Shadow Of The Prophet

New York birthed turntablism, but West Coast DJs also spun the movement toward revolutionary realms. Influenced by Steve Dee, the Bay Area's Qbert, Mix Master Mike, and Apollo formed Shadow Of The Prophet, the first all-DJ band. In 1989. Using vinyl to compose original songs, the trio modeled themselves as turntable-playing bassists, guitarists, and drummers. In addition to literally creating songs from scratch, these sound scientists invented fresh techniques that brought the art form to a new level. While Apollo cooked drumbeats, Mix Master Mike busted goofy transformers using his elbow or foot to maneuver vinyl or he'd turn off the turntable and manually spin wax backward and forward across the needle to affect pitch and tone, creating original baselines. Qbert was the Jimi Hendrix of turntablism. On one occasion, after inadvertently splintering a stylus, he flipped the needle upside down, took the record off the rotating platter, and held it on top of the needle manually moving the vinyl across the upside-down stylus like a violin bow to create funky, crackling scratches.