Back in the day… way back in the day….  I met a young DJ Shadow at the Blue Note Club in Hoxton Square.  He was working with an even younger James Lavelle, who at that time was scribbling a column for Straight No Chaser magazine and conspiring with Swifty to create the highly individual look of his most excellent Mo’Wax imprint.  If I think correctly, it was Shadow’s first London show and he was sharing the honours on the Technics with Tokyo’s deep and deadly  DJ Krush. It was, if my herb addled memory serves me well, a ground breaking, ram jam session that I’m sure is firmly imprinted in the minds of those hip hop heads who were there.

DJ Shadow & DJ Krush at the Treasure Island Music Festival 2009

In more recent times, I’ve been made aware of Shadow’s musical adventures by Ross Allen, another former Chaser contributor, who has worked with Shadow, on the A&R front, on and off over the years.  And so, when I heard he was playing a set for Boiler Room TV (respect to the BPM) which coincided with a globetrotting tour and the release of his new album, ‘The Less You Know The Better’ , I was most curious.

Fortunately for us, Boiler Room Tv is  a most organised bizniz and if you tune to http://boilerroom.tv/dj-shadow-30-min-mix/ you can watch and listen to a most radical and free style set that takes it back to Shadow’s “essence of dj’ing”.

Check it out!