Shadow Masters
Various Artists
Shadow
If Shadow Records is not the premier American (if not the world’s) downtempo label, I don’t know who is. The label also has a knack for repackaging their catalogue to further highlight their roster of artists. So, when this two-disc set arrived, I was expecting the morose, back-shattering bass that downtempo’s known for (like in the Blunted series). Well, Shadow Masters actually shies a bit away from the music Shadow Records specializes in. Yes, most of the music here is from their catalogue, however most of the music is not the stereotypical stuff (which demonstrates just the level of talent and ingenuity they have on the label).
The set is split into a vocal disc and an instrumental one. The vocal compilation is filled with great stuff from Marschmellows (you’ve got to check out this Jazzanova remix), DJ Krush, Sayma, and my girl Anthea. The second disc has a lot of interesting tracks that are danceable, deep, and genre-defying. Goo, DJ Cam, DJ Part, BMF, and the ubiquitous Shinju Gumi bless this bad boy. Though the music is not stereotypical of Shadow, the quality of the music definitely is. This is great stuff.
Shadow Records: http://www.shadowrecords.com
