Alum of the Week

DJ Shadow

In Los Angeles, 10/31/09 (Blunderbuss, 2010)

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RATED 7 of 10: A “live” DJ these days is almost always going to show up with a laptop. Not DJ Shadow. He points out that even though DJs have “access to millions of songs [they’re] still playing the same fifty over and over again. There’s something wrong with that.” DJ Shadow’s words are backed by this 75-minute live mix recorded from his all-vinyl show performed on three turntables at the Park Plaza Hotel in downtown L.A. on Halloween night. The mix features excellent combinations of familiar, crowd-pleasing hits like MGMT’s “Kids” and Kanye West’s “Love Lockdown” and lesser-known but no less compelling pieces. The track featuring “Puff Rider” is deep, dark and, well, kind of freaky. Though he’s most at home with hip-hop, DJ Shadow veers all over the place: East Coast rap, West Coast rap, some metal, drum n’ bass—all take a turn. His round of rappers from the Dirty South is particularly noteworthy; the non-stop flow from a rapper from Mississippi blaring over heavy dub-step is sure to get people on their feet. And the detour into 2 Live Crew’s “Sally (That Girl)” is a sheer joy. The knowledge that it was all done live and laptop-free makes it even sweeter. (If you want to see a live all-vinyl mix for yourself, be sure to stop in at Requests this Saturday, April 16, for DJ Blast and Jay.P). — by Ben Lowenthal

All albums reviewed in this space are available at Maui’s only record store, Requests (10 N. Market St., Wailuku, 808-244-9315)

A version of this article appeared in print on April 14, 2011, on page 14 of MauiTime (volume 14, issue 43)