DJ Shadow

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

DJ Shadow (born Josh Davis in 1972)^[1] is an American DJ, turntablist, music producer 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 1 Biography 2 Major works 2.1 Endtroducing..... 2.2 Preemptive Strike 2.3 Dark Days 2.4 The Private Press 2.5 In Tune and On Time 2.6 The Outsider 3 Discography 3.1 Main solo albums 3.2 Live albums 3.3 Compilation albums 3.4 Remix albums 3.5 With DJ Q-bert 3.6 With UNKLE 3.7 With Cut Chemist 3.8 With Dan the Automator 3.9 With Keane 3.10 Mixes 3.11 Albums featured 3.12 Singles 3.13 Live DVDs 4 Live appearances 5 References 6 External links

[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, a label he contests. 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 hip-hop DJ Cut Chemist. Together they have created two popular mixtapes entitled Brainfreeze and Product Placement. 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 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]}

In 2006, he signed a deal with Universal Records.

[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 piece of equipment Shadow used to produce the album is the AKAI MPC60 12bit sampling drum machine.

[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 Ian Brown, Thom Yorke (of Radiohead), Richard Ashcroft, Mike D (of the Beastie Boys) and 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. 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] Discography

[edit] Main solo albums

• Endtroducing..... (1996)
• The Private Press (2002)
• The Outsider (2006)

[edit] Live albums

• Live! In Tune and on Time (2004)

[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

• The Private Repress (2003)

[edit] With DJ Q-bert

• 1997 - Camel Bobsled Race (Q-Bert Mega Mix) CD-EP

[edit] With UNKLE

• Psyence Fiction 1998

[edit] With Cut Chemist

• 1999 - Brainfreeze
• 2001 - Product Placement
• 2004 - Product Placement on Tour
• 2007 - Hard Sell

[edit] With Dan the Automator

• 1998 - Bombay the Hard Way: Guns, Cars and Sitars
• 2001 - "Bombay 2: Electric Vindaloo"

[edit] With Keane

• 2005 - "We Might As Well Be Strangers" (Remix)

[edit] Mixes

• 2000 - Schoolhouse Funk
• 2003 - Diminishing Returns
• 2005 - Schoolhouse Funk II
• 2005 - Funky Skunk

[edit] Albums featured

• 1993 - Sleeping with the Enemy (by Paris)
• 1995 - Meiso (by DJ Krush, DJ Shadow features on Duality)
• 1995 - The Story of Mo Wax (various artists, Lost and Found and What Does Your Soul Look Like? (1 & 2) by Shadow)
• 1996 - Dr. Octagonecologyst (by Dr. Octagon, Shadow featured on Waiting List (DJ Shadow / Automator Mix))
• 1999 - Quannum Spectrum (various artists, DJ Shadow on Divine Intervention and Storm Warning)
• 1999 - So... How's Your Girl? (Handsome Boy Modeling School, DJ Shadow features on Holy Calamity (Bear Witness II) with DJ Quest)
• 2000 - Solesides Greatest Bumps (various artists, Shadow contributes 3 tracks and produces 6 more)
• 2002 - The Ultimate Lessons (various artists bootleg, Shadow on Lesson 4, Live Lesson B, and Live Lesson C)
• 2004 - Damage (by Jon Spencer Blues Explosion produces the track Fed Up And Low Down).
• 2004 - Brothers from the Mother (by Zimbabwe Legit, DJ Shadow's remix called Shadow's Legitimate Mix)
• 2005 - Same Shit Different Day (by Lyrics Born, produces Over You)
• 2005 - Hell's Winter (by Cage, produces Grand Ol' Party Crash with Jello Biafra)
• 2005 - Beef or Chicken? (by Teriyaki Boyz produces the track Kamikaze 108).

[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

• 2000 - Freeze VHS/DVD
• 2004 - Product Placement on Tour CD/DVD
• 2004 - In Tune and On Time CD/DVD

[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)
• 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)
• 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)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official website
• Quannum Projects
• Solesides
• DJ Shadow Interview on skinnymag.co.uk (August 2006)
• DJ Shadow Interview on I Like Music (January 2007)
• DJ Shadow at Discogs

v • d • e Quannum Projects
Groups
Apsci | Blackalicious | The Blacktop Project | Honeycut | Latyrx | Lifesavas | Lateef and the Chief (Maroons) | Poets of Rhythm
Members
Chief Xcel | Curumin | DJ Shadow | General Elektriks | Gift of Gab | Tommy Guerrero | Lateef the Truthspeaker | Lyrics Born | Pigeon John | Joyo Velarde
Full Length Albums
Latyrx (The Album) | The Muzapper Mixes | The Muzapper Remixes | Quannum Spectrum | Nia | Solesides Greatest Bumps | Discern/Define | Blazing Arrow | Spirit in Stone | Later That Day | Maroons:Ambush | 4th Dimensional Rocketships Going Up | Thanks for Asking | Achados e Perdidos | Cliquety Kliqk | Same !@#$ Different Day | The Craft | Supreme Lyricism | Overnite Encore: Lyrics Born Live
EPs
Melodica | A2G
Affiliated Groups or Members
Solesides

ca:DJ Shadow

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