WEIRD ALBUMS SERIES

DJ Shadows’ Endtroducing…’ An Expert Collage in Sampling

A newfound appreciation for sampling

Alexander Razin
The Riff
Published in
5 min readJul 22, 2023

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Image Credit: Discogs

*Note* the rating doesn’t reflect the quality. It describes the album’s experimentation.

Coined in 1994, Mixmag journalist Andy Pemberton used trip-hop to define a new hip-hop style played in London Clubs. Chief among them was DJ Shadow. He produced what countless hip-hop fans say is one of the genre’s best albums.

Some will say it’s one of the best albums of all time.

DJ Shadow proved his talent on his debut, but it was only the beginning.

Welcome to the eighteenth monthly installment of the Weird Album Series. It’s a review where I discuss albums beyond typical music structures.

Today’s album is DJ Shadow’s 1996 debut LP, Endtroducing...

I break down the album by its background, my thoughts, and the legacy in each installment. Then, I’ll rate the album using the Beefheartian scale: A rating system made by experimental music enthusiasts to describe albums on par with Captain Beefheart. For example, a ten in the rating system is “Hot damn, that’s weird!

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Alexander Razin
The Riff

Aficionado and connoisseur of obscure and experimental music, movies, and TV. Fictional and nonfictional pieces have their place here, too