Fact Mix 880: Scratchclart

A legend of UK club music mixes grimey and funky tracks with heavy gqom and amapiano influences from South Africa.

Scratchclart is the latest moniker of a multifaceted UK artist who has also gone under the names DVA, Scratcha DVA and DVA [Hi:Emotions] throughout his long and storied career. Coming to prominence through a legendary stint on Rinse FM’s breakfast slot, Scratchclart’s keen ear and love for new and emerging sounds has kept him at the forefront of UK dance music for 20 years, through releases on Hyperdub and his own DVA Music and Allyallrecords labels.

As his career has evolved Scratchclart’s music has continued to innovate, moving from grime and UK funky towards his own potent take on UK club music that draws inspiration from South African electronic styles such as gqom and amapiano, both solo through his recent DRMTRK series and in collaboration with North London MC Lady Lykez. Scratchclart’s Fact Mix (published over 13 years after he first delivered a mix for Fact as Scratcha DVA – number 64, no less) is a succinct snapshot of where he’s at now, featuring plenty of recent solo material and collaborations with Lady Lykez, Citizen Boy, Trim, Ikonika and Mxshi Mo alongside tracks from Bok Bok, Logan Olm and Toya Delazy.

You can catch Scratchclart playing at London’s Printworks this Saturday, 29 October, where he’s appearing alongside Lady Lykez as part of The Hydra and Hessle Audio’s massive double birthday rave celebrating 15 years of Ben UFO, Pearson Sound and Pangaea’s label and a decade of The Hydra events in the capital. The event is sold out but resale tickets are available.

Follow Scratchclart on Instagram and SoundCloud, and find his music at Bandcamp. You can also tune into his weekly Soup To Nuts show on NTS Radio every Friday at 11am.

Tracklist:

Lady Lykez x Trim – ‘Shapez’
Logan Olm – ‘Crash Dem Down’
Mez – ‘Big Seed’
Doller – ‘Vybz & Energy’
Toya Delazy – ‘Water’
Ikonika x Scratchclart – ‘Crash Riddim’ (Worst Behaviour Remix)
Scratchclart – ‘Marixylo’
Lady Lykez x Lioness – ‘Muhammad Ali (Remix)’
Scratchclart x Citizen Boy – ‘Ammo VIP’
Sonia Calico – ‘Mukbang Roller’ (Scratchclart’s Afrotek Remix)
Whistle Dub
Lady Lykez x Scratchclart – ‘Killa Bee’
Scratchclart x Mxshi Mo – ‘Afrotek’ (9’s Mix)
Trim x Scratchclart – ‘Yardman’
Scratchclart – ‘Queen’
Lady Lykez x Scratchclart – ‘Buzz Lightyear’
Scratchclart – ‘Gun Walk’
Durrty Goodz x Scratchclart – ‘Ganja Time’
Bok Bok – ‘Ouais’
Mez x Scratchclart x Razzler Man – ‘Think About It’
Mak10 x Scratchclart – ‘Smoke Signal’
Lady Lykez x Toya Delazy x Scratchclart – ‘Woza’

Listen next: Fact Mix 879: k means