Las Vegas Weekly

October 27, 2010 · 6 PM

Nightlife Podcast: DJ Shadow

By Deanna Rilling

Josh Davis, aka DJ Shadow

Photo: Kirstie Shanley

What should people expect from your Live from the Shadowsphere tour stop?

My visual guy, Ben Stokes, and myself were trying to come up with a show that would be completely different. I just feel like if you’ve ever gone to a DJ show and felt underwhelmed or like it was just somebody onstage pumping a fist at you, we try and do the antithesis of that. We try and make it an experience and a real audio/visual feast.

Endtroducing..... was the first electronic album I had. Do you ever revisit that disc, and what are your thoughts on it almost 15 years later?

I revisit it all the time, especially when I need to do a tour, mainly because I’m well aware that when people come to see me live they’re going to expect to hear some of that music, and I respect that and I try and achieve that. My thoughts on the record are that it was an honest reflection of where I was at at the time mentally and in my life. That’s really what I’ve always tried to do with every album, from that record to The Private Press to The Outsider to the one I’m working on now—they’re all different.

What do you think about DJ culture in 2010?

I have a lot of thoughts on contemporary DJ culture. But I do think this celebrity DJ stuff is a little bit stomach-churning. Ultimately you have to wonder, “What kind of product is being offered? Is it good for your body, or is it junk food?” It’s really not up to me to say, “This type of music is crappy and this type of music is good just because I say so.” It’s more just about I have to be true to myself. I didn’t set out to be famous. I set out to share music that has affected me and helped me in my life and expose it to people. Whether it’s a show like the one I’m going to be doing in Vegas or a small all-45s set in Tokyo, by the end of the night, people are like, “I listened to two hours of good music tonight.” That’s the best I can do.

Josh Davis, aka DJ Shadow, chats about his next album, his glowing eyes in the DJ Hero game, and his extensive vinyl collection in the Nocturnal Admissions podcast, available for download here.

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