Music: Shadow's One-Man Band

A DJ who uses samples for notes creates a seductive new album

If you didn't know Josh Davis, a.k.a. DJ Shadow, you might reasonably conclude that he belongs to an order of very hip monks. When Davis performs in concert, or does just about anything in public, he wears billowy pants, a long-sleeve T shirt or hooded sweatshirt, and a cap pulled down to eye level. He looks like one of the sand people from Star Wars, only with more sportswear logos. When Davis speaks--and he doesn't speak much--it's in a soft, measured voice, just above a whisper.

Davis isn't a monk, but his music requires monastic focus. To make his trippy new...

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