Winning the DMC World DJ Championships is one thing, but successfully defending your crown is quite another. In 1999, DJ Craze did just that and, in doing so, can lay claim to being only the second individual in the history of the competition ever to achieve this feat. One year on and, as the preliminary rounds for this year's competition kick off across the globe, Knowledge flew DJ Craze into the UK to perform a special one-off date in Bristol; where, in between sound check and stage time, we caught up with him for a few quick words.

"I started off just mixing," replies 22 year old Craze, with an enthusiasm that belies the mundane nature of my question. "My brother used to DJ, and I just picked things up from watching him. That's how I started off, and I've always enjoyed throwing on the right track and having everybody go nuts. That was fun, but then I just got a little technical, that's all it was", he adds with a quiet, unassuming chuckle. 'A little technical' may be all it seems to the purveyor of such skills but, to the majority of us mere mortals, the turntable tactics that DJ Craze has been exhibiting across the globe in the past few years have truly been something to behold. However, it's not just mind-blowing technical trickery that makes Craze stand out as a DJ - equally important are his ear for funk, knowledge of the dancefloor and the open-minded approach he takes to his craft.

Although starting off as a b-boy thing or, if you like, as another battling aspect of hip hop culture, the rise in popularity of turntablism over the past couple of years has seen it almost taking on an identity all of its own. "It got real technical two or three years ago and it just became this whole other thing," agrees Craze, "this whole other world of just turntablism. "Turntablism could be anything. It could be hip hop, jazz, breaks - anything, and the whole turntablism thing appeals to the electronic heads a little more than the hip hop heads now. So it's almost universal." And for the converted, the art of turntablism is seen as just that ­ an art; but, despite the heightened profile that the DJs and battle events are now getting on a global scale, it is still essentially an underground form of music. I asked Craze how he thought turntablism could become more accessible, and whether indeed that is a good thing for the movement in the first place.

"Yes, it's a real good thing, but I think it should just get a little bit more musical. After a period of time it became real technical, and everybody just wanted to be the fastest one, or the craziest one, or the most technical; and to a normal person, who doesn't know what it takes to do all that stuff, it just sounds like a lot of noise. When you get musical, at least they can relate to that. You can get technical, but you've got be a little more musical too. I hope it does get more musical in the next few years, maybe we can have a whole team come out and do a song live, or improvise, but still with a song." Hmmm, now that sounds suspiciously like a plan that's been taking shape in Craze's head for a while. "Yeah, I want to have a whole orchestrated show, with four DJs 'cos sometimes it's a bit crazy with more. Each with a turntable, a drummer, bassist, somebody on the mic to direct you through the whole journey, and just make music like that."

Apart from making music live on stage, Craze has also recently set up his own studio and is quite thankful that he can now get down to the equally serious business of making tracks. "Right now I'm working on The Allies album; that's my crew, we're putting out an album on Asphodel, so we're just finishing that and maybe after DMC The Allies will do a world tour. I've also got a couple of drum & bass tracks and a couple of hip hop tracks that I'm working on, and I'm also gonna put out a battle record later on this year." Craze's penchant for drum & bass is another musical angle that sets him apart from his peers and, whether he be rinsing out a pure drum & bass set, incorporating the tracks into his battle routine, or indeed cutting up raw beats and sounds into drum & bass patterns, he had the same excitement for this new UK-bred sound as he did for hip hop back in the day.

"Well, honestly, I was a real hardcore hip hop head. I was just like 'hip hop, hip hop, hip hop' but after a while you couldn't do all this turntablism stuff in a hip hop club 'cos they got jiggy. They get an older crowd there, and older heads really ain't open to turntablism as much as the younger kids. So I started doing a lot of raves, and they'd always put me in the drum & bass room, and I'd be like 'that sounds kinda dope'. It sounded street, it sounded underground, and that's why hip hop appealed to me in the first place. So I just started linking up with other DJs in the States, they put me on to stuff and I just started buying the records." Anyone who's heard Craze roll out the drum & bass styles will know that it's a breakneck, roller-coaster ride into the realms of sonic dancefloor terrorism, but with his slight detachment from the scene, and his open-minded take on the sound, it means that his sets never fall into that all to familiar trap of monotony. As for the producers Craze rates: "there's a lot; for the funky stuff - V, Roni, all them, and for a little darker stuff - Ed Rush, Andy C, Moving Fusion - people like that, but I like all types of stuff ­ I don't try to focus on just one style."

Now, DJ Craze may be of slight figure in the flesh, but when he steps up to the stage he has the presence of a goliath; and when it comes down to the battle, a DJ's routine has to be more than just that. It's got to be a performance; and to make an impression that's going to count you've got to give the crowd something special. This element of showmanship has always been a governing factor when it comes to separating the best from the rest for, as well as sounding tight - you've got to look it too. However, as Craze admits, projecting that confident vibe isn't always that simple: "When I started off I was a nervous wreck. I was like 'I can't do this, I'm gonna fuck up, oh God', but it's just practising in front of crowds, and knowing what to do when you fuck up. When you're up there it's a lot of adrenalin, a lot of energy, everybody's looking at what you're doing, looking at your every movement, and you've just got try to come off looking dope. I enjoy that aspect of it, that's the whole fun of it."

So how does a world champion prepare himself up for a night's battling? "It helps with a couple of beers, but I always psyche myself up, even if I'm sick or depressed, it's like 'alright I'm going on stage - huuuuurggggh', and you get that little boost of energy. If you look boring up there then everyone's gonna know - everybody's gonna be like 'oh he's having a bad day'". And so, are there any bad days you'd care to remember? "Oh yeah, countless fuck-ups. I've had the mixer fall down once, stumbled on my drunk ass one day, but that just makes you learn not to do that stupid stuff."

So you see ­ it happens to us all, at one time or another. World champ or not! Before we depart however, let's just quickly rewind to last year, more specifically to New York and the 1999 DMC World Finals where, as Craze candidly admits, his victory was not something he honestly expected. "I was really surprised," reveals the title-holder. "I had only practised for a month before the competition, cos I was constantly on the road after the first one, and at the same time my girl was having a baby in New Jersey. She was supposed to be born on the day of the DMC's, but we had to have her induced, 'cos I was like 'I can't handle that'." So, with the recent arrival of the next generation of Craze's, it's not only beats that our man is gonna be juggling from now on but, true to his calm exterior, he's just taking it all in his stride. "It's all good. It's all the same," he says with a broad grin. "Wake up - change a diaper - go scratch. Change another diaper - go scratch. Feeding time - go scratch." Ah, the simple things.

For up to date information on where DJ Craze is playing next, check out The Allies website: www.the-allies.com