Seems like September is battle month. Raida's European Gong Battle for Supremacy is happening, as is the 2006 DMC World Finals. And now we have Guitar Center's Spinoff battle 2006. And these guys don't mess about prize-wise - up for grabs is a whole car - a Toyata Scion plus a whole stash of mind blowing goodies. Now that's what I call something to aim for.

We don't have Guitar Center (or even centre) in the UK. Seems that we need one very soon.

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It's a special year for DMC in more ways than one. This year sees the battle come of age - yes it's 21 years old this time round. Oh dear lord, do I feel old now. But that's not all - it's all change(ish) in the battle itself. At the end of last years battle, details leaked out about new rules and new sponsors and this year has seen them implemented. Danish needle giants Ortofon have ridden in on their trusty steed and pumped some serious cash into the battle - $30K to be precise on the condition that only Ortofon carts can be used. The upside however is that competitors can use any mixer they like. Despite this people are still using the Technics mixer... go figure.

Anyhow, after some confusion and potentially expensive lost airfares, the 2006 DMC World Finals will be happening not in Paris but London at the Hammersmith Palais on 10-11th September (yes I know - Sunday and MONDAY). And tickets are available to pre-order now.

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Within the pages of skratchworx, we get to report on all sorts of techno-goodies. They come in all shapes and sizes but I never thought I'd be posting up a news story about a mobile phone. But the new LG U400 is newsworthy for 2 very good reasons - firstly it's also an MP3 player with a built in scratch wheel (no really) but it's also being endorsed by the mighty DMC, who have also provided some scratch content for the U400 too. I wonder if they'll let you use it in the finals?

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My hosts seem to be having problems with slratchworx and the skratchlounge right now. Please bear with me (and them). Normal service will be etc etc etc ....

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Just before Christmas, I had the sad news to report about the passing of SqratchAttack's Zeevee. I've been contacted by his mother to let you know about the memorial service:

"We would like to invite all of his friends to a Service we will be having for ZV on Sat. July 29th.@2pm. This will be held @ San Joaquin Catholic Cemetery located @719 E. Harding Way in Stockton, CA.. We will be having a reception following the service @Eagles Hall located @1492 Bourbon in Stockton.

If you would like to play a little music in Tribute to ZV please feel free, this would be an Honor to ZV and will show the Love and Respect his friends had and still have for him."

I'll play a song for Zeevee in the skratchlab tomorrow. Peace and love goes out to Zeevee's family.

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First there was the CDJ-1000, then along came it's baby sibling the CDJ-800. Having less bells and whistles, it was the perfect toe dipper for DJs wanting to sample a lump of Pioneer quality. And then Pioneer went and raises their game, pushing that digital envelope into an area not previously thought possible on a desktop deck - video. Out came the DVJ-X1 and people around the world sold their souls just to own a pair.

So it wasn't an enormous leap of the imagination to work out that once people had recovered from first seeing the somewhat awesome DVJ-X1 in action, that Pioneer would at some point unleash a baby DVJ - and they have - and it's called the DVJ-1000.

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The first weekend in September just got a whole lot busier in good old London village. Firstly, it's PLASA 2006 as well as the DMC World finals in the same weekend (and almost the same postcode). So now there's a good reason to make a very long weekend of it.

Having covered Roc Raida's Gong Battle for Supremacy back in April, people commented on how cool it would be to bring it over the ocean to Europe. So those bloody Eclectic Breaks do-gooders have only gone and done just that. People - I give you the European Gong Battle for Supremacy.

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Oh Dear Lord - the temperature is killing me here. But just when I thought it couldn't get any hotter, M-Audio go and announce a new DJ division called SynchroScience™ and with it, 2 new products, aimed squarely at the digital DJ. Working hand in hand with the new Torq software, the new Conectiv controller works like an SSL box - and then some.

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Unless you've been living in a cave, you can't have failed to notice how the renaissance of Numark goes from strength to strength. Having taken Akai under the wing of Numark Alesis, their collective product range and next level new products has seen them sitting at the top of the DJ manufacturer tree in 2006. But they also want to give something back. To celebrate the pioneers of the electronic age, Numark are throwing a big bash at Berklee in Boston, US, the proceeds of which will fund scholarships for the next wave of musicians. Get ready for Milestones - coming your way in September. Oh but wait, there's a competition as well where you can win a heap of goodies.

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OK I know I'm a bit late with this but there's still time to catch some free Hip Hop action in New York courtesy of Tools of War. Each Thursday until the end of July, you'll be able to catch some of the originators and pioneers doing their thing at the epicentre of the birth of Hip Hop - Crotona Park in the Bronx. There's 2 Thursday events left with a Cold Crush Brothers Wednesday special to look forward to.

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Battle wax has been around for ever now and while we all blindly fork out hard earned cash for doubles of what we hope will be the next big thing, we're often treated to a rehash of previous releases. Breaks of various styles and speeds, mixtures of aaahhhs, freshes and the usual noises tends to be the formula for most releases. So when I got the new Dialogue and Random was fresh outta France, it was clear that the mould had been broken, smashed and the vapourised. Prepare yourself for something very different indeed.

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Former Piklz member and all round scratch icon DJ Disk isn't known for pumping out release after release but he thought it might be a good idea to let you all know that his latest battle wax, interestingly entitled "Tornado of Urine Breaks", is available now from his myspace page. I think for the UK market, weewee whirlwind breaks has a better ring... ^_^

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It's been a while since we heard anything official about Vestax's revolutionary new musical instrument turntable the Controller One, but it seems to be surfacing in Spain, courtesy of DJ Tedu. Last month saw a movie on the scratchernet of a very basic short demo of the C1 but now we have a better one from DJ Loomy. Sadly (and not very usefully) it's all in spanish but you do get the idea.

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If you're like me, your turntablist experience is not a tidy one. I have a tendency to leave records out of covers, cables running across and between mixers and decks and generally treat the skratchlab like a major league dumping ground for the daily lumps of chaff that infest my life. So what we need is order. And In my meanderings around London Calling, I happened upon Deconomix - a company dedicated to ensuring that your DJ life is an organised life.

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So the cleanup continues - filling the gaping holes in the review list, and there's quite a few more to go yet as well. Nothing earth shatteringly cutting edge this time, just a nice accessory that every crate digger should have - the Vestax Handytrax.

It's never going to set an audiophile's world on fire but as a vinyl junkie tool, it'll save you from buying mashed wax or just crap music. Haven't we all done that before?

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I just want to give a big shout out to an unsung hero of . NdB has been a friend, a family member and travelling companion to each of the Musik Messe events and this year will be doing his first PLASA and DMC World finals. But more importantly than that, he is officially dead old today, reaching 30 years. And as if that wasn't enough, he married my sister-in-law in Greece 2 weeks ago.

I want everyone to wish happy birthday to this vital member of the (quite literally) family! See you on Saturday for the BBQ and Q&A!

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Just reminder that today is BBC Radio 6's special RUN DMC Day, celebrating the career of RUN DMC and the 20th anniversary of "Raising Hell" hitting platinum. And today is the day for the competition where you can win a full DJ setup from Numark and special one off slipmats from Slikmats. And you can enter the competition right here.

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Being DJs, we collect vinyl, play it and put it back on our shelves and barely give the covers a second look. But someone has spent time making that cover and there are some truly great sleeves out there worthy of our attention. Instead of seeing only the edge of the sleeve, why not put them on display? Enter Art Vinyl.

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Hot on the heels of QBert's "Breaktionary" series comes a new Dirtstyle release. Utilising some of the funky breaks found on Q's opus set, Skratchy Seal brings you "Skratchy Seal's Training Wheels". It's all about fast and funky skipless breaks - perfect for jugglers rather than skratchers as is Q's thing right now.

UPDATE: Now with added rough and ready demo movie.

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So here it is - the new scratch mixer on the block, the revised AEM100i. Complete with cosmetic makeover, ditching of some less than popular features and improving the existing ones a little, the AEM-100i aims to have a broader appeal without sacrificing the analogue synth effects that set it apart from the already saturated scratch mixer market.

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For those of you in the London vicinity (Earls Court specifically), Thursday and Friday sees the 2nd London Calling DJ show. And as part of this show, Eclectic Breaks have taken over a huge stand and working in conjunction with , has attracted some quality hardware demos. On display will be the new Audio Innovate AEM100i, Gemini's CDT-05, the Rodec Scratchbox and some Cortex USB equipment plus a whole lot more.

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Scratch DJs aren't renowned for being risk takers. They tend to feel safe with what they know and the formula for a 2 channel battle mixer is as good as cast in stone. So who the hell told Audio Innovate to bring out a first mixer with fancy fader cut buttons and analogue effects? Are they mad? Well the reviews are in and the AEM-100 is actually a very good - if a little left field - scratch mixer. But like any good manufacturer, AI have listened and responded to market demand with a tweak to the original and brought out a sibling - the AEM-100i.

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20 years ago, RUN DMC's "Raising Hell" LP sold enough copies to go platinum - the first Rap album to do so (I think so anyway). So the might British Broadcasting company - the BBC to you - have decided it would be a jolly good idea to commemorate this with a whole day of RUN DMC related stuff on July 6th. And skratchworx, along with the very good people at Numark and Slikmats have organised a full starter DJ setup to be given away on the day.

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Nothing creates a buzz in the local scratch community quite like DJ QBert playing a gig at a local club. All shapes, sizes and tribes of young and old people make the pilgrimage to see the the former Pikl do his thing behind the wheels of steel. And even though we've all seen his performances over the years on video, DVD and the interweb, nothing beats seeing him up close and personal. So I decided to scrawl a few words, point and squirt my cameras and give you a little insight into an evening with DJ QBert.

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It's fair to say that when we first heard about the original Denon DN-X1500, we were hoping for something very special and on paper it was. And then we touched it. For whatever reason, the fader sucked hard - seemingly a Denon curse - and we reviewed it accordingly. But now things are different and to match Denon's new silver colour scheme, the DN-X1500 is reborn - with an S suffix, a shiny faceplate and more importantly and brand new Flex fader.

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Times they are a changin' at Gemini. Once a big global DJ company, now it's a brand and the former company will be changing it's name to GCI Technologies. Essentially it's just a name change for the company but allows for them to develop new and existing brands under one umbrella. Check it out for yourselves - GCI website.

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Slipmats are a strange beast in the scratch scene - everyone has an opinion but unlike the choice of decks, nobody ever falls out over it. So you can use whatever you want and not get pushed around by gangs of big tablists in the DJ playground. It's even cool to do full homebrew mats and not line the pockets of the big boys but keep Vileda employees happy. So when D-Styles decided to bring out a mat of his own, he must have known he'd be on safe ground. And he is, as my review shows.

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Urei just don't seem to be able to help themselves. After a small bout of denial - "we are definitely NOT releasing an effects mixer - I don't care what DJ Deals say", followed by a more upfront "ummmm... it seems we are - you know how it is Gizmo", Urei finally released yet another variant of their 1601 mixer. We've had the über luverly sampler model and now it's the turn for effects in the shape of the 1601E.

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When Numark brought out the CDX back in the olden days, people wondered why they just didn't pop an HD in there instead. Well they have now and logically called it the HDX - and made a damned fine of job of it as well. But there is a problem, one that caused me to rethink the way in which rates products. When using it, I smile from ear to ear, but when I think about how much it would cost me to buy one (let alone a pair), I wince in pain, and the review I've written reflects this.

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DMC World - that's where where I grabbed this screenshot confirming that the Parisian scratch massive will be missing out on the much hoped for first venture off these shores and into... well anywhere but the UK. There is an upside though - it's the same weekend as PLASA so I'll be in London anyway. ^_^

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