October 14–21, 1999
six pick
DJ Shadow
DJ Shadow’s no comedian, but’s definitely a cut-up — a slice ’n’ dice edit king who takes heart in Afro-Americana for his spacey Morricone-like poundtrack epics. On Preemptive Strike (Mo Wax/fffr) he nabbed spiritual cues (and samples) from the Harlem-to-Oakland word/jazz renaissance of the ’60s, creating an active aural soundscape dedicated to peace and freedom by any means necessary. Using the textural ambience of hollow trip-hop and the feeling of a tone poem (without the words) as he did on his debut Endtroducing, Shadow does more than spin sound. He spins webs, like a scratchy, quiet spider crawling through your mind’s eye, looping one long continuous reel of thought, dream and desire. The spirit of Coltrane, the Last Poets and Gil Scott-Heron ("the revo, the revo, the revolution… " says Heron, sampled within) are recalled through sweetly flying flutes, discordant saxophone and low-fi bongos. Call it Beat Hop or Lennox Avenue soul, but Shadow — as Moby did on Play, his Alan Lomax gospel hijacking — finds new grooves set in testaments of yore.
Mon., Oct. 18, 9 p.m., TLA, 334 South St., 215-922-1011.
