Pitchfork

Not busy Friday afternoon? Want to hang out with DJ Shadow and hear his new record, entitled The Outsider? Then head over to Island Records headquarters (located at 364-366 High St., Kensington, London W24) around 3:30 pm. Writing in his online journal yesterday, Josh Davis encouraged fans to join him as he presents the new music to his label. "Maybe I'll bring a portable CD player or something. We'll figure it out."

The album doesn't have a release date or tracklist yet, but we do know that it will feature guest spots from Q-Tip, David Banner, Keak Da Sneak, and Turf Talk (the latter pair appear on the single "3 Freaks"). We also know a little bit about what the album's going to sound like, thanks to Shadow's post yesterday:

"There's been a lot of speculation as to the vibe of the new album. Some have predicted that the whole album is in the hyphy vein like "3 Freaks". To those people I say: RELAX YOUR BACK, YOU'VE ONLY HEARD ONE SONG. The album is very diverse, and reflects the fact that I don't fit comfortably in any one genre. My critics see that as a problem, but I don't...it's simply the way things are. I've never really fit into any one clique. That's why the album is called The Outsider. "In some ways it's a risky record. It's going to turn some people off. And I think I'll lose some fans. On the other hand, I know I'll gain some new ones. That's a fair trade in my mind. Besides I can't see playing it safe at this point in my life.

"There's songs with samples and songs with no samples. There's very dark stuff and very light stuff. Fast and slow. Simple and complicated. And there's songs on this album that I think blow away almost anything else I've ever done, so...we'll see. I think song for song it's the best album I've ever made. One thing's for sure...it's going to make it very difficult for people to imitate my sound."

Dude knows how to get a crowd pumped!

As previously reported, on May 25, DJ Shadow will play his first live gig in close to four years at a Los Angeles benefit concert for his art director, Keith Tamashiro, who recently suffered a brain aneurysm and is struggling to pay his medical bills. Shadow and Cut Chemist will perform a portion of their Brainfreeze set, and MF Doom, Madlib, Jurassic 5, and more are also on the bill.

The awesome doesn't stop there. Shadow also recently revealed a slew of tour dates, hitting territory from Europe to Japan to Australia. While non-L.A.-residing North Americans won't find this itinerary all that pleasing, Shadow promises more in the near future.***

***Update: A reader wrote in to let us know that DJ Shadow is playing at the Avalon in Boston on July 3. And that reader is correct! Oh wait, now it's canceled! Fuck!

Entroducing:

05-25 Los Angeles, CA - Mayan Nightclub *
06-08 Bristol, England - Lakota #
06-09 London, England - Fabric #
06-10 Liverpool, England - Chibuku #
06-11 Nottingham, England - Stelth #
06-12 Amsterdam, Holland - Melkweg #
06-14 Lisbon, Portugal - Lux #
06-15 Brussels, Belgium - AB #
06-16 Barcelona, Spain - Sonar #
06-23 London, England - Wireless Festival
06-24 Leeds, England - Wireless Festival
07-22 Byron Bay, Australia - Splendour in the Grass
07-23 Sydney, Australia - Hordern Pavilion
07-25 Melbourne, Australia - The Palace
07-26 Melbourne, Australia - The Palace
07-28 Auckland, New Zealand - St. James
07-29 Wellington, New Zealand - Townhall
07-31 Adelaide, Australia - Thebarton Theatre
08-02 Perth, Australia - Metro City
08-05 Singapore, Singapore - Zouk
08-12 Osaka, Japan - Summersonic
08-13 Tokyo, Japan - Summersonic
08-16 Dusseldorf, Germany - Philipshalle ^
08-17 Hasselt, Belgium - Pukklepop
08-18 Biddinghuizen, Netherlands - Lowlands
08-19 Cannes, France - Pantiero Festival
08-22 Munich, Germany - Zenith ^
08-23 Berlin, Germany - Arena ^
08-25 Paris, France - Rock en Seine
08-26 Liverpool, England - Creamfields
09-02 Stradbally, Ireland - Electric Picnic

* with Cut Chemist, MF Doom, Madlib, Jurassic 5, Dilated Peoples, Money Mark, Beat Junkies, MC Supernatural
# with Keak Da Sneak, Turf Talk
^ with Massive Attack

* DJ Shadow: