‘It was freaking bananas!’: rap luminaries on the defining moments from 50 years of hip-hop
From Brooklyn block parties to globe-trotting glory, some of the biggest names in hip-hop share their personal highlights from five decades of rap, rebellion and raising the roof
June 2022
How we made
‘I accidentally invented trip-hop’ – how we made DJ Shadow’s Endtroducing
‘People said: “Nobody’s going to listen to instrumental trip-hop.” But I was thinking of huge soundscapes, like the ones by Pink Floyd or Beethoven’
May 2017
Vivid Sydney: the Avalanches' block party with DJ Shadow shuts down just as it's revving up
DJ Shadow: 'Music has never been worth less, and yet sampling has never been more risky'
February 2017
Music icon David Axelrod: six essential tracks
David Axelrod, composer and producer, dies aged 83
December 2016
Destruction, daydreams and dystopia: the music videos that summarised 2016
From Grimes’ cyber-goth takeover to Radiohead’s ominous animation, crying supermodels to dictator politicians, music videos this year have mirrored a disruptive world
Trip-hop pioneer embarks on a bumpy, fun-filled safari that manages to sound both sci-fi and vintage
Bluedot: exploring the festival frontier
This month, a new festival will boldly go beyond the same old weekend lineups with a boundary-breaking blend of science, music, technology and comedy
June 2016
Me and the muse
Me and the muse: DJ Shadow on his sources of inspiration
DJ Shadow: The Mountain Will Fall review – winning reboot
May 2015
Albanese listening: Labor's DJ shadow minister spins the music at fundraiser
Anthony Albanese moonlights as a DJ, pairs Black Eyed Peas with New Order and offers advice on how to get a dancefloor going
February 2015
DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist review – a vinyl trip as profound as Moses’s stone tablets
The turntable auteur and Jurassic 5 DJ prove funk never loses its power as they cut and hack through Afrika Bambaataa’s vintage vinyl
January 2015
DJ Shadow webchat – as it happened
The producer and DJ, famed for his innovative use of sampling as well as his outspoken criticism of illegal downloaders, answered your questions - on everything from his rumoured beef with James Lavelle, to getting annoyed by children in Ramones T-shirts
June 2013
Mo' Wax after 21 years: James Lavelle goes for a trip-hop down memory lane
The lynchpin of 90s music label Mo' Wax is releasing an eclectic archive of music, merchandise and street art for a planned book and art exhibition, writes Joe Muggs
December 2012
Music blog
Is DJing an art?
Dominic Kelly: Following DJ Shadow's recent proclamation that he will never sacrifice his integrity, are artistic pretensions among the DJ world misplaced?
September 2012
Soundtrack of my life
DJ Shadow: soundtrack of my life
The Californian hip-hop artist and record-digger extraordinaire tells Gareth Grundy about his love of James Brown, his thirst for new music, and why Dr Dre sounds like home
November 2011
Little Dragon – Pop
The nimble vocals of Little Dragon's Yukimi Nagano dance Björk-like around a minimal but memorable melody. It's part-gig, part-club experience, writes Dave Simpson
September 2011
DJ Shadow: The Less You Know, the Better – review
On his fourth album in 15 years, DJ Shadow gets a little more conventional. By Dave Simpson
