 |
|
at a glance...
Hometown: Davis, CA
Year Formed: 1991
Personnel:
DJ Shadow -music
Bands In The Family:
U.N.K.L.E., Underworld, Beastie Boys, Björk, Massive Attack,
Beck, Money Mark, DJ Krush, Badly Drawn Boy
Notes:
Josh Davis (aka DJ Shadow) grew up in the Northern California hip-hop DJ
scene. In 1992, he joined a group of artists to form Solesides Records, a label that looked to expand the artistic boundaries of hip-hop while achieving
worldwide recognition. In 1993, Shadow signed up with London-based Mo' Wax
Records to focus on his own music, mostly instrumental hip-hop. After releasing
a few singles in 1995, Mo' Wax CEO James Lavelle asked Davis to be the musical
producer of a full length record under the guise U.N.K.L.E. With Lavelle off
finding collaborators for the U.N.K.L.E. project, Shadow focused his efforts on
producing and mixing his first full length album, Endtroducing... Released
in late 1996, critics were taken aback and called it one of the best releases of
the decade, raising Shadow's international profile despite standing outside of
the mainstream spotlight. Mo' Wax capitalized on Shadow's worldwide popularity
in early 1998 by releasing a CD collection of his early 90's material called
Preemptive Strike. Around the same time, Shadow and the Solesides artists
dissolved their alliance and started a new collective called Quannum. As the U.N.K.L.E.
project gained momentum, Davis assumed control of the overall sound and finished
the album for a late 1998 release. Davis continues to collaborate with other
artists like DJ Krush on various singles.
|
|
 |
|
DJ Shadow
Endtroducing...
Mo' Wax, Released 1998
|
|
|
 |
|
A revolution doesn't start with a big explosion. Few ever witness the birth
of a movement. Listening to DJ Shadow's rapturous Endtroducing..., it's easy
to think that the concept of DJ as artist began here. The 1990's have been
the decade of reshaping sounds and forms; Endtroducing... takes that concept
to levels unmatched years after its release. Reading the inside cover of DJ Shadow's debut
offering reveals the truth about the art of the DJ: it's been there all the
time, you just didn't know it. What Shadow (Josh Davis) brings to the table is
his prodigious and studied grasp of turntable history. It influences his work
indelibly, yet on Endtroducing..., the influences become one and centuries of
music are melded into a beautiful pastiche of sound.
For those looking to label this record as hip-hop, dance, jazz, jungle, ambient, funk, or rap, get ready to be
frustrated. DJ Shadow breaks the boundaries between genres without question or
hesitation; it's all music, and it's all good. "The Number Song" is the most
obvious dance song on Entroducing..., an atomic explosion of percussion and
funky breakbeat rhythms. "What Does Your Soul Look Like (Part 4)"
gets funked out by a slow-like-molasses sample and a jazzy brass arrangement.
The final two minutes of beats on the "Napalm Brain/Scatter Brain" instrumental
are as manic as you're going to experience on Endtroducing..., but don't
expect Roni Size to suddenly appear out of nowhere. The spooky, crystalline foundation of "Stem/Long Stem" mixes effortlessly with hypersonic
beats and a Hitchcock-ian narrator and ends with a wild orchestral climax. The vocal intro into
"Midnight" acts as the portal to a finite dream: a fluid limbo of piano scales
and singing sirens where time is at a standstill.
Endtroducing... is music in it's purest form; no bullshit categories, no
subjective explication, no attitude. Sounds like these can likely be heard somewhere far across the universe. DJ Shadow is just the messenger, nice enough to package them for your listening pleasure on this plane.
If you like DJ Shadow, check out:
DJ Shadow Preemptive Strike
U.N.K.L.E. Psyence Fiction
Björk Post
Latyrx Latyrx The Album
Blackalicious Melodica EP
DJ Krush Meiso
Money Mark Push The Button
-- Pierre Stefanos
Ink Blot Home
about | archives | contact | links
Copyright © 1997-2002 Ink Blot Magazine. All rights reserved.
|
|
 |
|
|
