SKIP&DIE
Skip & Die is a collaboration between the South African vocalist / visual artist Catarina Aimée Dahms (aka Cata.Pirata) and Dutch producer Jori Collignon (C-Mon & Kypski, Nobody Beats The Drum).
While traveling through South Africa’s Soweto, Johannesburg, Cape Town and Guguletu, they collaborated with some of SA’s most inspiring music-makers on the rise.
Their first album: a mix of electro and afro beats, portrays their experience of blazing sun, dusty roads, township shacks, cockroaches, skulls, bones and lovebirds (in Spanish, Portuguese, English, Afrikaans, Xhosa and Zulu) and is scheduled to be released this year.
KYPSKI
Canada has dj A-Trak, but Holland has dj Kypski. This six-time Dutch dj champion and scratching virtuoso is a key figure in the dutch dj scene. Known for his scratching, drumming and production in the Dutch eclectic band C-Mon & Kypski, he is now ready to rock the decks with is own style of dancemusic. He’s released seven albums with his band, two scratch-records, has made several remixes for bands like zZz, Lotus, but perhaps his most well-known remix is Deadelus’ ‘Touchtone’ (Kypski Remix), released on Ninja-Tune in 2008. In that year Kypski also released his infamous mixtape ‘Kyptape 2008’.
Kypski collaborates with legendary musicians in almost every thinkable genre, and has played or dj-ed at the biggest venues in Holland and abroad. From the Paradiso, Melkweg, Heineken Music Hall in Amsterdam to the Hammerstein Ballroom and Webster Hall in NYC, where he could be seen last year Dj-ing next to Hot Chip. Kypski had been schooled in turntablism by U.S. dj Ace in 1996, who works together with the scratching legends D-Styles and Q-Bert, the people who in their turn schooled dj A-Trak. When Kypski came back from the States in 1997, he won every dj contest in Holland. He now starts off with a new project, called ‘Partyscratch’. Scratch music to party to. Using his scratching skills with genres ranging from Disco to Techno, Kypski’s signature can be distinguished in every track.
Kypski about his music: Partyscratch.
‘Recently I found out that I like to make electronic dance music, with my own twist to it of course. I call it ‘Partyscratch’. This is because it’s music to party and dance to, but with a scratch playing the lead. I find it ironic to see that a lot of times when Dj’s scratch, it is more likely to make people stop dancing than that it invites people to dance. While back in the early 80’s when scratching had just been invented, people were dancing to it. That’s the vibe Ì try to bring with Partyscratch. I want it sound like Mr. Oizo and dj Q-Bert, two of my favorite artists, making a track together. For making these tracks I put a lot of inspiration from old school electro scratch breaks, like ‘Techno Scratch’ by the Knights of the Turntables, but also songs like Pieces Of A Dream – ‘Mt Airy Groove’, and De La Soul’s ‘Saturday’. On the other end, there’s the Boys Noize, Mr Oizo and Alter Ego influence. The rest of the inspiration I get from all the parties, great artists, dj’s and musicians around me, and of course the internet.’
His dj sets are a unique experience with a dancing crowd responding to his scratching, in a pumping set. Kypski manages to go back to the very roots of scratching, and still sound fresh and new.
