of music in different environments & to accompany my different moods and feelings. What I'm feeling today might not have the same impact on me next week & so on.... but if I had to choose today what 5 albums I would take with me on a desert island.... at this moment in time I would pick:
The Goats - Tricks of the Shade
Jazzmatazz - Vol 1
Gangstarr - Moment of Truth
Portishead Live at Roseland NYC
Daft Punk - Discovery
You have a great résumé and list of accolades, what have been the highlights of your Djing career to date?
I have been blessed to experience lots of cool moments & meet so many great people in my dj career. I will say it's not come easy for me & it's a constant hustle... I have been totally dedicated & worked hard over the last 20 plus years (& continue to do so) to achieve these things.................. here's some of my highlights....
- Touring China in 2018/2017,
- Winning the DMC & IDA British Championships over the years
- Performing at the ITF (International Turntablist Federation) in the Manchester Arena back in 2005
- Opening for Jazzy Jeff at the NEC, Birmingham 2017
- Touring with Vestax Corporation
- Becoming an ambassador for Pro X Fade & touring
- Performing at the Beat Herder festival 2017
- DJing for Tear It Up (International B-boy comp) Liverpool, Hub Festival 2007
- Jamming alongside Biz Markie in Washington DC
- Working alongside In Music over the years (Rane, Numark, Denon, Akai)
- Putting on my own Battle and Scratch Jams in MCR
- Doing a set at the Boombap Festival 2013
- Touring Asia 2014
- Showcasing in NYC for DMC & Serato
- Teaching people over the years
- Working alongside lots of bands, orchestra, rappers, theatre productions & dj's throughout the years
There's too many to mention...
During this Covid 19 lockdown, what have you done to keep busy, and what impact will this have on the Dj community? Do you think this will spawn a new movement within the creative community?
What is in the pipeline for you, any future lockdown projects?
I've been very creative throughout this lockdown, I've been doing lots of live dj sets via streaming, creating routines, filming, editing and posting them. I've been producing music & putting together a scratch tool. Also I've been using the time by doing a lot of file management and organising my crates in Serato (it's a never ending thing haha).
This whole Covid 19 thing is very odd and extremely unsettling for people all over the world, we've all had this situation forced upon us and it's quite scary for many reasons (health, finances, future) it's definitely had a huge impact on the dj community and the whole entertainment/hospitality industry too.... a lot of unemployment, uncertainty & zero gigs... no one knows the outcome of this and if life will ever be the same again, we can only hope this crazy situation passes us by and we all come out of this good on the other side.
I have been seeing a lot of videos online of people creating routines and cool dj sets, I've also saw a lot of djs jump on the streaming thing (maybe this is the future???) who knows, however I have witnessed some good creative streaming productions & content from the worldwide dj community.
We want Flare4Flare to keep growing; whom would you like to challenge to bring a mix to the tables?
DJ Yoda, DJ Numark, DJ Woody, Mr Thing, EL Statiko, J Rocc, DJ Khan Fu
Lastly, before we got in touch had you ever heard of Crohn’s disease?
Yes
We appreciate you involvement mate!
Thanks for having us, it's been great to take part.
Massive thanks to Rasp for this, if you’d like to check out more of his mixes or videos head over to his Instagram or Youtube.
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Words: Matt Strutt , Dj Rasp
Images & Video: Dj Rasp Cover: Chris Colouryum/Russell Mount Audio Edits: Flint & Steel
Contributors: André Leitão
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