DJ Shadow spent his teenage years in Davis, California and was a DJ at the community radio station KDVS. During his time as a radio disc jockey, DJ Shadow was significant in developing the experimental instrumental hip-hop style associated with the California-based Solesides record label. His early singles for the label, including In/Flux and Lost and Found (S.F.L.), were genre-bending works of art merging elements of funk, rock, hip-hop, ambient, jazz, soul, and used-bin found records. DJ Shadow is often cited as a leading creator of trip-hop, though this is a label he strongly contests.
Although he previously released a couple of original works (during 1991-1992 for Hollywood Records) by the time Mo' Wax's James Lavelle contacted him about releasing In/Flux on the fledgling imprint, it wasn't until his distribution association with Mo' Wax that his sound began to mature and cohere.
Shadow's first full-length work, Endtroducing....., was released in late 1996 to immense critical acclaim. Following the success of this album, he acted as a shadow producer for Rage Against The Machine for their album, Evil Empire. It is said he influenced the solo on their song "Bulls On Parade". Endtroducing... made the Guinness World Records book for "First Completely Sampled Album" in 2001. Preemptive Strike, a compilation of early singles, followed in early 1998. Later that year, Shadow produced tracks for Psyence Fiction, the debut album by U.N.K.L.E., a long-time Mo' Wax production team that gained superstar guests including Thom Yorke (of Radiohead), Richard Ashcroft (of The Verve), Mike D (of the Beastie Boys) and others. His next project came in 1999, with the transformation of Solesides into a new label, Quannum Projects. Nearly six years after his debut production album, his second album, The Private Press, was released in June 2002. In the same year, the movie "Scratch" (2001, Doug Pray) was released to DVD with DJ Shadow appearing several times throughout the movie.
The documentary films "Dark Days" and "Wisconsin Death Trip" feature music of DJ Shadow while "Scratch" features an interview and more music.
DJ Shadow has also collaborated with fellow artist Cut Chemist. Together they have made two CDs entitled Brainfreeze and Product Placement. These albums fuse jazz, funk, and soul in the framework of a cohesive concept. The second of these (Product Placement) followed a very similar pattern to the first, but using remixes/other versions of the songs in roughly the same order.
In the year 2004, Shadow released his feature length DVD, In Tune and On Time. The DVD features a live performance in London, emphasizing intricate visuals.
In 2005, Shadow released a Deluxe Edition of his first album, Endtroducing.... and a new album, titled "The Outsider" in 2006.
While Shadow's earlier works, especially 'Endtroducing.....', are known for their innovation in genres such as hip-hop, ambient, and trip-hop, his fourth full length album, The Outsider, had several tracks dedicated to Hyphy. This decision has been controversial, leaving many fans feeling alienated. DJ Shadow addressed this point in an August, 2006 interview, in which stated, "Repeat Endtroducing over and over again? That was never, ever in the game plan. Fuck that. So I think it's time for certain fans to decide if they are fans of the album, or the artist."
Also in 2005, Brian Udelhofen began work on the Shadow Percussion Project, an attempt to adapt some of the tracks from Endtroducing... for a live performance group. The result was largely successful and well-received by DJ Shadow himself.
In 2007 DJ Shadow was contacted by the Hollywood Bowl to do a show featuring Freeze with Cut Chemist. However, not wanting to repeat old material DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist came up with a whole new routine entitled The Hard Sell. In 2007 and 2008 they went on The Hard Sell tour and were accompanied on stage by two large video screens with visuals created for the tour.
Discography
Solo Albums
* 1996 - Endtroducing.....
* 1998 - Preemptive Strike
* 2000 - Dark Days
* 2002 - The Private Press
* 2003 - The Private Repress (Japanese Remix Album)
* 2004 - In Tune and On Time
* 2005 - Endtroducing... (2xCD Deluxe Edition)
* 2006 - The Outsider
* 2007 - The 4-Track Era Vol.1 Best of the KMEL Mixes
* 2007 - The 4-Track Era Vol.2 Best of the Remixes and Megamixes (1990-1992)
* 2011 - The Less You Know, the Better
with Q Bert
* 1997 - Camel Bobsled Race (Q-Bert Mega Mix) CD-EP
with UNKLE
* 1998 - Psyence Fiction
with Cut Chemist
* 1999 - Brainfreeze
* 2001 - Product Placement
* 2004 - Product Placement on Tour
* 2005 - Freeze
* 2008 - The Hard Sell
with Dan The Automator
* 1998 - Bombay the Hard Way: Guns, Cars and Sitars
You Made It -Feat. Chris James
DJ Shadow Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Silent cries
The shadows surround us
So we crawl out from under
The water, out of darkness
(We're almost home, no sleep, no, girl)
Into the light too long
(There's nothing here to see
(Ain't seen nothing)
Frozen hands on the window
Crying out in your sleep
Look away now, look away now
(I never said that you were falling to pieces)
(I know the thought that
(We would never get out of this)
Now the time that falls into the cracks
(There's nothing here to see
(Nothing here to see)
So we crawl out from under
The water
And we crawl out from under
The water out of darkness
The lyrics of DJ Shadow's song You Made It evoke various emotions and imagery, presumably referencing the struggle to overcome adversity. The opening line, "Stay close, the water is rising", could be interpreted as a warning to stay near to loved ones in the face of impending danger or a metaphor for the rising pressure of a difficult situation. The following lines, "Silent cries, the shadows surround us" describe a feeling of isolation and fear, suggesting the presence of unseen threats.
The chorus of "So we crawl out from under, the water, out of darkness" illustrates the notion of triumph over adversity, perhaps symbolized by overcoming an overwhelming obstacle. The lyrics "Look around, don't stare into the light too long" suggest that it is essential to remain grounded and focused on the task at hand. The line "Frozen hands on the window, crying out in your sleep" may be an allusion to the physical and psychological effects of a traumatic experience.
In the song's final lines, "Now the time that falls into the cracks, so we crawl out from under the water, and we crawl out from under the water out of darkness," DJ Shadow emphasizes the importance of endurance and perseverance even in trying times. The emphasis on crawling gives the impression of attempting to escape from something while trying to maintain composure and balance.
Line by Line Meaning
Stay close, the water is rising
We need to stay together because the situation is getting worse
Silent cries
We are suffering quietly
The shadows surround us
We are surrounded by darkness and uncertainty
So we crawl out from under
We choose to fight our way out of this situation
The water, out of darkness
We emerge from a difficult and uncertain time
(We're almost home, no sleep, no, girl)
We are almost out of this difficult time, and we cannot stop now
Look around, don't stare
We need to be aware of our surroundings without becoming fixated on them
Into the light too long
Staring too long at something can be harmful
(There's nothing here to see
There is no point in dwelling on what we cannot change
(Ain't seen nothing)
There are more challenges to come
Frozen hands on the window
We are struggling to cope
Crying out in your sleep
We are experiencing deep emotional distress
Look away now, look away now
We need to take a break from the pain for our own sake
(I never said that you were falling to pieces)
I never doubted your ability to handle this situation
(I know the thought that
I understand your doubts and fears
(We would never get out of this)
We worried that we would never overcome this challenge
Now the time that falls into the cracks
Time passes quickly and can be easily lost
(There's nothing here to see
We must focus on moving forward instead of dwelling on the past
(Nothing here to see)
The past cannot be changed, and we must look ahead
So we crawl out from under
We emerge from the darkness
The water
The difficult situation we faced
And we crawl out from under
We continue to work to overcome our challenges
The water out of darkness
We emerge from a dark and difficult period
Lyrics © THIRD SIDE MUSIC INC., Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Chris James, Christopher Alcock, Josh Paul Davis, Michael Ryan Collins
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind