Producer and passionate record collector DJ Shadow (real name Joshua Paul Davis) burst onto the music scene in 1996 with his thrilling instrumental hip-hop album Entroducing …. On Wednesday, he plays at Luxy, one day after the worldwide release of his newest opus, The Less You Know, the Better.
A lot has happened in the 15 years that separate those albums.
Armed with an MPC sampler and an affinity for funky bass lines, rare jazz, forgotten soul music and old-school hip-hop, Shadow produced Entroducing … entirely out of samples. The result was a trip-hop masterpiece that was universally praised for its use of layered music.
Photo courtesy of Johan Vosloo
In 1998, Shadow released Preemptive Strike, a collection of his singles from the pre-Entroducing … era, and produced Psyence Fiction by Unkle, a collaboration with Mo’ Wax label head James Lavelle.
Shadow’s next full-length album was The Private Press, which came out in 2002 to major acclaim. His release of The Outsider four years later wasn’t so successful. Fans were upset because they thought Shadow had abandoned his sound and embraced the San Francisco Bay Area hyphy hip-hop movement. Hyphy rappers also didn’t enjoy The Outsider because they thought it too unusual. People started to think Shadow had lost his edge.
In recent interviews, Shadow has said he feels liberated for the first time since he’s been making music. The weight of his fan base’s expectations has been lifted from his shoulders, he says, and he was free to use all of his creativity to make his latest album.
Shadow’s performances are not the average hip-hop DJ put-your-hands-in-the-air show. Instead, it’s thinking clubgoers’ music with intricate mixing and surprises all the way through.
‧ DJ Shadow performs on Wednesday night from 9pm to 3:30am at Luxy, located at 5F, 201, Zhongxiao E Rd Sec 4, Taipei City (台北市忠孝東路四段201號5樓). Admission is free for ladies and NT$700 for men, which includes two drinks.
For the past 10 years, the Earthfest crew has been throwing parties in secluded hideaways in the mountains. This weekend, starting today with psytrance, then going 40 hours non-stop through the electronic spectrum of electro, dubstep and even drum ’n’ bass, Earthfest Revolutions returns to Kunlun Herb Plant Tourism Garden (崑崙藥用植物園), 8-2, 1st Neighborhood, Gaoping Village, Longtan Township, Taoyuan County (桃園縣龍潭鄉高平村一鄰8-2號). It’s definitely not an easy place to find, but most people who’ve been want to go back, as long as it doesn’t rain.
‧ Earthfest Revolutions begins tonight at 7pm and runs through Sunday until 1pm. Admission is NT$1,000 at the door. There’s a full bar with specials including two beers for NT$100 and three bottles of water for NT$100. (Organizers ask that you don’t bring your own drinks.) Camping is free, or book a room at www.earthfest.tw/rooms.htm. Search Facebook for “Earthfest Revolutions” for details, including the performance lineup.
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