DJ Shadow - Endtroducing... (2LP/GF/Half Speed Master/25th Anniv)
DJ Shadow’s Endtroducing….. is one of those rare albums that genuinely sounded like nothing else when it arrived and, remarkably, still sounds extraordinary today. Released in 1996 and constructed almost entirely from samples, it could easily have ended up as little more than a clever technical exercise. Instead, Shadow created something deeply atmospheric, emotional and completely absorbing.
There are obvious hip-hop foundations, but Endtroducing….. goes far beyond them, pulling together fragments of jazz, funk, ambient music, forgotten soundtracks and countless obscure records and turning them into something entirely new. Tracks such as "Building Steam with a Grain of Salt", "Midnight in a Perfect World" and "Stem/Long Stem" are dark, beautiful and cinematic, while "The Number Song" and "Organ Donor" showcase just how inventive Shadow could be with rhythm and sampling.
The remarkable thing is that the technical brilliance never gets in the way of the music itself. The crate-digging and sample construction are fascinating, but Endtroducing….. works because it feels like a complete album rather than a collection of beats or clever ideas. It has a real sense of journey and is best experienced from beginning to end.
Nearly three decades later, very little about Endtroducing….. feels dated. It is strange, melancholy, occasionally unsettling and absolutely packed with tiny details that continue to reveal themselves over repeated listens. Plenty of albums deserve to be called influential, but this is one that deserves something more than that. It is a genuine masterpiece.
It's also the favourite ever album of the person who has to write all these album descriptions ;)