Thirty years ago an album came out that not only flipped hip hop on its side but, also pioneered a whole new wave of influence and inspiration in all of music. Entroducing…. by DJ Shadow is an absolute game changing masterpiece that stretches the bounds of all genes.
Released September 16, 1996, DJ Shadow aka Josh Davis, Entroducing, intrigued and introduced legions of people and new fans to the world of making music based on samples. While sampling isn’t new, as it’s been done forever, this was however a new way to create whole songs and albums. So much so in fact that Entroducing would go on in 2001 to be recognized in the Guinness Book Of Records as “the first completely sampled album.” The only pieces of equipment Shadow used to produce the album were the AKAI MPC60 II 12-bit sampling drum machine, a pair of turntables and a copy of Pro-Tools given to him by Dan The Automator. DJ Shadow would edit and layer samples to create new beats and tracks of varying moods and tempos.
Mixing hip hop, soul, r&b, funk, jazz, rock ambience and more created the perfect blend. Across an hour plus, the way Entroducing captures your attention needs to be studied. It doesn’t matter what you mainly listen to, once you are in the midst of listening. The inception of this album idea began in 1994. Spending hours at a time digging for records and singles, the samples struck a chord.
Each song has its own vibe and will evoke different feelings. A track by track run down doesn’t do this album or its songs justice. The ones most recognizable like “Organ Donor,” “Midnight In A Perfect World” and “Building Steam With A Grain Of Salt” have become classic and timeless. While others like “Mutual Step,” which samples Bjork, “Napalm Brain/Scatter Brain,” “The Number Song” which contains samples of Metallica’s “Orion,” and Changeling/Transmission 1” which samples Tangerine Dream, have long been fan favorites and have amassed a cult like reputation. No matter what you’re listening to on here you’ll be in audio heaven.
To this day, I still love putting this album on during a nice drive or even to go to bed too. There’s so many different things and sounds to explore with each listen. That repeat factor has played a big part as to why Entroducing is an absolute classic masterpiece. The entire DJ Shadow catalog is a gem with more styles and vibes to explore.
DJ Shadow- Entroducing…:
