The Serato Icon Artist Series continues with DJ Z Trip. Back in high school when I heard there was another "Live at Future Primitive" mix featuring the "Bombshelter DJs" Z Trip and Radar, I had to have it. This was after I'd already been obsessing over Shortkut and Cut Chemist's Future Primitive mix and was ready for anything Future Primitive related. Needless to say I was blown away by the intricate mixing and flawless scratching, it's stilll one of my favorites. I went on to dig up many of Z Trip's other live mixes and was always impressed at how original and creative he was, not afraid to go out on a ledge and play some crazy mashup (long before mashups were even known as mashups, all manual vinyl blending!).

I know I'm not the only one out there who's been influenced by this guy. His breakdown of "How To Rock A Party" on the bonus features of the Scratch DVD taught me a lot about the importance of BPMs and how to organize your crates. When I was in college, I had the opportunity to see him speak at Stacks Vinyl in San Diego (RIP). Very articulate, intelligent, and just a genuinely great guy, we're lucky to have this man still out there doing it big.  Z Trip is a true Superstar DJ who deserves all his success. Click on the image to check out his Serato Icon Artist Series!

Z Trip featuring Qbert: Addison Faceplant