Renowned for their skills with the cross-fader, turntablist collective the Allies will spend the summer toying with a different level — their exposure.

The group — Craze, A-Trak , Infamous, Klever, J-Smoke, Spictakular and Develop — recently launched an on-line record store (www.the-allies.com) they are promoting with an ambitious nationwide tour and a special DJ competition, according to their publicist.

The DJs will play most of the dates in groups of two or three, and will be joined onstage on different nights by premier record scratchers such as Beck's DJ Swamp, former Invisbl Skratch Piklz Q-Bert and Shortkut, the Beastie Boys' Mix Master Mike, the Scratch Perverts (Tony Vegas and Prime Cuts) and Roc Raida of New York crew the X-ecutioners.

No strangers to DJ battles — they have won 13 world titles collectively — the Allies will host their first turntable competition July 20 at the Roxy in New York.

Thirteen up-and-coming DJs will compete at the All-Star Beatdown, which will also feature performances by the Allies, Mix Master Mike, the Scratch Perverts and the X-ecutioners (who include Rob Swift, Total Eclipse and Sinista).

The Allies Online Store sells unreleased battle records from the collective, along with music and other merchandise from the Invisbl Skratch Piklz and other turntablists.

Here are Allies tour dates, according to their publicist. Several venues are TBA.

  • 6/1 - New York, NY @ S.O.B.'s (Craze, Infamous, DJ Swamp, P-Trix, Radar)
  • 6/2 - Jacksonville, FL @ Club 618 (Craze)
  • 6/8 - Atlanta, GA @ TBA (J-Smoke, Develop, Spictakular, Infamous)
  • 6/10 - Lawrence, KS @ TBA (Craze, Infamous, DJ Swamp)
  • 6/14 - Seattle, WA @ TBA (Craze, Spictakular, Infamous, DJ Swamp)
  • 6/16 - Denver, CO @ TBA (Craze, Infamous, Roc Raida, Rass Kass)
  • 6/23 - Boston, MA @ TBA (A-Trak, Roc Raida, Spictakular, Infamous)
  • 6/23 - Los Angeles, CA @ TBA (Craze)
  • 6/24 - Cleveland, OH @ Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (Craze, A-Trak, Infamous, Roc Raida)
  • 6/28 - Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey Theatre (Craze, A-Trak, Infamous, Mix Master Mike)
  • 6/29 - San Francisco, CA @ Maritime Hall (Craze, A-Trak, Infamous)
  • 6/30 - Honolulu, HI @ China House (A-Trak, Infamous, Q-Bert)
  • 7/7 - Chicago, IL @ TBA (Infamous, Scratch Perverts)
  • 7/8 - Minneapolis, MN @ TBA (Craze, Infamous, Scratch Perverts)
  • 7/13 - Puerto Rico @ TBA (Craze, Infamous, Roc Raida)
  • 7/14 - Miami, FL @ TBA (Craze, DJ Swamp, Roc Raida)
  • 7/19 - Phoenix, AZ @ TBA (Craze, Infamous, Roc Raida, Shortkut)
  • 7/21 - Houston, TX @ TBA (Craze, Infamous, Radar)
  • 7/28 - Washington, DC @ TBA (Infamous)