DJ Shadow (born Josh Davis in 1972)Wilder (2005), 23. "I was born in '72 in San Jose". 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.
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. .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 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 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.
In 2006, he signed a deal with Universal Records.
DJ Shadow will be joining Cut Chemist on a world wide tour to support their new mix "The Hard Sell" beginning in early 2008. Kid Koala will also be touring and opening for them. Dates include Dallas, New York, San Francisco, Toronto, Vancouver, London, Hamburg and Paris among others.
Major works
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.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.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.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.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.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." .
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)
- Fillmore at the TLA, Philadelphia, PA (2007/01/25) (Hard Sell tour w/ Cut Chemist & Kid Koala)