It’s almost 30 years since DJ Shadow released his era-defining debut album, Endtroducing….., and as is the way of the nostalgia industry, it had a lavish 25th-anniversary reissue five years ago, remastered at Abbey Road studios. It was such a success that Shadow has decided to repeat the process and clean up his “pre-album and non-album” catalogue. In May comes The Mo’Wax Singles 1993-1997, a box set featuring eight 12ins with all the Californian producer’s singles for James Lavelle’s label, plus alternative mixes and brand new art. Dusty DAT tapes were dug out and original master mixes excavated.
“This box wasn’t made for the casual listener, it was made with the hardcore fan in mind,” Shadow said in a statement. “I’ve always felt, if something is worth doing, it’s worth doing right, and every step of the process was made with this philosophy firmly in mind.”
Given his retrospective mood, now is the perfect time to ask him about his trailblazing career: his innovative way with sampling, his collaborations with everyone from Wong Kar-wai and Zack de la Rocha to Danny Brown and Deftones, or that infamous Miami Beach show that was cut short when his material was deemed, in his words, “too future” for the crowd.
Post your questions in the comments by 6pm BST on 8 April and the best answers will appear in a future issue of Film & Music.