Theft of the Dial: DJ Shadow
by Mark Wheat and Daniel Nass
October 11, 2016
DJ Shadow was recently in town for a show at the Varsity Theater, and during his visit, he made time to stop by The Current to chat with Mark Wheat and take over our airwaves with a Theft of the Dial.
He's currently touring in support of his fifth studio album, The Mountain Will Fall, which came out in June, 2016. One of the album's highlights is "Nobody Speak" — a collaboration with hip-hop duo Run The Jewels (check out the accompanying politically-charged video on YouTube).
"This track clearly wants to be of a certain type of energy," DJ Shadow (a.k.a. Josh Davis) explains. "I decided I want to try to make an old school track that felt contemporary. There was a very short list of who I wanted to be on the record, because I wanted somebody who is similar age group to myself, but also is making contemporary music and isn't relegating themselves to the past."
Davis continues, "I've often told El [El-P from Run the Jewels] over the last five, six years how much I respect the fact that he's re-contextualizing himself ... how important I think what he's doing is. So that's who I really wanted on this beat."
Theft of the Dial: DJ Shadow Playlist
DJ Shadow (feat. Run the Jewels) - "Nobody Speak"
Durutti Column - "Never Known"
Fitzmorris - "Locked In"
Rainy Day - "Holocaust"
Le Vikings De Guadeloupe - "Only Tears Tears"
Valerie Southern - "Someday Brother"
Reverend Thomas L. Walker - "Keep Your Head to the Sky"
DJ Shadow - "Midnight In a Perfect World"