DJ Shadow Returns To Limelight

As underground hero DJ Shadow prepares to launch his first album in five years, he is readying his turntables for a series of U.S. and Canadian dates in September and October.

The tour starts at the House of Blues in San Diego Sept. 27 and extends to pair of gigs in Brooklyn, N.Y., Oct. 14 and 15. The shows are mostly near the coasts, with stops in Minnesota and Chicago Oct. 6 and 7.

Mexico will get a taste of the DJ’s renowned spinning, as a pair of shows are slated for Mexico City and Monterrey Aug. 19 and 20, a month before the San Diego date. He is also going to be in Europe for the previous months, with a set at the Festival de Aretefacts in Strasbourg, France June 24, the day his new album drops.

He recently released several collaboration tracks from his latest project The Mountain Will Fall, one with hip-hoppers Run The Jewels and another with composer/producer

The tour starts at the House of Blues.

The California-born Shadow helped fuel the rise of the London-based Mo’ Wax label in the early ’90s and his electronic/hip-hop mixing debut Endtroducing sowed the seeds for what would eventually grow into entire subgenres.

This clip provides a glimpse of his live performances, which usually including video projections and lots of improvised scratching and mixing:

Shadow’s catalogue, and his individual albums, have always been experimental, and one of his trademarks is the use of recorded-speech samples instead of traditional vocals.

Some were critical of his venture into Bay Area hyphy music with 2006’s The Outsider, to which he responded: “Repeat Endtroducing over and over again? That was never, ever in the game plan. … I think it’s time for certain fans to decide if they are fans of the album or the artist.”

Here is where the Shadow will be cast this fall:

Sept. 27 – San Diego, Calif., House Of Blues
Sept. 28 – Los Angeles, Calif., Teragram Ballroom
Sept. 29 – Los Angeles, Calif., Teragram Ballroom
Sept. 30 – San Francisco, Calif., 1015 Folsom
Oct. 1 – Portland, Ore., Star Theater
Oct. 2 – Vancouver, British Columbia, Commodore Ballroom
Oct. 3 – Seattle, Wash., The Showbox
Oct. 6 – Minneapolis, Minn., Varsity Theater
Oct. 7 – Chicago, Ill., Metro / Smart Bar
Oct. 8 – Toronto, Ontario, The Phoenix Concert Theatre
Oct. 9 – Montreal, Quebec, Club Soda
Oct. 10 – Philadelphia, Pa., Theatre Of Living Arts
Oct. 11 – Boston, Mass., Paradise Rock Club
Oct. 13 – Washington, DC, 9:30 Club
Oct. 14 – Brooklyn, N.Y., Music Hall Of Williamsburg
Oct. 15 – Brooklyn, N.Y., Music Hall Of Williamsburg

Snag your tickets on June 10 and hit up the DJ Shadow website, Facebook and Twitter for more info.