DJ Shadow / In / Flux  / Mo Wax

Josh Davis aka DJ Shadow is about to reissue his Mo Wax singles as a deluxe boxset . This gives me a good excuse to share a few thoughts on his landmark Mo Wax debut… “This is a song about life, death, love, hate, wealth, poverty… just a few things that have been running through my head…” There’s no denying that DJ Shadow’s “In / Flux” was groundbreaking. When I interviewed Shadow recently and asked if, back in 1993, there was any precedent for a 12 minute long instrumental hip hop track, he said, “Well, I always try to be self-effacing, shine the spotlight on one of my heroes, but…” he paused for a second and then answered, “The Adventures Of Grandmaster Flash On The Wheels Of Steel”. This is true, I guess, but only sort of. While “In / Flux” does clearly have its roots in the music of Flash, and other pioneers such as Kurtis Mantronix, it swaps the scratch for Akai MPC samples and, importantly, transforms cut & paste into composition (1). Taking a leap from the giant shoulders of…