DJ Shadow facts for kids

Quick facts for kids DJ Shadow
Davis in October 2006
Background information
Birth name	Joshua Paul Davis
Born	(1972-06-29) June 29, 1972 (age 52) San Jose, California, U.S.
Origin	Davis, California, U.S.
Genres	Hip hop trip hop electronic turntablism experimental
Occupation(s)	DJ record producer
Years active	1989–present
Labels	Mass Appeal Mo' Wax Quannum Projects Solesides MCA Universal Verve Liquid Amber

Joshua Paul Davis (born June 29, 1972), known as DJ Shadow, is an American DJ and music producer. He was born in San Jose, California. His first album, Endtroducing....., came out in 1996.

DJ Shadow is famous for his unique way of making music. He uses many different sounds, called samples, from old or rare recordings. He mixes these sounds to create completely new songs. His music has been described as changing the world of hip-hop.

About DJ Shadow

His Early Music Journey (1989–1995)

DJ Shadow started making music in high school in Davis, California. He used a four-track recorder to experiment with sounds. Later, he became a DJ for the University of California, Davis radio station, KDVS.

During this time, he explored an experimental hip-hop style. This style was popular with the London-based Mo' Wax record label. His early songs, like "In/Flux" and "Lost and Found (S.F.L.)", blended many music types. These included funk, rock, hip hop, ambient, jazz, and soul.

A music journalist called "In/Flux" a "trip hop" song. This term was already used for groups like Massive Attack and Portishead. DJ Shadow says artists like Kurtis Mantronik and Prince Paul influenced his sample-based sound. He often uses only short voice clips in his music.

In the early 1990s, DJ Shadow also released remixes on Hollywood BASIC. He worked on a compilation called "BASIC Beats Sampler" in 1992. He also helped with the album Sleeping with the Enemy by rapper Paris.

In 1993, Shadow helped create the Solesides hip-hop label. He worked with artists like Blackalicious and Lyrics Born. Their first release was "Entropy". Shadow continued to work with Solesides until it became Quannum Projects.

Also in 1993, James Lavelle from Mo' Wax asked Shadow to release "In/Flux". This led to a good partnership. Shadow's songs "In/Flux" and "Lost and Found" appeared on several Mo' Wax releases. He also worked with DJ Krush. In 1995, he added scratches to a remix of the Massive Attack song "Karmacoma".

Endtroducing..... and Other Projects (1996–2001)

DJ Shadow's first full album, Endtroducing....., came out in late 1996. It received great reviews. In 2001, it even made it into the Guinness World Records book. It was recognized as the "First Completely Sampled Album".

To make the album, Shadow used simple equipment. He used an AKAI MPC60 sampling drum machine and two turntables. He also borrowed a Pro Tools setup. In 2006, Time magazine listed it as one of the "All-Time" 100 best albums. A part of his song "Building Steam with a Grain of Salt" was used in a Chevrolet commercial in 2014.

In 1998, Shadow released Preemptive Strike. This was a collection of his earlier songs from 1993–1997. Later that year, he produced Psyence Fiction. This was the first album by UNKLE. It featured famous guest artists like Thom Yorke from Radiohead and Mike D from Beastie Boys.

Around 2000, he created the music for the documentary Dark Days. This film was about people living underground in a subway tunnel. It won six awards. Shadow also appeared in the 2001 movie Scratch. This movie was about DJs and record collecting.

The Private Press and Live! In Tune and on Time (2002–2005)

Six years after his first album, DJ Shadow released his second album, The Private Press, in June 2002. A music video for his song "Six Days" was also released that year.

A remix of "Six Days" was featured on The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift soundtrack. It included the artist Mos Def.

In 2003, DJ Shadow worked with Zack de la Rocha on a song called "March of Death". They released it for free online. This was a protest against the invasion of Iraq.

In 2004, Shadow released his first full-length DVD, Live! In Tune and on Time. It showed a live performance in London. The show combined songs and samples from his past albums. It also featured his work with UNKLE and Quannum. The performance used many cool visuals.

The Outsider and Diminishing Returns (2006–2009)

In 2006, DJ Shadow signed with Universal Records. He released his album The Outsider on September 18. This album featured artists from the San Francisco Bay Area hyphy hip-hop scene. Some fans had mixed feelings about it. Shadow explained that he didn't want to just repeat his first album. He wanted to try new things.

In 2007 and 2008, DJ Shadow toured with fellow DJ Cut Chemist. They supported their mixtape The Hard Sell, which came out in January 2007. They had made other mixtapes before, like Brainfreeze and Product Placement. These mixtapes mixed jazz, funk, and soul music.

Diminishing Returns was a two-hour DJ mix. It was first broadcast on BBC Radio 1 in 2003. It was released on CD in 2003 in a limited number. In 2009, it was re-released.

The Less You Know, the Better (2010–2013)

In September 2010, DJ Shadow released two songs, "Def Surrounds Us" and "I've Been Trying". These were a preview of his new album. He said the album wasn't ready yet, but he was working on it for his 2011 tour.

On May 10, 2011, Shadow released an EP called I Gotta Rokk. It had remixed songs from his upcoming album, The Less You Know, the Better. Another song, "I'm Excited", was released in July 2011. However, it was taken down due to a copyright issue. This also delayed the album's release. Another song, "Warning Call", came out in September 2011.

The artwork for this album and its songs was created by Tony Papesh. The album was mixed by Jim Abbiss.

Liquid Amber (2014–2015)

On August 12, 2014, DJ Shadow started his own record label called Liquid Amber. He released The Liquid Amber EP for people to listen to online. Other artists on this label include Bleep Bloop and Noer the Boy.

In April 2015, a group called Nite School Klik released a song on Liquid Amber. In May 2015, Shadow told Billboard that Nite School Klik was actually him and producer G Jones working together. Their first EP came out on June 9, 2015.

The Mountain Will Fall and The Mountain Has Fallen (2016–2018)

In April 2016, Shadow announced a new album called The Mountain Will Fall. It was released on June 24 through Mass Appeal Records. A music video for the song "Nobody Speak", featuring Run the Jewels, came out in August 2016.

In September 2016, Shadow held his "First Annual DJ Shadow Storage Sale". He sold duplicate records from his huge collection. This event became an annual tradition until 2019.

On April 20, 2017, a new song called "Systematic" by Shadow and Nas was released. It was part of the soundtrack for the HBO show Silicon Valley. Later that year, in June, Shadow released the EP The Mountain Has Fallen. It included "Systematic" and a new song "Horror Show" with Danny Brown. In 2018, he released Live in Manchester: The Mountain Has Fallen. This was a live album recorded during his tour in 2017.

Our Pathetic Age (2019)

He later announced a double album called Our Pathetic Age, released on November 15, 2019. This album has two parts: one with instrumental music and one with songs featuring vocals. It includes artists like Run the Jewels, Nas, Ghostface Killah, and De La Soul.

DJ Shadow was also asked to help with the 20th anniversary remix project for Deftones' album White Pony. He remixed the song "Digital Bath".

In January 2022, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard released a remix album. Shadow's remix of "Black Hot Soup" was the first song on that album.

DJ Shadow's Studio and Equipment

The book Behind the Beat shows pictures and describes DJ Shadow's home studio, called "Reconstruction". It's located in a quiet area near a record store. Shadow has a huge personal collection of over 60,000 records. He keeps only a small number at home, with the rest in storage.

As of 2005, his equipment included two Akai MPC 3000s and a Korg Triton. His famous album Endtroducing was made using an AKAI MPC60 and an ADAT.

How DJ Shadow Uses Samples

DJ Shadow's music is known for using samples. He takes rare and unusual pieces of music and changes them to create new parts for his songs. Many of his tracks have dozens of samples from different styles. These include rock, soul, funk, experimental, electronic, and jazz music.

For example, on his song "Duality" with DJ Krush, he sampled "The Warnings" by David Axelrod. The piano sound in "Midnight in a Perfect World" from his 1996 album Endtroducing came from a song by Pekka Pohjola. Even though he uses fewer samples now, his 2006 album The Outsider still features many.

Discography

Studio albums

• Endtroducing.....(1996)
• The Private Press (2002)
• The Outsider (2006)
• The Less You Know, the Better (2011)
• The Mountain Will Fall (2016)
• Our Pathetic Age (2019)
• Action Adventure (2023)

See also

In Spanish: DJ Shadow para niños