LISTEN: DJ Shadow’s The Liquid Amber EP

source: DJ Shadow

DJ Shadow’s post-sophomore career was almost a neverending slump; a Zach de la Rocha project that led to nothing, a hyphy phase that culminated with Shadow being booted out of a club for being “too future”, and three consequent albums that’s best described by the name of the last one — The Less You Know, the Better. Today sees the legendary DJ who elevated sampling and extricated the hip hop DJ-producer from a stunted scene finding newfound inspiration in the surprise release of The Liquid Amber EP. An “opening salvo” by his new imprint of the same name, there’s a hint of vintage Shadow in the vocal sample on ‘Ghost Town’, but the track is otherwise what Shadow would describe as a microcosmic look at the genres within the future bass label, of which he is currently finding muse in. ‘Mob’ on the other hand sees him channelling his party DJ phase — to much greater potency, that is — it’s probably the first time that we feel he’s successfully explored party-ready, head-nodding modern genres. However, it’s Machinedrum’s remix of a classic Shadow track, ‘Six Days’, that is our personal highlight of the EP.

Stream it below, and let us know what you think.

Listen to more DJ Shadow here.