This is the point I was trying to make. I'm very familiar with soundsystem culture, I've been making a living from it since I was 17. Obviously there's some good sounding stuff you can do while mixing on two decks, you just gave decent examples, but in my opinion it's never going to be as mind blowing as Birdy Nam Nam or Araabmuzik absolutely killing it on some freestyle stuff. It's never going to beat a great vinyl jungle set with an experienced scratcher, and it's certainly not going to beat some of the crazy live sets people in the downtempo psytrance scene play.
I went to a rave on halloween, and there was these two guys doing a live set. One guy was just doing regular 2 decks stuff for the rythmic section, while the other guy had an mpc, a controller and electronic drums plugged into his computer for the melodies. It was great seeing the drums used as melody, I've seen thousands of sets in my life and I was mind blown. There are no videos of him playing live, but here's his soundcloud.
I disagree with you on not composing or producing - at least at the highest level of sound clashes. I skipped around a bit in the Red Bull video you linked, and each and every song I encountered was re-recorded (by the original singers) specifically for this event with tweaked lyrics denigrating the challenging sound systems of the day, in line with clash norms.
I agree there is tremendous art, but there is a lot of production around re-recording songs. It's a level above just mixing.
I never expected to discuss Sound System / sound clashes on HN - this is a delightful surprise.
Rodigan is such a dominant figure in the clash scene because of the mutual respect between him and the Jamaican music scene. He can get dubs that no-one else can, because he has served Jamaican music faithfully over many decades. Through thick and thin, he promoted Jamaican music in Britain and internationally.
His career speaks more broadly to the vital role that DJs play in musical culture. DJs are the link between artists and audiences. They curate, they encourage, they introduce. What they do in the booth is the product of their work, not the work itself.
http://www.redbullmusicacademy.com/lectures/david-rodigan-20...
Exhibit A for the defence: this utterly masterful set by garage legend DJ EZ. He deftly plays with the build and release of tension without relying on formulaic drops. There is still enormous creative mileage in traditional two-deck mixing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OraL6lKoyXE
Selectors don't even mix in the traditional sense, nor do they compose or produce, but there's a tremendous art to what they do. If you're unfamiliar with sound system culture and clashing, I'd suggest the Red Bull Culture Clash as an accessible introduction, particularly Rebel Sound's 2014 performance starring the inimitable David Rodigan. It's worth watching the "making of" documentary on their performance; it took months of painstaking preparation to play 40 minutes of music.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKDSgMddOO0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ishaG9pyMA
The problem as I see it is that technology has made DJing too accessible. Every two-bit hipster with a Macbook thinks that they're a DJ. Back in the day you needed decks, you needed to learn to beatmatch, you needed to hunt down white labels, you needed to get dubplates cut. There was a barrier to entry, an apprenticeship you had to serve before you could call yourself a DJ. The term has now been diluted to the point of meaninglessness, but that doesn't diminish from the artistry of great DJs.