DJ Skratch Bastid
Born Paul Murphy, DJ Skratch Bastid is one of Canada’s leading DJs and a Juno Award-nominated producer. Before the upcoming Red Bull Thre3style Showcase Tour in Asia, which he serves as the guest of honor, the hip-hop whiz kid tells Penny Zhou about his life as a DJ and “Thre3style.”
HK Magazine: Were you born into a musical family? What do your parents do?
Skratch Bastid: My father is a real estate agent from Canada, and my Trinidadian mother raised four children. There was always music playing in our house and my father was a small-time music collector who DJ’d a few parties. My mom’s Caribbean family always danced to calypso music at family gatherings and I love music from those countries. It had a lot of soul and the music has influences from all over the world, through the diversity of the people who have settled there.
HK: What was your earliest musical influence?
SB: I used to dance around my house to Michael Jackson’s “Bad” album.
HK: How did you first get into DJing?
SB: I was a very big hip-hop fan when I was a teenager and I collected many CDs, cassettes and LPs. I began to make mixtapes with the best songs from all of my recent collection. Then I started to give them to my friends and to play at parties for fun. Eventually I went into competitions and played in clubs.
HK: Can you tell us something about “Thre3style?”
SB: Red Bull Thre3style is a unique competition that combines the skills of club DJing and competition DJing. The energy of the competition can be enjoyed by an experienced DJ or listeners as well as someone who may be less experienced. It’s very exciting to see DJs put their best work into a 15-minute set in an effort to rock the party.
HK: What can people expect from the upcoming Red Bull Thre3style showcase in Hong Kong?
SB: I will be showcasing the elements that I think make up a great Thre3style set: skills from my past competitions—you can search them on YouTube, track selection that combines new popular music with unique twists, creativity that presents the music in an original way, and an exciting performance on stage that will get you moving!
HK: What’s the best part and worst part about being a DJ?
SB: The best part is getting to make people’s lives better by helping them dance, enjoy their free time and bring them together. Through doing this I have been lucky to travel to over 20 countries and meet many different people who have influenced my life from all over the world. The worst part…not sleeping enough! There are too many exciting things going on to sleep.