Shadow Copy (Volume Snapshot Service or Volume Shadow Copy Service or VSS), is a technology included in Microsoft Windows that allows taking manual or automatic backup copies or snapshots of data, even if it has a lock, on a specific volume at a specific point in time over regular intervals. It is implemented as a Windows service called the Volume Shadow Copy service. A software VSS provider service is also included as part of Windows to be used by Windows applications. Shadow Copy technology requires the file system to be NTFS to be able to create and store shadow copies. Shadow Copies can be created on local and external (removable or network) volumes by any Windows component that uses this technology, such as when creating a scheduled Windows Backup or automatic System Restore point.

Overview[link]

VSS operates at the block level of the file system.

Snapshots have two primary purposes: they allow the creation of consistent backups of a volume, ensuring that the contents cannot change while the backup is being made; and they avoid problems with file locking. By creating a read-only copy of the volume, backup programs are able to access every file without interfering with other programs writing to those same files.

The data copy process can be handled by the file system or by specialized hardware; in the latter case a hardware VSS provider abstracts the functionality to the operating system. Applications can provide specific support for VSS through VSS writers which control how data is set to a consistent state at the beginning of a VSS operation and maintain that consistency throughout the process, among other functions.

Through the integration between the Volume Shadow Copy Service, hardware or software VSS providers, application level writers and backup applications, VSS enables integral backups that are point in time and application level consistent without the backup tool having knowledge about the internals of each application. For example, in a virtualization product such as Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1 or Hyper-V in Windows Server 2008, a whole backup of an environment including several virtual machines can be created in a single operation, and the backups produced for the different VSS compatible guests in the system are transactionally consistent at the guest application level and point in time consistent among the different VMs, without the need for the guests to have backup agents installed. Windows Server applications and services that support VSS include Windows Server Backup, Hyper-V, Virtual Server, Active Directory, SQL Server, Microsoft Exchange, and other Microsoft and third-party solutions such as Cobian Backup.

The end result is similar to a versioning file system, allowing any file to be retrieved as it existed at the time any of the snapshots was made. Unlike a true versioning file system, however, users cannot trigger the creation of new versions of an individual file, only the entire volume. As a side-effect, whereas the owner of a file can create new versions in a versioning file system, only a system administrator or a backup operator can create new snapshots (or control when new snapshots are taken), because this requires control of the entire volume rather than an individual file. Also, many versioning file systems (such as the one in VMS) implicitly save a version of files each time they are changed; systems using a snapshotting approach like Windows only capture the state periodically.

Use by Windows components[link]

Windows XP and Windows Server 2003[link]

The Volume Snapshot Service was first added to Microsoft Windows in Windows XP; this version of VSS is used by NTBackup, however it can only create non-persistent snapshots (a temporary snapshot, usually used for creating a file-based backup or more generally, accessing copies of files that have been locked by applications for editing). NTBackup uses a proprietary BKF file format to store the shadow copies permanently.

The creation of persistent snapshots (multiple snapshots which remain available across reboots until specifically deleted from the system) has been added in Windows Server 2003, allowing up to 512 snapshots to exist simultaneously for the same volume. In Windows Server 2003, VSS is therefore used to create incremental periodic snapshots of data or deltas (differences) of changed files over time. A maximum of 64 snapshots is stored on the server and accessible by clients or on the same server through network shares. This feature is known as Shadow copies for Shared Folders and is designed for a client–server model. The Shadow copies for Shared Folders client is required to be installed on Windows 2000 and Windows XP RTM and SP1. A copy of this client for 32-bit Windows platforms is available on the server or downloadable from Microsoft. It is built into the OS beginning with Windows XP SP2.^[1] ShadowConnect, a client for Macintosh computers accessing Windows servers, is available from a third-party.

Windows Vista and later[link]

A number of Microsoft Windows components have been updated to make use of Shadow Copy. Backup and Restore in Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 operating systems performs block-based backups when doing full system backups. The file backup feature also uses shadow copy but stores files inside ZIP files.

Beginning with Windows Vista, VSS is also used by the System Protection component which creates and maintains periodic copies of system and user data on the same local volume (similar to the Shadow Copies for Shared Folders feature in Windows Server) but allows it to be locally accessed by System Restore. System Restore allows reverting to an entire previous set of shadow copies called a restore point. Prior to Windows Vista, System Restore was based on a file-based filter that watched changes for a certain set of file extensions, and then copied files before they were overwritten.^[2]

Additionally, a part of Windows Explorer called Previous Versions allows restoring individual files or folders locally from restore points as they existed at the time of the snapshot, thus retrieving an earlier version of a file or recovering a file deleted by mistake.

The shadow copy is not created every time a file is changed; backup copies are created automatically once per day, or manually when triggered by the backup utility or installer applications which create a restore point.^[3] The "Previous Versions" feature is available in the Business, Enterprise, and Ultimate editions of Windows Vista^[4] and in all Windows 7 editions. The Home Editions of Vista lack the "Previous Versions" feature, even though the Volume Snapshot Service is included and running. Using third party tools it is still possible to restore previous versions of files on the local volume.^[5] Some of these tools also allow users to schedule snapshots at user-defined intervals, configure the storage used by volume shadow copies and compare files or directories from different points-in-time using snapshots.^[6] Windows 7 also adds native support through a GUI to configure the storage used by volume shadow copies.

Future[link]

Although Shadow Copy service will remain intact, the ability to create persistent shadow copies will be removed from the future versions of Windows, codenamed Windows 8 and Windows Server 8. Consequently, the Previous Versions feature which exposed this functionality will also be removed. Shadow Copy service will only be able to create volatile shadow copies for backup purposes. Microsoft says negative impact on performance and low usage is the reasons behind the removal of this feature. As for accessing older versions of the user file however, Microsoft will add a new component called File History to the aforementioned versions of Windows. This component will replace Backup and Restore.^[7][8][9]

NTFS forward compatibility[link]

While the different NTFS versions have a certain degree of both forward and backward compatibility, there are certain issues when mounting newer NTFS volumes containing persistent shadow copies in older versions of Windows, prior to Windows Vista. This affects dual-booting, and external portable hard drives. Specifically, the shadow copies on an NTFS volume are deleted when the older operating system mounts that NTFS volume. This happens because the older operating system does not understand the newer format of persistent shadow copies.^[10]

Command line interface[link]

Windows XP and later^{[citation needed]} include a command line utility called vssadmin that can list, create or delete volume shadow copies and list installed shadow copy writers and providers.^[11] Additionally, Windows Server 2008 introduces the diskshadow utility which exposes VSS functionality through 20 different commands.^[12]

See also[link]

• List of Microsoft Windows components
• Snapshot (computer storage)
• Copy-on-write

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Russinovich, Mark E.; Solomon, David A.; Ionescu, Alex (2009). "Storage Management". Windows Internals (5th ed.). Microsoft Press. pp. 688–698. ISBN 978-0-7356-2530-3. 
• "How Volume Shadow Copy Service Works". Microsoft TechNet. Microsoft. 2003-03-28. http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc785914(WS.10).aspx. Retrieved 2011-01-04. 
• "Selected Scenarios for Maintaining Data Integrity with Windows Vista". Microsoft TechNet. Microsoft. http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc749185(WS.10).aspx. Retrieved 2011-01-04. 
• "Volume Shadow Copy Service". MSDN. Microsoft. 2010-12-16. http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb968832(VS.85).aspx. Retrieved 2011-01-04. 
• Oltean, Adi (2006-09-19). "A bit of black magic: How to assign drive letters to VSS shadow copies... on Windows XP!". MSDN Blogs. Microsoft. http://blogs.msdn.com/adioltean/archive/2006/09/18/761515.aspx. Retrieved 2011-01-04. 
• Oltean, Adi (2004-12-14). "Creating shadow copies from the commandline". MSDN Blogs. Microsoft. http://blogs.msdn.com/adioltean/archive/2004/12/14/301868.aspx. Retrieved 2011-01-04. 
• "Volume Shadow Copy Service Troubleshooting Guide". BackupChain Tutorials. FastNeuron Inc. 2010-07-21. http://backupchain.com/Volume-shadow-copy-service-error-troubleshooting.html. Retrieved 2011-01-04. 
• "Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) Express Writers". Microsoft. http://blogs.technet.com/b/filecab/archive/2009/06/17/volume-shadow-copy-service-vss-express-writers.aspx. 

D. J. White

No. 8 – Charlotte Bobcats
Power Forward
Personal information
Born	(1986-08-31) August 31, 1986 (age 25) Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Nationality	American
High school	Hillcrest (Tuscaloosa)
Listed height	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight	235 lb (107 kg)
Career information
College	Indiana (2004–2008)
NBA Draft	2008 / Round: 1 / Pick: 29th overall
Selected by the Detroit Pistons
Pro career	2008–present
League	NBA
Career history
2008–2011	Oklahoma City Thunder
2009–2010	→Tulsa 66ers (D-League)
2011–present	Charlotte Bobcats
Career highlights and awards
Big Ten Freshman of the Year (2004) Big Ten Player of the Year (2008) Consensus NCAA All-American Second Team (2008)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Dewayne "D. J." White, Jr. (born (1986-08-31)August 31, 1986) is an American professional basketball player for the Charlotte Bobcats of the National Basketball Association. His primary position is power forward but he also plays at center. He was selected with the 29th pick in the 2008 NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons but his rights were traded to the Seattle SuperSonics (now Oklahoma City). He signed with Oklahoma City on July 5, 2008 along with Russell Westbrook.

White is from Tuscaloosa, Alabama and attended Hillcrest High School.

College career[link]

During his freshman season with the Indiana Hoosiers, White led all freshmen in the Big Ten Conference in scoring.^[1] He was named by Rivals.com as a Freshman All-American, and was named a 5-star recruit by Scout.com. He was also selected as the Big Ten Freshman of the Year. In 2008 he was named Big Ten Player of the Year and to the First Team All-Big Ten.^[2] He was also named Second Team All-American in 2008.^[3]

Professional career[link]

White was drafted with the 29th pick of the 2008 NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons and traded the same day to the Seattle SuperSonics, who were relocating to Oklahoma City.^[4] White's rookie season was delayed when he had to undergo surgery on his jaw to remove a benign growth, causing him to miss the first five months of the season. He finally made his professional debut for the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA D-League on March 18, 2009.^[5] After six games with Tulsa, White made his NBA debut with the Oklahoma City Thunder on April 5, 2009 against the Indiana Pacers.^[6] During his rookie season, White played in seven games for the Thunder and averaged 8.9 points and 4.6 rebounds.^[7]

In the 2009-10 season, White appeared in eight games with Oklahoma City, averaging 4.8 points and 1.9 rebounds, before requiring surgery in January to repair a fractured thumb. After recovering, White was assigned to the Tulsa 66ers on March 4, 2010.^[8] He was recalled just five days later on March 9 after averaging 23 points and 11 rebounds in four starts for Tulsa.^[9] On March 21, White received a standing ovation upon entering the contest during an away game against the Indiana Pacers in the state where he played in college.^[10] White scored six points and grabbed two rebounds in 10 minutes of playing time during the game.^[11] White returned to the 66ers on April 7, 2010.^[12]

For the beginning of the 2010-2011 season, White was retained on the Thunder's 15-man roster, with the Thunder exercising its fourth-year contract option on White on October 25, 2010.^[13] On February 24, 2011, White and Morris Peterson were traded to the Charlotte Bobcats for Nazr Mohammed.^[14]

NBA career statistics[link]

Regular season[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• D. J. White statistics at basketball-reference.com
• D. J. White bio at iuhoosiers.com

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2010)

Andy Gibb (5 March 1958 – 10 March 1988) was an English singer and teen idol, and the younger brother of Bee Gees Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb.

The early years[link]

Andrew Roy Gibb was born in Manchester, England, to Barbara (née Pass) and Hugh Gibb (d. 1992). At the age of six months, Gibb emigrated with his family to Queensland, Australia, settling on Cribb Island just north of Brisbane. He was the youngest of five children and had one older sister, Lesley (b. 1945), and three older brothers, Barry (b. 1946) and fraternal twins Robin (1949-2012) and Maurice (1949-2003). After moving several times around Brisbane and Sydney, Gibb returned to the United Kingdom in January 1967 as his three older brothers began to gain international fame as the Bee Gees.

As a young teenager, Andy began playing at tourist clubs around Spain's coastal Island of Ibiza, and later on the Isle of Man, the birth place of his older brothers, where his parents were living at the time. Andy formed his first group, Melody Fayre (named after a Bee Gees song) which included local island musicians John Alderson (guitar) and John Stringer (drums). The group was managed by Gibb's mother Barbara. The group had regular bookings on the small island's hotel circuit. His first recording (in early 1974) was a Maurice Gibb composition called "My Father Was a Reb" on which Maurice also produced and played. It was not released.

At the urging of his brother Barry, Andy returned to Australia in 1974. Barry's prompting was based on his belief that Australia had been a good training ground for the Bee Gees and would also help his youngest brother. The Gibb brothers' eldest sister Lesley had remained in Australia and had raised a family there with her husband. Both Alderson and Stringer followed Gibb to Australia with hope of forming a band in Australia. With Col Joye producing, Gibb, Alderson and Stringer recorded a number of Andy Gibb's own compositions. What may have separated "the training ground" aspect of Australia for Andy Gibb compared to his brothers was that Gibb was relatively financially independent, mainly because of his brothers' support and largesse, hence the group's sporadic work rate. Andy Gibb would disappear for periods of time, leaving Alderson and Stringer not working and consequently out of money. Despondent, Alderson and Stringer returned to the UK.

Andy Gibb's first single was the ballad "Words and Music" on the ATA label, owned by Joye. The single, backed by another Andy Gibb composition "Westfield Mansions", would eventually reach Top Twenty on the Sydney music charts in 1976. Then Gibb joined the band Zenta (including renowned drummer Trevor Norton) and supported international artists Sweet and the Bay City Rollers on the Sydney leg of their Australian tours. The planned follow-up single "Can't Stop Dancing" (a Ray Stevens song, later a US hit for The Captain and Tennille in May 1977) was not released, although Andy did perform it on television at least once on the revitalised Bandstand show hosted by Daryl Somers.

Robert Stigwood who, at the time, was also the Bee Gees' manager, signed Gibb to his label, RSO Records in early 1976, after he had heard some of Andy's demo tapes. Andy soon moved to Miami Beach, Florida, to begin working on songs with his brother Barry and co-producers Albhy Galuten and Karl Richardson.

Before leaving Australia, Gibb had married his girlfriend, Kim Reeder. They had one child, a daughter named Peta Jaye who was born 25 January 1978. The couple were already separated when Reeder found out she was pregnant and they would divorce later that year.

Number one hits[link]

In late 1976 in Miami, Andy Gibb, with older brother Barry producing and recording in the famed Criteria Studios, set about making his first album. The first release from the sibling combination, and Andy’s first single released outside Australia, was "I Just Want to Be Your Everything" which was written by Barry, who also provided backup vocals. That single reached number one in the United States and Australia and ended up being the most played record of the year. In Britain it was a lesser hit, just scraping into the Top 40. Of the ten tracks on the album, the other eight were Andy Gibb compositions, mostly songs written during his time in Australia. Amongst the eight songs was a re-recording of "Words and Music".

In September 1977, his album Flowing Rivers, with another number one single "(Love Is) Thicker Than Water" (co-written by Andy and Barry Gibb) to support it, quickly became a million selling album. That single broke in early 1978 during the time that the Bee Gees' contributions to the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack were dominating the world charts. In the US it replaced "Stayin' Alive" at the top of the charts, and then was surpassed by "Night Fever" when it reached number one in mid-March.

Andy then began work with the Gibb-Galuten-Richardson production team on his second album Shadow Dancing, which was released in April 1978. The title track, written by all four Gibb brothers, was released as a single in the US in April 1978, and in mid-June began a seven week run at number one, achieving platinum status. In the United States, Gibb became the first male solo artist to chart three consecutive number one singles on the Billboard Hot 100. Two further Top Ten singles, "An Everlasting Love" (which reached number five) and "(Our Love) Don't Throw It All Away" (which reached number nine), were released from the album, which became another million seller.

In 1979, Andy performed along with Bee Gees, ABBA, and Olivia Newton-John (duet with "Rest Your Love On Me"), at the Music for UNICEF Concert at the United Nations General Assembly which was broadcast worldwide.

He returned to the studio to begin recording sessions for his final full studio album, After Dark. In March 1980, the last of Gibb's Top Ten singles charted just ahead of the album's release. "Desire" (written by all four Gibb brothers), was recorded for Bee Gees' 1979 album Spirits Having Flown, and featured their original track complete with Andy's original "guest vocal" track. A second single, "I Can't Help It", a duet with family friend and fellow British and Australian expat Olivia Newton-John, reached the top 20.

Later in the year, Andy Gibb's Greatest Hits was released as a finale to his contract with RSO Records, with two new songs: "Time Is Time" (number 15 in January 1981) and "Me (Without You)" (Gibb's last top 40 chart entry) shipped as singles. "After Dark" and "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" were non-single songs added to the album, the latter of which was a duet with PP Arnold, who had previously worked with Barry Gibb, including singing uncredited backups on "Bury Me Down by the River" from Cucumber Castle.

Career decline[link]

During his relationship with actress Victoria Principal, Gibb worked on several projects outside the recording studio including performances in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat on Broadway and Gilbert & Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance in Los Angeles, California. He also co-hosted the television music show, Solid Gold, from 1980 to 1982. Gibb was ultimately fired from both Dreamcoat and Solid Gold because of absenteeism caused by cocaine binges.^[1][2]

Broadway producer Zev Bufman who financed Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat said this of Gibb, "When Andy was at the theater, he was a joy. But he wasn't there enough", adding that of the five people to play Joseph up to that point, Gibb was the best actor.^[1] He also said after Gibb's death, "We'd lose him over long weekends. He'd come back on Tuesday, and he'd look beat. He was like a little puppy – so ashamed when he did something wrong. He was all heart, but he didn't have enough muscle to carry through."^[2] An unnamed co-star in Dreamcoat was quoted as saying, "I hear he spent most of his time in his hotel room in front of the TV. I guess he was frightened and insecure. That's what happens when you're the baby brother of the Bee Gees."^[1] Commenting after Gibb's death, Solid Gold producer Brad Lachman stated, "...[Andy] was a very charming, vulnerable and charismatic performer. He clearly meant well. He wasn't being difficult. He was going through [drug] problems he couldn't deal with. He wanted everyone to love him. He had so much going for him, and he just couldn't believe it."^[2]

His romance with Principal also ended shortly thereafter when she gave him an ultimatum to choose between her or drugs, but not before they recorded and released a duet of the Everly Brothers' "All I Have to Do Is Dream" in the summer of 1981. He reportedly heard her singing in the shower and convinced her to go into the studio with him.^[3] This would be Gibb's last official single, and his last US chart entry, peaking at number 51.

His family convinced him to seek treatment for his drug addiction which included a stay at the Betty Ford Clinic in the mid-1980s. It was during this time that Gibb began touring small venues with a stage show featuring his hits as well as covers. He also appeared in guest-starring roles on several television sitcoms including Gimme a Break! and Punky Brewster. Following an expansive tour of East Asia, he regularly performed shows in Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe. In 1984, he was the headline performer at the Viña del Mar Festival in Chile, performing two nights in a row. He also held a two-week engagement at San Francisco's historic Fairmont Hotel in March 1986.

Andy returned to work alongside his brothers Barry and Maurice. Their demo recordings with engineer, Scott Glasel, was heard by Clive Banks from the UK branch of Island Records. Gibb never formally signed a contract but the record label planned to release a single in Europe that Spring, followed by another single that summer with the album to follow.^[4]

One of the demo tracks, "Man on Fire", was released posthumously in 1991 on a Polydor Records anthology. Another track, "Arrow Through the Heart", was the final song Andy would ever record and was featured on an episode of VH1's series, Behind the Music, and released on Bee Gees Mythology 4-disc box set in November 2010.

Death[link]

In early February 1988, Robin Gibb in an interview said Andy was healthy and ready to begin recording again. ^[5] Three weeks before Andy died, Robin said "he just went downhill so fast", saying "he was in a terrible state of depression". He got over the drugs but the depression remained. ^[5] On 5 March 1988, Andy Gibb celebrated his 30th birthday in London, England, while working on the new album. Soon after, he entered John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford complaining of chest pains and died five days later on 10 March 1988, as a result of myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle caused by a recent viral infection which was exacerbated by his years of cocaine abuse.^[6] Robin Gibb said "he was also not eating properly and the lack of nutrition also damaged his heart." Robin said the paranoia associated with cocaine abuse "shattered his confidence and he became scared of people." ^[5]

The Gibb family would also maintain it was not an overdose which killed Andy - as some papers have suggested - but natural causes after years of drug and alcohol abuse.^[5]

Gibb's body was returned to the United States where he was interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) in Los Angeles.

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

Compilations[link]

Singles[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Biography portal

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Andy Gibb

• Andy Gibb at Allmusic
• The Brothers Gibb
• Andy Gibb at the Internet Movie Database
• Andy Gibb at the Internet Broadway Database
• Andy Gibb at Find a Grave

DJ Shadow
Background information
Birth name	Joshua Paul Davis
Also known as	Josh Davis
Born	(1972-06-29) June 29, 1972 (age 39) San Jose, California, U.S.
Origin	Davis, California, U.S.
Genres	Hip hop, Hyphy, Plunderphonics, instrumental hip hop, trip hop, turntablism, electronic
Occupations	Producer, DJ
Instruments	Keyboards, turntables, sampler, synthesizer
Years active	1989–present
Labels	Mo'Wax Quannum Projects Solesides MCA Universal Verve
Associated acts	UNKLE The Quannum Collective Cut Chemist
Website	djshadow.com

Joshua Paul "Josh" Davis (born June 29, 1972)^[1][2] better known as DJ Shadow is an American music producer, DJ and songwriter. He is considered a prominent figure in the development of instrumental hip hop and first gained notice with the release of his highly acclaimed debut album Endtroducing....., which was the first album to be recorded using only sampled sounds.^[3] He has an exceptionally large personal record collection, with over 60,000 records.^[4] He is the cousin of singer and guitarist Richie Kotzen.

History[link]

Early years[link]

DJ Shadow was experimenting with a four-track recorder while in high school in Davis, California, and began his music career as a disc jockey for the University of California, Davis campus radio station KDVS. During this period he was significant in developing the experimental hip hop style associated with the London-based Mo' Wax record label. His early singles, 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. Andy Pemberton, a music journalist writing for Mixmag, coined the term "trip hop" in June 1994 to describe Shadow's "In/Flux" single and similar tracks being spun in London clubs at the time.^[5] Though his music is hard to categorize, his early contributions were certainly important for alternative hip hop. He cited groups such as Kurtis Mantronik, Steinski, and Prince Paul as influences on his sample-based sound, further claiming that "lyrics (...) were confining, too specific". His music rarely features more than short clips of voices or vocal work.^[6]

During 1991-1992, DJ Shadow remixes were released on Hollywood BASIC, a short-lived rap/hip-hop subsidiary label of Hollywood Records. Notable amongst these is a 1992 compilation release titled "BASIC Beats Sampler",^[7] which features a remix of The Real Deal, a song by Lifers' Group, as well as a 12-plus-minute "Mega Mix" of the rest of the album, including tracks by west-coast underground hip-hop act, Raw Fusion and east-coast acts, Organized Konfusion and Zimbabwe Legit. Also in 1992, Shadow contributed scratching and production work to Sleeping with the Enemy, the controversial second release by rapper Paris.

Early in 1993, Shadow was a part of the creation of the Solesides underground hip-hop label, in conjunction with Blackalicious and Lyrics Born (whose stage name at the time was Asia Born). The first 12" release on this new imprint was titled "Entropy",^[8] with the A-side containing the Asia Born track "Send Them" and a dub rendition of the DJ Shadow track "Count and Estimate", and the entire B-side consisting of the 17-plus-minute title track. Rapper Gift of Gab is featured in the version of "Count and Estimate" that appears in Entropy. Shadow continued to participate in releases on the Solesides label for years to come, until the label was disbanded in 1996 in favour of Quannum Projects.

Also in 1993, Mo' Wax's James Lavelle contacted Shadow about releasing "In/Flux" on the fledgling imprint. The association with Mo' Wax was a productive one; his tracks "In/Flux" and "Lost and Found" made their way onto a number of releases over the next few years. Shadow also worked with DJ Krush during this period. On a 1995 visit to the Mo' Wax studios in London, England, Shadow was recruited to perform scratches on a James Lavelle and Tim Goldsworthy mix of the Massive Attack song Karmacoma.^[9]

[edit] Endtroducing.....

Shadow's first full-length work, Endtroducing....., was released in late 1996 to critical acclaim. Endtroducing would go on to make the Guinness World Records book for "First Completely Sampled Album" in 2001.^[10] The only pieces of equipment Shadow used to produce the album were the AKAI MPC60 12-bit sampling drum machine, a pair of turntables and a borrowed-by-visiting Pro Tools setup from an early adopter of the technology, Dan "The Automator" Nakamura. In November 2006 Time magazine named it one of its "All-Time" 100 best albums.^[11]

[edit] Preemptive Strike

In 1998 Shadow released Preemptive Strike, a compilation of early singles. Later that year, he produced Psyence Fiction, the debut album by Unkle, a long-time Mo' Wax production team that featured guest appearances including Thom Yorke (Radiohead), Richard Ashcroft (The Verve), Mike D (Beastie Boys), Kool G. Rap, Jason Newsted (Metallica) among others.

[edit] Dark Days

Around 2000 he produced the score for the documentary Dark Days filmed by British director Marc Singer. This film is about a community of transients who live underground in a subway tunnel. It has six award wins in various competitions.^[12]

[edit] The Private Press

Nearly six years after his debut production album, his second album, The Private Press, was released in June 2002. In the same year^{[clarification needed]}, the movie Scratch (2001, Doug Pray) was released to DVD with DJ Shadow appearing several times throughout the movie. A video for his track "Six Days" was also released in 2002, directed by Wong Kar-wai. The album was mixed by Jim Abbiss.

[edit] In Tune and on Time

In 2004, Shadow's first feature-length DVD, In Tune and on Time, was released. It features a live performance in London that emphasizes visuals.

[edit] The Outsider

The Outsider album was released on 18 September 2006. A special edition CD box set was also released containing The Outsider, the album on CD and a DVD entitled Tour Visuals. The Outsider, which prominently featured several artists from the local San Francisco Bay Area hyphy hip hop movement, got a mixed welcome among Shadow's fans. Responding to criticisms, the DJ/producer explained on his blog why he made no apologies: "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."^[13][14] DJ Shadow has also collaborated with fellow DJ Cut Chemist. Together they have created three popular mixtapes entitled Brainfreeze, Product Placement, and the recent The Hard Sell. These mixes fuse jazz, funk, and soul in the framework of a cohesive concept. He has also collaborated with several other artists, including Blackalicious, Zack de la Rocha, Keak Da Sneak, Mos Def, David Banner, and Dr. Octagon, an alter ego of Kool Keith.

In 2006, he signed a deal with Universal Records. DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist toured in 2008 in support of their mixtape The Hard Sell with Kid Koala opening for them.

[edit] Diminishing Returns

Diminishing Returns was a 2-hour DJ Mix originally broadcast on BBC Radio 1 on March 29, 2003. It was released in 2003 on CD in a pressing limited to 1000 copies on the Reconstruction Productions label.^[15] Reconstruction Productions reissued the album in 2009 with a sticker stating "official, last chance limited edition, re-release".^[16]

[edit] The Less You Know, the Better

During Shadow's Outsider 2007 tour, he was spotted filming with Dean Fernando (aka "DINO") as reported on Shadow/Quannum fansite Solesides. On April 1, 2009, DJ Shadow announced on his Facebook page that he was working on a Diminishing Returns re-release.

On March 7, 2009, Shadow announced that he was working on new music. Though no release date was given, he assured, "It will sound different from the last one."^[17] DJ Shadow released a track from the new album called "Def Surrounds Us" as a preview. During his gig in Antwerp in August 2010, he played some tracks from the new album, although he stated that it was not yet ready and that he would continue working toward having it ready in time for his 2011 tour.

On May 10, 2011, Shadow confirmed via his Facebook page and official website that his new album, titled The Less You Know, the Better, was finished and that it would be released the following September on Verve/Universal.^[18] The same day, he also released a EP called I Gotta Rokk featuring remixed tracks from the forthcoming album. A second single "I'm Excited" was also released, featuring Afrikan Boy, on July 29, 2011. However the single was pulled because of copyright infringement.^[19] The infringement also delayed the album's release. Another song from the album, titled "Warning Call," featuring Tom Vek, was released on 7 September 2011, and was featured as a free download on the official DJ Shadow Facebook page. Shadow announced on September 30, 2011 via Twitter that The Less You Know, the Better would be released on a 3xUSB format.

The artwork for this album, the associated singles and promotional material was done by Tony Papesh, an artist from San Francisco, California.^[20] The album was mixed by Jim Abbiss

Studio and equipment[link]

The book Behind the Beat documents Shadow's home studio (named "Reconstruction") through photos and a brief description (as of 2005).^[21] It is "nestled within a leafy San Francisco suburb"^[21] and Shadow apparently moved to the area "to be closer to the local record store".^[21] It also states that "Shadow only keeps a small selection of vinyl at home with the rest occupying storage units around town".^[21] His equipment as of 2005, according to Behind the Beat, consists of two Akai MPC 3000s and a Korg Triton.^[21] His album Endtroducing was "created on an AKAI MPC60 and an ADAT".^[21]

Sampling[link]

DJ Shadow's reputation is largely built on the skill with which he manipulates samples, taking rare and unheard pieces of music and reworking them into parts and phrases for his songs. Many of his tracks feature dozens of samples from a wide array of styles and influences including rock, soul, funk, experimental, electronic and jazz. Shadow famously sampled American composer David Axelrod twice: the piano in "Midnight In A Perfect World" from 1996's Endtroducing was originally recorded for Axelrod's "The Human Abstract"; and on his collaboration with DJ Krush, "Duality", sampling Axelrod's "The Warnings" (Part 1). Although Shadow currently uses fewer samples than on his earlier albums, several examples feature on 2006 album, The Outsider. His collaboration with David Banner, "Seein' Thangs", features a synthesizer and vocals from Cecilia's "Crimson Red" and "Outsider Intro" includes an excerpt from Ron Geesin's "Concrete Line Up" from the 1973 album, As He Stands.^[22]

Discography[link]

• Endtroducing..... (1996)
• Preemptive Strike (1998)
• The Private Press (2002)
• The Outsider (2006)
• The Less You Know, the Better (2011)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: DJ Shadow

• Official website
• Quannum Projects
• Solesides
• DJ Shadow discography at Discogs