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Studio 360 with Kurt Andersen

DJ Shadow’s Record-Breaking Album

Studio 360 with Kurt Andersen

PRX

Arts

4.6675 Ratings

🗓️ 14 November 2016

⏱️ 10 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Twenty years ago this week, DJ Shadow set a Guinness World Record for creating an album made up entirely of samples, many of them from LPs he rescued from the 50-cent bin. But “Endtroducing” is also musically and compositionally inventive, and it caught the attention of the hip-hop world. DJ Shadow has moved on, but some of his fans (including Derek John) still haven't gotten over it.  

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Transcript

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0:00.0

From PRX.

0:07.0

Studio 360.

0:12.7

Hi, this is Kurt, and we have some podcast specialness for you.

0:18.7

What you're hearing is a track by DJ Shadow from the record that first got him noticed in a big way.

0:25.1

It's called Introducing.

0:31.3

Introducing turns 20 this week.

0:35.9

It's in the Guinness Book of World Records,

0:42.8

as the very first album made up entirely of electronic samples of earlier music.

0:49.8

A lot of the sounds come from LPs that DJ Shadow rescued from 50-cent bins somewhere.

0:55.0

He has been fascinated by vinyl since he was a kid, a kid named Josh Davis. I always had a lot of appreciation for how durable records are, because he can really put him through paces and they'll still play.

1:02.5

And I remember once, as an experiment, I left it out on our driveway and I was really disappointed when after a week of 90 degree heat, nothing happened.

1:10.6

And it just wouldn't warp, and I remember thinking, like, what a rip-off.

1:13.4

That's why I liked records, because you could abuse them, you could love them,

1:17.3

you could play with them, and they would still provide the music you were looking for.

1:22.2

Some years ago, one of our producers, Derek John, was dying to do a story about DJ Shadow.

1:28.3

Derek had been a super fan since his days as a college radio DJ at the University of Kansas.

1:33.8

KJHK. 90.7 FM. We are your sound alternative.

1:41.3

I DJed a morning show called Breakfast for Beat Lovers.

1:44.8

And if you think that title is cheesy, well, you should have heard the host.

1:48.4

Call me up 864-4747 with requests, shoutouts, give props to your homies.

1:56.3

Did I mention it was an all-volunteer radio station?

2:00.3

But the best thing about hosting Breakfast for Beat Lovers was that I got to play a ton of DJ Shadow.

...

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