DJ IV

The only thing stopping DJ IV from National exposure is the amazing skills of arch-nemesis Skratch Bastid. This reigns true again this year as DJ IV once again finished second behind the bastard (and his mullet) in the 2003 Halifax DMC competition. Regardless, he's keeping busy with the hopes of releasing a debut album sometime in the near future and is featured on soon to be released work by Halifax's up-and-coming Classified, J-Bru and Prolific. You might still see DJ IV at the DMC Nationals yet this year, as he hopes to win the New Brunswick DMC competition scheduled for May 9th. You can check out DJ IV at iv.technowhore.org. DJ IV opened for Swollen Members on their Atlantic Canada tour, so I got a chance to sit down and talk with him.

DJ IV Interview:

Brockway: State your name, your occupation.
DJ IV: Brian Pelrine otherwise known as IV (pronounced Ivy). I'm a turntabalist.

Brockway: I understand that you originally started out spinning house, but some equipment problems led you to hip-hop back in 1998.
DJ IV: Yeah. My buddy Shinook was my teammate and crewmate, and he gave me my first set of decks. The pitch faders didn't really work on them. So at the time I was trying to spin house, but without pitch faders I couldn't really match the beats up. At that time I had one hip-hop record and an Oscar the Grouch record, so I started scratching with the 45 and repeatedly going over that one hip-hop beat I had. That's how I started. Shinook gave me the kick to go forward and get into hip-hop. I like hip-hop and I've loved it since I was a kid.

Brockway: I caused you start out with house then?
DJ IV: The place I was volunteering at in the summer, The Crash Cafι which is defunct now, had open decks there all summer long. A friend of mine, Sunny D, started spinning and I just started learning from there. My band, Knock on Wood, had broke up right at that time, so I just started playing records with Sunny and it evolved from there.

Brockway: So you were in a band before?
DJ IV: Yeah.
Brockway: What were you playing?
DJ IV: I played bass. We did a little around Halifax action for about three years probably (1996-1998).
Brockway: So you've been into music for quite awhile?
DJ IV: Yeah. Music's always been a big thing in my life. It just comes natural I guess.

Brockway: You've been at deejaying for three and half, four years now.
DJ IV: Three and half, four years, yeah.

Brockway: Could you say that you're one of the premier scratch deejays in Atlantic Canada for hip-hop?
DJ IV: I guess so. Technically, you could say I'm ranked second in Atlantic Canada.
Brockway: Yeah, according to the DMCs, which are coming up this Friday (March 28th). Are you anxious?
DJ IV: Yeah, anxious and excited, but I've got a lot of creative stuff flowing right now.
Brockway: Did you pull any of your that out tonight?
DJ IV: Yeah, a little bit. I did a sneak preview because I'm saving up for the DMCs. I didn't want to go too crazy with my juggles. Tonight wasn't as hectic because it's kind of a different format. At the DMCs you get six minutes, so you're stricken to that amount of time. You're battling, so you just have to come raw and everything has to be correct. With live shows like tonight, there's room for flexibility cause you don't have to hit that certain point every time.
Brockway: With Skratch Bastid being your main competition, does it ever feel like you're up against a wall?
DJ IV: It's always on my mind. Paul (Skratch Bastid) is always that guy I'm trying to beat at this point in time. He's always pulling something out of his ass.
Brockway: (laughing)
DJ IV: Well, hat, ass, whatever. He's always pulling something out that makes me think, 'oh I coulda done this better or I coulda worked it this way.' Every time I see him play, it makes me feel like I need to do specific things to improve my show. Basically, he helps me build my fire a little bit.
Brockway: That's great, because there's a good chance you may be going to the national DMCs this year, right?
DJ IV: Hopefully. If I don't take it in Halifax, then I'll be at the Moncton (New Brunswick) elimination (Friday, May 9th).

Brockway: Do you think you're ready for the Nationals?
DJ IV: It depends. There's a few tabalists out west who've been in the circuit for a long time who are really good. DJ Dopey's really good. Jr-Flo's really really good. On a national level, I'd like to make my presence felt, but at the same time, I don't know how well I'll do cause the competition is really good.
Brockway: It's hard to say.
DJ IV: Yeah it is hard to say, but I'm anxious. I'd like to get in there to find out where I rank.
Brockway: And at least to getting that exposure can help take you to the next step in your career.

Brockway: Now with a lot of the focus nowadays on MCs, how important are the DMCs to DJs like yourself?
DJ IV: Well, it's of vital importance because battles, especially in Halifax, come around once or twice per year. So it's a good time because it's the battle and that's what the heads come out for cause they know they're going to see some action. It's great for us because it gives us spotlight exposure, which is great. I love battling. If I could tour battling, and battle different DJs from every city, win or lose it doesn't matter, but I'd love to do that. That'd be a great time for me.

Brockway: That's a great idea. Unfortunately, I doubt it could ever happen.
DJ IV: Yeah. It's an awkward kind of setup. If you're going to set up a night just to battle, you need a headliner, but it's still hard to make a tour out of just a headlining traveling DJ.

Brockway: Have you worked with any emcees on material coming out on an album?
DJ IV: Yeah. I've done some stuff with Prolific. He's an up and coming emcee from Halifax. He's 17 and makes all of his own beats. He does all of his own emceeing work. He's a really really tight up-and-coming cat. I've also worked with Classified on his upcoming album. I worked with J-Bru as well...

Brockway: Yeah, J-Bru said his album was going to be out sometime within the month. Have you heard anything about that?
DJ IV: Yeah, he just sent me an email about doing some cuts for another track. Maybe it's going on the album, maybe it's not and he'll save it.

Brockway: Well, his album is something to look forward to.
DJ IV: I like working with those guys like Classified and J-Bru because they have this nice style in their production work. I'm really feeling it. A lot of people shun away and get into the more abstract hip-hop like The Goods, Sixtoo, Buck 65 and that style of hip-hop.

Brockway: Yeah, it's nice to have that diversity in Halifax. Classified's definitely coming with a more old school underground meets mainstream hip-hop sound, whereas Josh Martinez, The Goods and such are more abstract underground as you said. So, Skratch Bastid put out an album last year. Do you plan on putting something out to rival him?
DJ IV: I just got offered a job ordering hip-hop for a new record store in town called Urban Fuel. It's going to be a record store, a clothing store and a fully equipped recording studio.

Brockway: That's definitely a nice hookup.
DJ IV: It's really good. So, I'll be doing the ordering and in exchange get some benefits, like the use of the studio. I've got lots of plans to do lots of things. An album is definitely in the works. I don't know if I want to do one by myself or if I'll do one with my crew. I have a turntabalist crew called Rebel Tactics. Shinook's involved as well as two up-and-coming scratch deejays from Halifax: Cirkut, Patrock. Cirkut's from Montreal and moved down here. He's just amazing. We talked about putting out a compilation cd, with local artists, different emcees and producers.

Brockway: Do you do production or just cuts?
DJ IV: I'm getting into it.
Brockway: So that's sort of like the next step?
DJ IV: I've got use of some equipment, so...
Brockway: ... good things coming ...
DJ IV: Yeah, for sure. It's going to take time and I really don't know what this summer has to hold. If at all possible, I'm going to keep the gigs to a minimum and work more on studio stuff.

Brockway: Excellent. Anything you want to add? Email address? Website?
DJ IV: You can hit me up at iv.technowhore.org or by email at iv@urban-fuel.com . You can also catch me on Rebel Sundays every Sunday at www.cyberdjs.com and the first Wednesday of every month with the drum-n-bass crew I'm affiliated with, called No Affiliation. Every Wednesday in Hell's Kitchen.

Brockway: Thank you for the interview.
DJ IV: You're welcome.

For more information on DJ IV, check out his website at iv.technowhore.org.