Few artists are as influential on their respective genres as DJ Shadow has been on Plunderphonics. Alongside artists like Madlib, J Dilla, The Avalanches and MF DOOM, DJ Shadow has turned sampling into an art form all unto itself.
Plunderphonics, DJ Shadow’s chosen musical style, focuses not on making a standard beat out of samples. Instead this style of DJ’ing brings the sample to the forefront. This allows the sample to maintain its integrity even as it is chopped and blended with other samples. The most famous example of this would be The Avalanches who built their entire first album out of samples only.
DJ Shadow became a mainstay of the genre when he released Endtroducing….. back in 1996. This album showed that Plunderphonics could be more than just a way for artists to flex their musical knowledge on listeners, but that it could be a viable way to make beats that a rapper could still jump into. This style became highly influential on MF DOOM who would later take the musical style and run with it.
These days DJ Shadow has been making a comeback with his record The Mountain Will Fall which featured Run The Jewels on the breakout hit “Nobody Speak.”
Catch DJ Shadow at the magnificent El Rey on 5/23 and see his mind bending DJ skills for yourself.
Location: El Rey Theatre
Address: 5515 Wilshire Blvd
Leave a Comment