Nite Schook Klik Square Cover Art
When DJ Shadow makes a move, it's usually swift and silent. The wildly creative DJ that gave the world classics like Endtroducing... and Preemptive Strike has recently partnered with beatmaker savant >G Jones to form the alias group Nite School Klik, a production duo working off of Shadow's Liquid Amber imprint. Last month Nite School Klik dropped the darkly digital single "Posse," and now we've been treated to another cut, a slightly more aggressive, equally as moody number entitled "Nice Nightmares." Laced with much of the creeping dread that filled DJ Shadow's earlier compositions, the tracks are something of a departure from the hip-hop realm, a journey down a dark tunnel toward parts unknown.
Billboard revealed the identities of Nite School Klik earlier this week (and premiered "Nice Nightmares" as well), reporting that Shadow's appreciation for Jones grew steadily through his own record digging. "I found some of his stuff on this German label Saturate! While building my sets, I wasn't looking for hits or bona fide bangers. I wanted to curate an hour and a half of music that was almost unknown. I started playing a ton of their stuff and G Jones and Bleep Bloop were their artists. It was kind of serendipitous," Shadow said. The DJ also shared his take on the recent string of lawsuits that have put sampling producers (for example, Madlib) in the legal hot seat. "Every artist is influenced and inspired in some way by what came before. To try and draw a line in the sand and be like "your new work has to be utterly devoid of any influence ever" is disingenuous. It puts this strange business venture framework on the process of creation that is impossible."
Read more of Nite School Klik's excellent interview with Billboard, and listen to "Nice Nightmares" below. Keep vigilant for more NSK--it seems they've got a thing for surprises.
