Which DJ Shadow album is widely cited as the first completely sampled album?
Answer
Endtroducing.....
Answer
Endtroducing.....
DJ Shadow's Endtroducing..... is widely cited as the first album created entirely from samples.
Released by Mo' Wax in 1996, Endtroducing..... is DJ Shadow's debut studio album and a landmark of instrumental hip hop. Guinness World Records has cited it as the first album made completely from samples, a distinction that helped define its enduring reputation. The record is assembled almost entirely from sounds taken from vinyl rather than conventional live-band performances.
DJ Shadow worked on the album from 1994 to 1996, first in his California apartment and later at the Glue Factory, a San Francisco studio associated with Dan the Automator. His central tools included an Akai MPC60 II sampler, a Technics SL-1200 turntable, and an Alesis ADAT recorder. He searched through records from his Sacramento digging days, cutting, looping, layering, and reshaping fragments into atmospheric tracks. The title's punctuation is part of the official styling. A common mix-up is calling Donuts or Since I Left You the first completely sampled album; both are celebrated sample-based works, but Endtroducing..... is the album most associated with that specific claim.
Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Sept. 2026