By Phil McLachlan
Juno-nominated Toronto based DJ, Paul Murphy a.k.a Skratch Bastid, has performed on stages around the globe, but made the stop in Fernie to play at The Northern last Saturday night.
Murphy has been playing in Fernie since before the use of Seratto, an internationally successful DJ software that allowed artists to stop the use of vinyl tracks.
Growing up, the music mix-master always collected music. A hip hop fiend, tapes were a must. Eventually, Murphy started getting into vinyl due to the exclusivity of some of the music that you could obtain in this format. Following this shift, Murphy taught himself to scratch and mix music, and after some practice he started entering DJ scratching competitions.
“I like sharing music, that’s why I got into DJ’ing, to share music,” said Murphy. “Because I had all the music and I wanted people to hear my favorite stuff.
Skratch Bastid took a serious step up in 2003 after his championship win at America’s largest hip hop contest, Scribble Jam. He was also the first ever Canadian DJ to be nominated for the Juno Award for Producer of the Year in 2008.
Now an internationally requested artist, Skratch Bastid is pleased with where he has come from and what he has grown into. His passport is filled with the stamps of over 43 different countries who have request him to come play.
“It’s been an extremely rewarding experience that I never would have dreamed of going on when I first started.
“But that doesn’t mean coming to Fernie isn’t high on that list; I love coming here, the energy is really cool.”
Skratch Bastid finds the the response in Fernie is always good, and he was proven right on Saturday evening when the dance floor filled with exuberant youth, eager to celebrate the night lifestyle together.
“I’ve always had a great vibe on the dance floors here,” said Murphy. “I just find that people like to have a good time and party.”
One of the reasons Murphy starting coming to Fernie was because of an old time friend, Nevados’ Restaurant owner and operator, Kurt Saari, whom he played basketball with in high school.
“It’s crazy just how small the country actually is for the population, for the people,” said Murphy.
Skratch Bastid will be returning to Fernie on the weekend of April 14th to perform at Fernie Alpine Resort’s closing weekend party.