Today, Grandmaster D.ST is now known as DXT. But let’s go back in time. Grandmaster D.ST is the DJ who scratched the famous record sounds on Herbie Hancock’s Rockit (check out videos below). I’m presenting you with three of my favorite D.ST tracks here: Home Of Hip Hop, Megamix II: Why Is It Fresh, and Mean Machine. I travelled to New York city looking for these records back in Summer 1985 with no luck. Then I went to London in December 1986 (already two years late after their initial release dates) and happened to find all three 12-inch records at HMV megastore on Oxford Street. Top notch tracks of their time; stellar production for electro hip hop; serious stuff.
Grandmaster D.ST – “(The Bronx) Home Of Hip Hop”…
Artist: Grandmaster D.ST
Title: (The Bronx) Home Of Hip Hop
Year: 1984
Label: Celluloid
Media Source: Recorded straight from 12-inch record to enhanced digital.
Grandsmaster D.ST – “(The Bronx) Home Of Hip Hop” (mp3)
Grandmaster D.ST – “Megamix II: Why Is It Fresh?”…
Artist: Grandmaster D.ST
Title: Megamix II: Why Is It Fresh?
Year: 1984
Label: Celluloid
Media Source: Recorded straight from 12-inch record to enhanced digital.
Grandsmaster D.ST – “Megamix II: Why Is It Fresh?” (mp3)
Grandmaster D.ST – “Mean Machine”…
Artist: Grandmaster D.ST
Title: Mean Machine
Year: 1984
Label: Celluloid
Media Source: Recorded straight from 12-inch record to enhanced digital.
Grandsmaster D.ST – “Mean Machine” (mp3)
D.ST & Herbie Hancock – Rockit — two live performances and music video…
The live performance below is the ultimate. Imagine being a turntablelist scratching on stage with Herbie Hancock performing THE most legendary electronic/electro-beat track of all time Rockit, surrounded by electronic synths, drums and instruments, robotic props and breakdancers! OH MY GOD!! Turntablelism’s first giant leap (from underground to sharing the big stage with the big leagues) started right here, ladies & gentlemen!!!
Although he produced only a handful of tracks of renown and disappeared into obscurity almost as quickly as he had emerged from it, Manny ( Man ) Parrish is nonetheless one of the most important and influential figures in American electronic dance music. Helping to lay the foundation of electro, hip-hop, freestyle, and techno, as well as the dozens of subgenres to splinter off from those, Parrish introduced the aesthetic of European electronic pop to the American club scene by combining the plugged-in disco-funk of Giorgio Moroder and the man-machine music of Kraftwerk with the beefed-up rhythms and cut’n'mix approach of nascent hip-hop. As a result, tracks like “Hip-Hop Be Bop (Don’t Stop)” and “Boogie Down Bronx” were period-defining works that provided the basic genetic material for everyone from Run-DMC and the Beastie Boys to Autechre and Andrea Parker — and they remain undisputed classics of early hip-hop and electro to this day. Check out example below:
Man Parrish
What made Trevor Horn’s productions stand out was his unique and genius production techniques and the heavy use of state-of-the-art pro-audio gear, which made him become the torch-bearer for the kind of technology-led pop music which was hip and incredibly disciplined. Trevor Horn’s 12-inch remixes were uniquely long (anywhere from 8 to 13 minutes in duration) and told stories which took the listeners through long instrumental journeys at the begenning of tracks until the climax is reached (around the 5/6 or 7 minute mark). After the climax, the original or alternate full vocal version of the track takes over from that point on to the end, lasting additional 3.5 to 5 minutes in length. Check out example below:
Frankie Goes To Hollywood
Trevor Horn is the guy who produced and performed “
The Buggles
all that scratchin making me itch