Powering Music

DJ-VJ LAPTOP BATTLE

A unique event at Cargo
To host the final round of the Intel DJ-VJ Laptop Battle, Intel teamed up with the Cargo nightclub in the hip heartland of London. The result was a uniquely successful event. Four weeks earlier, the Battle had started as an online competition and the inventiveness of the entries had already generated a big buzz among laptop-creatives and their breakbeat club circuit. The eight finalists brought with them a mind-blowing battalion of sounds and images, harnessed in their laptops and poised to unleash on the crowd and conquer their opponents. But there could only be two winners.

Celebrity judging panel
The finalists' fingers flickered and stretched in anticipation as they rehearsed imaginary battle moves before their big moments at the Cargo. And to top up the tension, the contenders were surrounded by an awesome line-up of talents: the celebrity panel of judges were DJ Yoda, A-Skillz and the Autobots, and experts VJ Bopa and Visualnaut*, all performing at the Cargo that evening too.

Read more about DJ Yoda , A-Skillz , the Autobots , Bopa and Visualnaut .

Powerful prizes
DJ host James Cunning, international breakbeat star and Kiss FM radio resident, welcomed lively support troops in the audience. The crowd included faithful friends and allies of the finalists mingling with the specially invited Cargo regulars, drawn mainly from the local heartland of hip around Hoxton Square.
James described the glories that awaited the winners. The victorious DJ and VJ would receive high-spec laptops with Intel® Core™2 Duo technology and all the music software they need, plus the chance to play at two of London’s coolest underground parties – CCC4 and The AV Social.
Then the latest A-Skillz track ‘Tricka Technology’ bounced off the arched roof of the Cargo, as if to rally the contenders - 'Trick, tricka-trick, tricka-trick, tricka-trick , tricka-tech, technology….’

Let battle commence
The agreed order of battle was four performances, each of one disc jockey and one video jockey performing together, with an hour afterwards for the judges to decide the two names that would leave the Cargo as Intel Champion DJ and VJ 2007.
Then DJ Man One and VJ Defek TV were first up. As the opening notes left the DJ and leapt with the images from the VJ, it was clear from the start that the crowd had entered into the spirit of the battle about to unfold before them.
Next came DJP and VJ Cycloptic , followed by i-Pulse and Xulf and finally Celsius DJ and Meek TV. A brief hush fell as each pair of finalists stepped up to their decks and flipped open their laptops. Then off they went. Scratching, cutting in and mashing up, the DJ’s music kept coming, the VJs’ images flashed through the club, and the crowd lapped it up.
When the time came for the judges to weigh up the performances, host James Cunning took the opportunity to interview the finalists and the experienced musicians in the Cargo’s chill-out garden area.

Watch the DJ-VJ Battle video, with interviews .

Intel Champion DJ and VJ 2007
After an hour of deliberation, talking to all the judges and anyone who would listen to them, judges Bopa and A-Skillz ceremoniously announced the names of the winners.
‘The winner of the DJ battle is i-Pulse,’ announced A Skillz.
‘The winner of the VJ battle is Meek TV,’ followed Bopa.
The two champions collected their prizes with good reason to look pleased with themselves.

Definitely two names to listen out for! Watch this site for more news about i-Pulse and Meek TV and how they use their prizes.

Read more about the champions of the DJ-VJ Laptop Battle .