Arguably best known for his DJing prowess, which recently saw him traveling, all expenses paid, to Paris, to represent New Zealand in the Red Bull World Thre3style championships, Scratch 22 is a man on the move. As co-founder of Auckland’s notorious ‘The ARC’ collective, and the host of Base FM’s long running ‘The Lion For Real’ Friday lunchtime radio tipple, he has been slaying the denizens of Auckland and beyond with his wide-screen musical tastes and profoundly deep crates, since the age of 15.
Marginally less well known, though equally as impressive, his production talents have been growing over the years with highly lauded work alongside Tourettes and his own Unscene crew, and remixes for everyone from the Mint Chicks to Electric Wire Hustle and Homebrew, as well as an ever evolving, solid armoury of individualistic, cinematic tunes that truly reflect his personality.
Set for release on April 18th 2011 through Round Trip Mars/Universal, Distance From View is Scratch 22’s debut album, and it’s a magnificent manifestation of a lifetime immersed in music and countless hours in the studio, hauling in friends, family and fine musicians like Mara TK (Electric Wire Hustle) and Jeremy Toy (She’s So Rad/Open Souls etc) to create a gently psychedelic journey into the deepest recesses. While it may be best described as slow burning, journey music, the first track unleashed to radio, Window Rattle, scaled the heights of the Top Ten on the Radioscope Alt Charts, vindicating the early faith shown in his productions by Round Trip Mars talent hound Stinky Jim and Nightmares On Wax’s George Evelyn (who selected an early version of Medicine Man for his Wax On compilation).
This remarkably assured and unfathomably deep debut is preceded by the Medicine Man single, which includes a quite astonishing blitzkrieg cover version of Medicine Man/For Walking Faces by The DHDFD’s, who will also be part of the soon to be unveiled Scratch 22 live experience. Distance From View is a soundscape spectacular and that modern rarity - an album you can truly lose yourself in, time and time again.
