Books

The World Of DJs And The Turntable Culture (Todd Souvignier). Published by Hal Leonard

This book, the first to kick off in 2004, does quite a job covering much of the history and the ever-changing technology of the DJ. However, you have remember that this book is primarily about the American scene. That said, the contributions of dub masters, producers, and sound systems of Jamaica, and British DJs such as Fatboy Slim and Paul Oakenfold, get a mention.

Although there’s quite some depth to it, the photos and graphics, plus the short, focused chapters, makes it a very easy book to get to grips with. Sougvenier assumes no prior knowledge, which makes some of the technology parts look like An Idiot’s Guide book, because it explains every button or part of whatever box the DJ’s likely to work with.

Whatever your interest, you’re bound to find much to interest you. There are some useful interviews with DJs, such as Grand Wizard Theodore, Q-Bert, and Rob Swift. The history and the tangents Sougvinier persues, quite frankly, makes for an enjoyable reading. Even anorak will pick up a thing or two in the history section.

Novices can pick up rudiments of music theory – tempo, frequency, key, etc – get to grips with cardinal points about turntables, plus an overview of DJ orientated hard and software. It ends with an appendix which has bullet pointed lists for the different mixing and cueing techniques. Definitely worth checking out.

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