The Invisibl Skratch Piklz are an American group of turntablists. The members of the group were originally hip-hop DJs, who were among the pioneers of the

turntablism Turntablism is the art of manipulating sounds and creating new music, sound effects, mixes and other creative sounds and beats, typically by using two or more turntables and a cross fader-equipped DJ mixer. The mixer is plugged into a PA syste ...

movement in the 1990s; turntablists create musical pieces by mixing samples from records, and by using multiple turntables as instruments. The group started in 1989 as Shadow of the Prophet, with

DJ Qbert Richard Quitevis (born October 7, 1969) known by his stage name DJ Qbert or Qbert, is an American turntablist and composer. He was awarded America's Best DJ in 2010, was DMC USA Champion 1991 (solo) and achieved titles as DMC World Champion in ...

Mix Master Mike Michael Schwartz (born April 4, 1970), better known by his stage name Mix Master Mike, is an American turntablist best known for his work with Beastie Boys. Life and career Born in San Francisco, California, Mix Master Mike is of German and Fi ...

, and DJ Apollo, who left the group in 1993. The group later added

DJ Disk DJ Disk is a turntablist from the San Francisco Bay Area. He is of Panamanian, Colombian, and Nicaraguan descent. Born Luis Quintanilla on October 7, 1970, in San Francisco, Disk began scratching and mixing vinyl at a young age. In 1992, he joined ...

, Shortkut,

DJ Flare DJ Flare (born Sean Moran) is an American turntablist. He has been a scratch DJ since 1983 with many vinyl releases and was a member of the turntablist group the Invisibl Skratch Piklz, appearing in many of their ''Turntable TV'' videos and DJ Qbert ...

, Yogafrog, D-Styles, and

A-Trak Alain Macklovitch (born March 30, 1982), known by his stage name A-Trak, is a Canadian DJ, record producer, and record executive. He came to prominence in the late 2000s as an international club DJ and remix artist, known for incorporating highly ...

to their lineup. They released numerous mix projects and albums and were featured in

documentaries A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in term ...

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 San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

. They were asked by the

Disco Mix Club Disco Mix Club is primarily a remix label under (British Phonographic Industry) licence, which is not intended for the mass market but rather exclusively for professional DJs and enthusiasts. The Disco Mix Club sells megamixes and remixes every ...

(DMC), an international DJ association, to stop competing since they were discouraging other DJs from entering. 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 Vestax Corporation was a Japanese musical instrument, turntable and audio equipment firm founded by Hidesato Shiino in 1977. The company started by designing and manufacturing electronic guitars. In the 1980s, Vestax produced multitrack recorder ...

and

Ortofon __NOTOC__ Ortofon is a Danish manufacturer of electronic audio equipment. It is the world's largest producer of magnetic cartridges for phonograph turntables, with 500,000 cartridges sold annually. History The company was founded by engineers Ar ...

, and developed the "break record", a tool used by most present-day turntablists. One of their most notable performances was an International Turntablist Federation (ITF) battle between themselves and the X-Men (now the

X-Ecutioners The X-Ecutioners are a group of American hip hop DJs/turntablists from New York City, New York. The group formed in 1989 and currently consists of three DJs, including Total Eclipse, DJ Boogie Blind, DJ Precision. Original members of the grou ...

) of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * ...

. Their group routine for this battle, shown on bootleg videos, was later recorded in a studio and released as ''The Invisibl Skratch Piklz Vs. Da Klams Uv Deth''. All previous members of the group have gone on to solo careers, most notably DJ Qbert & Mix Master Mike. Qbert, Mix Master Mike, Shortkut, and

are featured in a live performance on the

Praxis Praxis may refer to: Philosophy and religion *Praxis (process), the process by which a theory, lesson, or skill is enacted, practised, embodied, or realised * Praxis model, a way of doing theology * Praxis (Byzantine Rite), the practice of fait ...

album '' Transmutation Live'', recorded in 1997. They performed altogether under the name Invisibl Scratch Piklz at Soundset Festival 2017. On September 21, 2019 the original trio was on hand and performed a set at the Fool's Gold Day Off event at Midway SF.

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) *''Shiggar Fraggar 2000'' (2000) (Hip Hop Slam) *''The 13th Floor'' (2016) (Alpha Pup)

References

External links

Official site
{{Authority control American hip hop groups Musical groups established in 1989 Musical groups disestablished in 2000

Discography

See also

References

External links