DJ Shadow who works out of S.F. has crafted both exquisite beats and a carefully cultivated mystique.

"Around 1989-1990 I settled on the name DJ Shadow after having the usual assortment of cheesy DJ names (DJ 24-Karat was one...) The name was inspired as a comment about hip-hop producers stepping out trying to be stars in their own right...specifically, Hurby Luv Bug (Kid 'n Play, Salt 'n Pepa) was like the pre-Puffy, always in his groups' videos, etc. I thought that was weak and that a producer's place should be behind the scenes, making the music. So the name DJ Shadow was to try to convey the vibe that it's better to be heard than seen.

My equipment has always been very basic, by the standards of the time. Even though I have a lot more equipment now than I use to, I think most of my peers would consider my current setup to be very simple.

I started out on a cassette 4-track and two belt-drive turntables because that's all I could afford. Fortunately, it taught me to make the most out of what I had to work with and to be patient with my limitations. In 1992, I was working with a rapper named Paris and the opportunity arose for me to invest my earnings into a real sampler. $3000 is a lot of money by anyone's standards, but working minimum wage at a pizza restaurant, as I was at the time, it was almost inconceivable! I felt I needed to buy not only what could get the job done adequately, but something brand new that would keep my sound contemporary for a long time to come. That's why I chose the brand new Akai MPC 60 instead of the tried and true Emu SP-1200. It's one of the best moves I ever made, and I got lucky because it ended up being a popular sampler for years to come...

I felt I succeeded in "beating the curve." Working at Dan the Automator's studio throughout most of the 90's, I was able to stay up to date with the latest gear. He was the first person I knew who had ADATs and ProTools. I made the move to buy ProTools in 1998, just after finishing the UNKLE project. Again, it was a sizeable investment but of course it's paid itself off since then.

These instruments, as well as my turntables and a few other secret accessories, still form the basis of my recording technique because I try to hold onto my overall theory of recording and making music: keep the process simple. Let someone else be the first person to do time stretching or other cool effects; worry about making a good song first. The simpler the process, the more time you have to contemplate doing something completely new and original with what you have to use.

My inspirations DJ-wise (aside from being credited in the liner notes of Endtroducing) were mainly those that put scratches on wax. I grew up in a small town that didn't have a DJ scene, nightclub scene, etc...so I had to rely on what I heard and saw, such as in the Malcolm McClaren videos, Breakin', Beat Street (I wasn't hip enough at age 11 to know anything about Wild Style, which I don't think ever played in my area). But mainly it was the obvious ones, Grandmaster Flash ('Adventures...' was the first record I ever bought), Jam Master Jay, Mixmaster Ice (UTFO), etc etc.

I learned to scratch on my own, and I got it wrong...thus I inadvertently learned "Hamster Style."
Being into the whole Hip-Hop culture as I was, I tried it all...breaking (not good), graffiti (my man burned me every time, so I quit), etc...so it came naturally to consider making beats, especially when I started hearing people sample records that my Dad had in his collection. Many early beat makers had DJing in their background, it was a frequent extension of the artform.

As far as my peers, I'm inspired by everything I hear. If I hear a good idea or unique arrangement concept in a country-western song, I'll try to apply it to what I'm working on at the time. Recently I borrowed an idea to combine two instruments together based on a song I heard on a fairly diabolical '70s rock record...but that one idea they had was brilliant, and worth lifting. To me, that's what it's about...taking the good and leaving the bad.

The fact of the matter is that most people first heard of me in the following general context: �There's this cool label from England called Mo� Wax with this guy DJ Shadow who makes interesting hip-hop derived instrumental music. What they're not aware of is everything that came before and most of what came after. I'm largely known for what, in my mind, is a mere sequence within a much larger continuum. Since that sequence has established the prevailing impression, many fans and listeners perpetuate that impression and at times seek to understand my music (and motives) within those confines.

I started out as a hip-hop DJ, first attempting scratching in December of 1984. This is not rumor or conjecture; this is fact. While in junior high school, I began playing mixes at the local college radio station. Again, fact. Every subsequent step as a DJ and producer, from winning the Source's "Unsigned Hype" column, to spinning at KMEL, to establishing Solesides, to working with Paris, etc etc, was with the goal in mind of becoming a force within hip-hop. Not "backpacker" or "underground" hip-hop, not trip-hop. Back then there weren't all of these micro-genres.

What happened next is well documented, and can be summed up thusly: I got bored. As rap began to become a business, as it did in the early '90s, I made a choice to pursue my love for music on my terms, NO MATTER WHAT MY PEERS THOUGHT. I never stopped listening to rap, and it never left my top spot as far as types of music that I listened to. At the same time, I REFUSE to stop listening to rock, funk, or whatever other type of music that speaks to me. I fully realize that some people find this broad acceptance of music to be annoying, cynical, and suspicious. So, when, as I've done for the last 22 years, I express my gratitude and solidarity to hip-hop and rap, those people become�you guessed it, annoyed, cynical and suspicious. But you know what? I'm 33 years old. I don't give a single fuck anymore. My resume is bulletproof and my accomplishments speak for themselves.

Cali-Tex is a label I (DJ Shadow) started as an outlet for, initially, just the Mickey and the Soul Generation project. They're in Texas, I'm in California, thus the "Cali-Tex" label name. (In the late '60s, it was a common practice to combine last names, street names, etc in devising a label identity).

In the slow process of preparing that album, I had the inclination to release the first Schoolhouse Funk compilation (2000). The Mickey album followed, and then JC Davis, the Cavaliers 45, and another Schoolhouse Funk LP. Some of the product was distributed by Quannum, and some was handled by me through the website. These sorts of projects are time consuming and don't really make any money, so they are few and far between, but I'm proud of the label and the exposure its given to some great almost lost music. There's more on the horizon, as time and energy allow.

Oh, one more little-known fact: the Cali-Tex logo was designed by my pops, who used to work as a graphic designer in the '70s".