DJ Spinbad feature - Published in Undercover Magazine, 2004

This feature is based on a full length q&a with Spinbad which can be found online at spinscience.org.uk.

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Not bad meaning bad, but bad meaning good!

In the world of DJing there aren’t many things DJ Spinbad hasn’t done. He made his name in the 90’s and is now one of the most revered and appreciated DJs worldwide, exporting his very own brand of funky and infectious party music to all corners of the globe. I recently had the chance to sit down with the man and pick his brains about his history, politics of the business, his work and the most bootlegged tapes in history.

Spinbad first got hooked on the turntables when he was growing up in the 80’s, learning to beatmatch on his step-brother’s friend tables. Following this he started making pause tapes for his friends and local bboy crews and became inspired by the work of local DJs as well as Jazzy Jeff, whom he credits as the inspiration for wanting to turn this new found hobby into a living. When he finally got his first decks, which much like everyone else’s at the time “were really quite shit”, he recalls trying to imitate what Jeff was doing but “of course the turntables were belt drive and they would be all over the place!”

Spinbad established himself on the DJ scene in many ways. He was one of the first east coast DJ to implement in his work the new technical styles (crabs, flares etc…) that had been pioneered by such west coast luminaries as Q-Bert, Mix Master Mike and Babu. Him and his partner, Revolution, would get together and session, exchanging tricks and learning new patterns, something which he has always made a point of displaying in his live sets and countless mixtapes. Mixtapes were another way in which Spinbad established himself on the scene. Referred to by many fans and DJs alike as one of the true mixtape kings, over the years Spinbad has put out some of the most well known and appreciated tapes, ranging from standard fare hiphop tapes, to blend tapes, classic breaks compilations and the one and only 80’s megamix, aka ‘Spinbad: Rocks the Casbah’. When asked about the 80’s mixtapes he explains that it all started out as a bit of a joke because “a lot of the tapes that were coming out of New York at the time, were the Clue type of tapes, where things weren’t mixed together, there was no blending or scratching and they just shouted over the top. Basically they had only exclusive songs on DAT and they shouted over them. And I hated it, I couldn’t stand it and I wanted to do something that those people would absolutely despise. So I picked up the corniest 80’s music that I grew up loving, and I cut these up and scratched them just to see what I could do with it. And I did 15 minutes of it and I brought it to Jazzy Jeff’s studio, and told him to check it out, and he loved it. He was really feeling it and I was like ‘are you serious? I only did it as a joke’. And he said ‘No man you need to finish it, people are gonna love this’. So I went back to finish them, and he kept on calling me up asking if I had finished it and pushing me to do it. I pretty much did it for him and that’s how it came together.” Admittedly he was even more surprised of their popularity and the way in which they spread like wildfire. He gave a bunch to Fatbeats in NY, and they somehow ended up all over the world, spreading his fame. They have now reached a timeless status being often referred to as the most bootlegged tapes of all time.

Spinbad has a style all his own when it comes to mixtapes. As he explains “part of it is that I always try to incorporate turntablism aspects to my tapes, with a good dose of scratching and juggling. It’s not all multitracking, all the scratches are done in real time, and I’m into the layering aspect of using the multitrack.”

Spinbad is also known for founding the now defunct Cold Cutz Crew in the mid 90’s with fellow DJ Js-One. They were mostly known for their tapes and collective tracks, including another classic: the Cold Cutz Remix tape. Last but by no means least, Spinbad is also known as the man who was Moby and Dido’s tour DJ and who before that opened for the Back Street Boys on one of their tours. Not the type of activity one would associate with a hiphop DJ, but something that was an obvious result of Spinbad’s talent and growing notoriety. These gigs lasted for a few years and led him to more opportunities including DJing on famous American talk shows such as Jay Leno and David Letterman. He got those gigs through another friend of his, Stretch Armstrong, who was Moby’s flatmate. He auditioned to do a scratch solo on the Conan O’Brian show with Moby and from there on “things went a bit crazy”. He has fond memories of his time touring with the stars but it started to affect his personal goals. “I was touring for two and a half years, and everything that I’m trying to do comes to a halt at that point, and I’m supporting Moby or I’m Dido’s DJ, and I just want to work on my productions and work on my career a bit more. And the touring thing is so hard as well, it takes a lot out of you.”

Following a few years of touring Spinbad settled back in New York and in 2002 started a new phase of his career: getting his own radio show on the big apple’s airwaves. After years of suffering the poor quality of radio shows and the ensuing even poorer exclusive tapes these shows spawned, Spinbad got signed to Power 105, first on a late night slot and since last June on a prized 8 o’clock slot. As with most of his work, Spinbad makes a point of being different and original, his show isn’t just your average, as he prefers to let his skills do the talking. “I have a host and we do some talking bits but most of it is just straight music. My show is one of the only ones with blending and scratching on the air and that is different in itself to almost any radio show in NY. So I’m really getting a kick out of it and the way people respond to it, because you know radio in NY has been the same for ten years. Play a song, scream, cut the song out, play another one, shit gets boring quickly.” Much like the mixtape game, radio has its fair share of politics and Spinbad has had the unfortunate opportunity to witness those first hand, but he doesn’t let them affect him, choosing to rise above it all and provide an oasis of musical quality in a desert of dull musical similarity.

So what is next for this man who has done a lot and witnessed even more? He battled, founded a crew, released quality tapes for years, played some of the biggest gigs a DJ could ever wish to, opened for word class acts, spun in clubs all over the world and got his own prime time radio show. Obvious really, the last missing piece being production. He admits to loving working in the studio something his hectic schedule for the last few years never allowed him much time to concentrate on. He has produced for some of his tapes, released some battle weapons but as of yet hasn’t really entered the production arena on his own terms, something he hopes to do this year. “I have been working on some hip-hop tracks, with some local MCs as well as this guy from Philly called Baby Blak and Kardinal Offishal. I’m probably going to put out a compilation album with different artists on it. I love it, I just wish I had more time to do it, when I start making a beat I always want to take it further, but with the radio and my other work it can be hard to get away from it all and find time to just be on my own and work on production.” He is confident that some of this production work will see the light of day soon, and with a pedigree like his we can be sure to expect some top quality head nod hiphop.

So there you have it, the man, the myth and the legend; one of the most versatile DJs, comfortable in any genre and situation. And if you haven’t already go get his 80’s tapes, you won’t be disappointed and for once you will be able to jam to it with your parents.

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written by Laurent