DJ Shadow

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DJ Shadow

Background information
Birth name Josh Davis
Born 1972[1]
Origin Davis, California, U.S.
Genre(s) Hip hop
Instrumental Hip hop
Trip hop
Turntablism
Occupation(s) Producer, DJ
Years active 1991–present
Label(s) Mo'Wax
Quannum Projects
Solesides
Universal
Associated acts UNKLE
The Quannum Collective
Website Official Site

DJ Shadow (born Josh Davis in 1972)[1] is an American music producer, DJ and songwriter. He is considered a prominent figure in the development of instrumental hip hop and first gained notice with the release of his highly acclaimed debut album Endtroducing....., which was constructed entirely from samples.

Contents

[edit] Biography

DJ Shadow began his music career as a disc jockey for the UC Davis radio station KDVS. During this period he was significant in developing the experimental hip hop style associated with the California-based Solesides record label. His early singles for the label, including In Flux and Lost and Found (S.F.L.), were genre-bending works of art merging elements of funk, rock, hip hop, ambient, jazz, soul, and used-bin found records. DJ Shadow is often cited as a leading creator of U.S. trip hop. Though his music is hard to categorize, his early contributions were certainly important as an alternative to the voice of hip hop and gangsta rap, scenes that never accepted him. He cited groups such as Kurtis Mantronik, Steinski and Prince Paul as influences on his sample-based sound, further claiming that "lyrics ...were confining, too specific". His music rarely features more than short clips of voices or vocal work. [2].

Although he previously released several original works (during 1991-1992 for Hollywood Records) by the time Mo' Wax's James Lavelle contacted him about releasing In/Flux on the fledgling imprint, it wasn't until his distribution association with Mo' Wax that his sound began to mature and cohere.

He eventually formed the label Quannum Projects in 1999 out of the previous label Solesides.

DJ Shadow has also collaborated with fellow DJ Cut Chemist. Together they have created three popular mixtapes entitled Brainfreeze, Product Placement, and the recent The Hard Sell. These mixes fuse jazz, funk, and soul in the framework of a cohesive concept. He has also collaborated with several other artists, including Blackalicious, Zack de la Rocha, Keak Da Sneak, Mos Def, David Banner, and Dr. Octagon (also known as Kool Keith).

In 2006, he signed a deal with Universal Records.

DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist toured in 2008 in support of their mixtape The Hard Sell with Kid Koala opening for them.

[edit] Major works

[edit] Endtroducing.....

Shadow's first full-length work, Endtroducing....., was released in late 1996 to immense critical acclaim. Endtroducing would make the Guinness World Records book for "First Completely Sampled Album" in 2001. The only pieces of equipment Shadow used to produce the album are the AKAI MPC60 12-bit sampling drum machine, a pair of turntables and a borrowed-by-visiting Pro Tools setup from an early adopter of the technology, Dan "The Automator" Nakamura.

[edit] Preemptive Strike

In 1998 he released Preemptive Strike, a compilation of early singles. Later that year, Shadow produced tracks for Psyence Fiction, the debut album by U.N.K.L.E., a long-time Mo' Wax production team that gained superstar guests including Thom Yorke (of Radiohead), Richard Ashcroft (of The Verve), Mike D (of the Beastie Boys), Kool G. Rap, Jason Newstead (from Metallica) among others.

[edit] Dark Days

Around 2000 he produced the score for the documentary Dark Days filmed by British director Marc Singer. This film is about a community of transients that live underground beneath a subway line. It shows the horrific world of people who have hit rock bottom in their lives. These people live in complete darkness. It has 6 award wins in various competitions. [3]

[edit] The Private Press

Nearly six years after his debut production album, his second album, The Private Press, was released in June 2002. In the same year, the movie Scratch (2001, Doug Pray) was released to DVD with DJ Shadow appearing several times throughout the movie. A video for his track "Six Days" was also released in 2002, directed by Wong Kar-Wai.

[edit] In Tune and On Time

In 2004, Shadow's feature length DVD, In Tune and On Time was released. The DVD features a live performance in London, emphasizing intricate visuals.

[edit] The Outsider

The Outsider album was released on 18 September 2006. A special edition CD box set was also released containing 'The Outsider', the album on CD and a DVD entitled Tour Visuals. The Outsider, which prominently featured several artists from the local San Francisco Bay Area hyphy hip-hop movement, got a mixed welcome among Shadow's fans. Responding to criticisms, the DJ/producer explained on his blog why he made no apologies: "Repeat Endtroducing over and over again? That was never, ever in the game plan. Fuck that. So I think it's time for certain fans to decide if they are fans of the album, or the artist." [4] [5].

[edit] Future Works

During Shadow's Outsider 2007 tour, he was spotted filming with 90's NYU film school prodigy Dean Fernando aka "DINO" as reported on Shadow/Quannum fansite SOLESIDES.COM.

[edit] Tributes

In 2005, Brian Udelhofen began work on the Shadow Percussion Project, an attempt to adapt some of the tracks from Endtroducing... for a live performance group. The result was largely successful and well-received by DJ Shadow himself.[citation needed]

[edit] Discography

[edit] Main solo albums

[edit] Live albums

[edit] Compilation albums

  • Preemptive Strike (1998)
  • The 4-Track Era (Volume 1: Best Of The KMEL Mixes (1991)) (2007)
  • The 4-Track Era (Volume 2: Best Of The Remixes And Megamixes (1990 - 1992)) (2007)

[edit] Remix albums

[edit] With DJ Q-bert

[edit] With UNKLE

[edit] With Cut Chemist

[edit] With Keane

[edit] Mixes

[edit] Albums featured

[edit] Singles

  • 1991 - Lifer's Group/DJ Shadow - The Real Deal (Shadow Remix)/Lesson 4 Promo 12" Only
  • 1993 - Asia Born/DJ Shadow - Send Them/Count and Estimate (Dub)/Hip-Hop Reconstruction from the Ground Up 12"
  • 1993 - In/Flux / Hindsight 12"
  • 1994 - Lost & Found (S.F.L.) (Split 12" with DJ Krush - Kemuri)
  • 1995 - What Does Your Soul Look Like
  • 1996 - Fully Charged on Planet X / Hardcore (Instrumental) Hip-Hop (by Chief Xcel/DJ Shadow - Hardcore (Instrumental) Hip-Hop and Last Stop are Shadow tracks)
  • 1996 - Midnight in a Perfect World
  • 1996 - Stem CD/7" (His only top 10 hit-it reached number 9 in the Republic of Ireland singles chart.)
  • 1997 - High Noon CD/12"/7"
  • 2000 - Dark Days (Music from Dark Days Documentary Soundtrack) CD/7"
  • 2002 - You Can't Go Home Again CD/12"
  • 2002 - Six Days CD/DVD/12"
  • 2003 - Mashin' on the Motorway / Walkie Talkie CD/DVD
  • 2003 - March of Death (with Zack de la Rocha) mp3 only
  • 2004 - Would You Buy A War From This Man? 7" Picture disk (Remix of Radiohead's The Gloaming)
  • 2005 - Keane - We Might as Well Be Strangers (DJ Shadow vs. Keane Mix) 10"
  • 2006 - 3 Freaks - DJ Shadow feat. Turf Talk & Keak da Sneak 12" Promo
  • 2006 - Enuff - w/ Q-Tip and Lateef
  • 2007 - This Time (I'm Gonna Try It My Way) UK #54

[edit] Live DVDs

[edit] Live appearances

  • BBC Radio One: Breezeblock (1999/06/01)
  • La Route Du Rock Festival, St Malo, France (1999/08/13)
  • BBC Radio One: Breezeblock (2000/12/04)
  • Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY (2002/06/04)
  • Creamfields, Roudnice nad Labem airport, Czech Republic (2002/08/09)
  • BBC Radio One: Essential Mix (2003/03/30)
  • O2 Wireless Festival: Hyde Park (2006/06/23)
  • Splendour in the Grass, Byron Bay, Australia (2006/07/22)
  • Lowlands Festival, Evenemententerrein Walibi World, Biddinghuizen, Netherlands (2006/08/18)
  • Pukkelpop, Belgium (2006/08/18)
  • The Electric Picnic, Stradbally, Co. Laois, Ireland (2006/03/09)
  • SUE Festival, Santiago, Chile (2006/11/02)
  • Brixton Academy, London, United Kingdom (2006/12/15)
  • Fillmore at the TLA, Philadelphia, PA (2007/01/25) (The Hard Sell tour w/ Cut Chemist & Kid Koala)
  • Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, Indio, California (2007/04/27)
  • Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, Manchester, Tennessee (2007/06/15)
  • KCRW World Music Festival, Hollywood, California (2007/06/24)
  • Oxegen 07, Punchestown, Co.Kildare, Ireland (2007/07/08)
  • Summercase, Madrid, Spain (2007/07/13)
  • Summercase, Barcelona, Spain (2007/07/14)
  • Pohoda, Trencin, Slovakia (2007/07/22)
  • Humboldt State University, Arcata CA (2007/09/17) (Special up close non-festival appearance alongside with Cut Chemist)

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Wilder (2005), 23. "I was born in '72 in San Jose".
  2. ^ Shapiro, Peter (2000). Modulations: A History of Electronic Music. Caipirinha Productions, Inc., 254 pages. ISBN 0819564982.  see p.319, 323
  3. ^ Dark Days (2000) - Awards
  4. ^ Shadow's Digest, August 3rd, 2006
  5. ^ "Out of the Shadow", Interview with Eric K. Arnold, SF Weekly, September 13, 2006

[edit] External links

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