Biography
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Years Active
1994 – 2000 (6 years)
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Founded In
San Francisco, California, United States
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Members
- DJ Apollo
- DJ Disk
- DJ Flare
- DJ QBert
- DJ Shortkut
The Invisibl Skratch Piklz were a group of American/Latin/Filipino turntablists.
The members of the group were originally hip-hop DJs, who were among the pioneers of the turntablism movement in the 1990s; turntablists create musical pieces by mixing samples from records, by using multiple turntables as instruments. The group started in 1989 as the "Shadow of the Prophet", although Disk and Qbert had already discussed starting a group together, which would gestate into the Invisibl Skratch Piklz.
The group began with DJ Q-bert, Mix Master Mike, and DJ Apollo (who left the group in 1993). The group later added DJ Disk, Dj Shortkut, DJ Flare, Yogafrog, D-Styles, and A-Trak to their lineup. They released numerous mix projects & albums and were featured in documentaries such as Battle Sounds and Scratch. The Invisibl Skratch Piklz performed their last show on July 1, 2000 at the Skratchcon 2000 conference in San Francisco, California.
Individually and as a group, the Piklz's reputation in the hip-hop underground is undisputed, with journalists regularly describing how they were asked by the world's most prestigious international DJ association (DMC) to stop competing since they were discouraging other DJs from even bothering to enter. But the leaps the group have made since they retired from competition, have proved most impressive; dragging turntable tricknology into new and wholly autonomous territories of musicianship being developed by a new generation of bedroom virtuosi, with turntable groups such as the X-Men, the Beat Junkies, and the Skratch Piklz at the forefront.
The Piklz produced most of their work around 1995-2000. During that period they also gave numerous performances and seminars around the world, helped in the design of various DJ products for Vestax and Ortofon, and developed the break record, an essential tool used by most present-day turntablists. One of their most notable performances was an unofficial battle between themselves and the X-Men (now the X-Ecutioners) of New York. Their group routine for this battle, immortalized on bootleg videos, was later recorded in a studio and released as "The Invisibl Skratch Piklz Vs. Da Klams Uv Deth" (see below). All previous members of the group have gone on to solo careers, most notably DJ Q-bert & Mix Master Mike. Q-bert, Mix Master Mike, Shortkut, and DJ Disk are featured in a live performance on the Praxis album Transmutation Live, recorded in 1997.
Discography
* Mongoose Shuttle (1997) (unreleased)
* Vs. Da Klams Uv Deth (1997) (Asphodel)
* The Shiggar Fraggar Show, Volume 5 (1998) (Hip Hop Slam)
* The Shiggar Fraggar Show, Volume 4 (1999) (Hip Hop Slam)
* The Shiggar Fraggar Show, Volume 3 (1999) (Hip Hop Slam)
* The Shiggar Fraggar Show, Volume 2 (1999) (Hip Hop Slam)
* The Shiggar Fraggar Show, Volume 1 (2000) (Hip Hop Slam)
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