Dj Shadow

So in-demand the public needed a second performance, DJ Shadow is obviously a sought after artist in Brighton. Playing two consecutive evenings in the middle of August at Concorde 2, Shadow even has the ability to freestyle his second night, ensuring both shows weren't a carbon copy of one another.

And this is solely down to his hugely eclectic taste in hip hop; an esoteric brand of music that literally puts Shadow into his own category of music - his own genre if you will. A sample expert like no other.

Since his debut album 'Endtroducing...' back in 1996, he has amassed an incredible cult following and his fans expect the very best every time they see him. This occasion was no different. The only slight let down was his visual production, which was a little uninspiring in comparison to his previous live shows.

Continue reading: DJ Shadow - Concorde 2, Brighton Live Review

The twenty years that have elapsed since Josh Davis released his début Entroducing make for neat symmetry when considering The Mountain Will Fall, but little else. Widely acknowledged as one of the most influential hip-hop records of all time - a title it might still possess were it not for the release nine years later of J Dilla's Donuts - Davis' sampleadelic master work took the very precepts of music assembly and turned them on its head, but rather than be defined by it, the producer has spent the last two decades trying to keep it's unending fascination very much at a safe distance.

It's been five years since his last ride The Less You Know, The Better (Although in shorter form 2014's The Liquid Amber EP helped launch his label of the same name) and whether deliberately or not, The Mountain Will Fall arrives in broadly the same moment as The Avalanches Wildflower, each boasting collaborations with hip hop royalty and both in the roughly adjacent beat science space.

Whilst the Australians have opted for a suitably unhinged (And not in truth entirely coherent) dreamscape/travelogue, Davis himself has gone for the less surreal: Nobody Speak, featuring re-energised veterans Run The Jewels comes sound tracked with what sounds like surf pop twisted around The Gimp's ball gag, cinematic-bold, road music but for those who only want to drive around the concrete jungle. In terms of style this lyrical base is much more of an exception than a rule: Ernie Fresh rhymes over what sounds like scratchy cut ups from a late eighties block party, whilst only G Jones & Bleep Bloop on the bassline stub of Pitter Patter otherwise give the impression that there are any intentful spirits in the machine.

Continue reading: DJ Shadow - The Mountain Will Fall Album Review

Music In the News...Jack White has been awarded an honor for musical excellence, from University College Dublin. The James Joyce Award was presented to the former White Stripes frontman, who is currently touring with Willy Moon, by the university's Literary and Historical Society.

Cat Power has informed her fans, that her European tour will still go ahead, despite the news that she is suffering financial and health difficulties. She told her fans "European Tour Is On. Without Stage Presentation. Hard Money Wasted." It is thought that she is planning a stripped-down version of her show for the tour, which will include her first London show in four years.

Katy Perry has been accused of 'sexualising children' by the indie-dance band Crystal Castles. The band's singer, Alice Glass, told NME magazine "I think a lot of (pop stars) sell sex to children. I think a lot of kids are more sexualised now than they were years ago and I'm not sure it's a coincidence. Like f**king Katy Perry spraying people with her f**king d**k, her f**king c** gun c**ming on f**king children. And little girls, like six-year-old girls wearing a shirt with 'I wanna see your (pea) cock' on it."

Continue reading: A Week In Music Featuring: Jack White, DJ Shadow, Rita Ora, Aerosmith, Alt-J, Willy Moon And Much More!

There's something effortless about Josh Davis' sampling technique. It defies the usual genre classifications, without becoming a gimmick. While his DJ Shadow moniker has been associated with some of the finest examples of turntable trickery of the last 20 years, he's also had to deal with a backlash from fans as his output evolved. Summing that up in a two-disc compilation that provides an overview of four studio albums, numerous singles, and other collaborations is therefore not an easy task. However, Reconstructed: The Best Of DJ Shadow feels like a very accurate and compelling retelling of how Shadow got from College Radio to acclaimed producer and beyond.

It's really only the deluxe edition of Reconstructed that illustrates that journey properly. While 1996's Endtroducing was Davis' entrance into the mainstream, the 1994 single 'Lost And Found (S.F.L.), which can be found on the second disc here, was the quintessential DJ Shadow calling card. Sampling a U2 drumbeat and coupling it with a laid-back lounge groove, funk guitar and jazz trumpet, it creates a hypnotic soundscape which provides the template for the early DJ Shadow sound. You can hear the grooves and hiss of the vinyl bubbling away in the background between vocal samples and scratches. There's something unique and unforced about this concoction of disparate elements on the track, and that's the one unifying theme to all of Davis' work.

Davis may be well known for his love of beats as demonstrated by the inclusion of the extended versions of 'Midnight In A Perfect World' and 'Organ Donor', but he's also got a good ear for interesting guitar riffs. Thankfully, Reconstructed doesn't ignore those tracks with the inclusion of 'High Noon' and 'You Made It'. Neither does this compilation try to airbrush out Davis' indie Mo' Wax experiments with Unkle. Both Richard Ashcroft and Thom Yorke get a look in here, with the addition of 'Lonely Soul' and 'Rabbit In Your Headlights' respectively. While Davis was a key player in the development of what became known as Instrumental hip-hop, his movement away from this is also showcased here. While his third album The Outsider divided fans, in retrospect it included material such as the '70s soul infused 'This Time (I'm Gonna Try It My Way)', which sits comfortably alongside the more well-known tracks featured on Reconstructed.

Continue reading: DJ Shadow - Reconstructed: The Best Of DJ Shadow Album Review

Joshua Davis might not be a name many people would recognise, but under the alias of DJ Shadow he's established himself as one of dance music's most progressive and innovative musicians over the past twenty years. While debut album 'Endtroducing' has long been regarded as a groundbreaking record due it consisting almost entirely of samples, his subsequent recordings have seen him dabble with almost every conceivable genre from jazz and funk to ambient, folk and metal. It's perhaps not surprising then that despite being referenced as a contemporary hip hop artist, DJ Shadow's music is revered and respected by artists and consumers alike from all different corners.

Continue reading: Dj Shadow, The Less You Know, The Better Album Review

DJ Shadow
This Time (I'm Gonna Try It My Way)
Single Review

Continue reading: DJ Shadow, This Time (I'm Gonna Try It My Way), Single Review