The 26th installment of I Used to Love H.E.R., a series in which artists/bloggers/writers discuss their most essential or favorite hip-hop albums (read intro), comes from Dave Einmo, the man behind Head Like a Kite. On June 17, Head Like a Kite will release There is Loud Laughter Everywhere (Mush Records). Given Einmo’s talent for morphing samples into pop melodies – he sampled sounds from Super 8 movies his parents shot in the late ’70s for his first album – his choice to discuss an instrumental classic seems natural.
- Head Like a Kite | No Ordinary Caveman (from There is Loud Laughter Everywhere)
DJ Shadow
Endtroducing … (Mo’ Wax, 1996)
When asked what hip hop record has had the biggest influence on me, it’s tempting to dig deep and pick something less obvious. But my mom taught me to be honest. DJ Shadow’s Entroducing really changed the way I thought about beats and loops and production. He seamlessly threaded gargantuan Bonham-esque drums with moody, down tempo grooves and found sounds that oozed nostalgia while at the same time fast forwarded to the future. That album created a whole new genre of hip hop that still gets mimicked today. It’s cinematic and demands your attention. I love records like that. There are lots of albums by guys like Prefuse 73, Four Tet, Madlib, Dabrye, DJ Krush, Madvillian, and The Roots that have had lasting impressions on how I listen to music. But “Entroducing” was the album that really opened up my eyes in 1996. It’s hard to believe that it came out 12 years ago. That’s the true test. A timeless record that will still sound fresh a decade from now.
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