DJ Shadow - Funky Skunk

DJ Shadow releases more mix albums than the average person has hot dinners. However, being such a multi-talented master of the decks, his mixes never fail to excite and have seen Josh Davies retaining his crown as one of the most exciting & innovative DJ's around.

The popularity of the earlier Brainfreeze and Product Placement mix albums, saw Shadow take the experience to a live environment and even resulted in countless issues and bootlegs of his live sets. Not least forgetting rarities collections sold on his own site, including the limited run (450 copies) of the Public Works package; which consisted of t-shirts, books, packaging designed by graffiti artist Shepard Fairey and a mix album entitled Funky Skunk. From increasing demand, the individual Funky Skunk CD has been a full commercial issue, which means you no longer have to scour eBay for overpriced products.

Ditching the funk direction of the last albums, Funky Skunk is an hour long hip-hop mix, showcasing the finest tracks from over the last few decades. The majority of the set focuses on the early stages of the genre, with Shadow selecting the best in 80's hip hop and early electro - where tracks were made the good old fashioned way; a tight loop of beats, sampled breaks, primitive scratching and an MC. A far away place from the overproduced and overpaid stars of of today's stale hip hop / R&B. There are also freakout pysch moments and absurd rapid breaks perfect for any budding samplers out there.

Funky Skunk ranks highly as one of DJ Shadow's best mix albums, acting as a brilliant party album but also as an introduction to prehistoric hip hop. This album cannot be recommended enough - essential.