DJ Shadow | What Does Your Soul Look Like Pt. 4
DJ Shadow’s “What Does Your Soul Look Like Pt. 4” - how a 24-year-old digging through used-bin vinyl created the first album made entirely from samples, changing hip-hop forever in 1996.
Story Behind “What Does Your Soul Look Like Pt. 4”
The EP That Became Half an Album
In summer 1994, DJ Shadow started working on his debut album. He finished about half of it. Mo’ Wax listened and said: let’s release this as a single instead.
So “What Does Your Soul Look Like” came out as a four-part EP in 1995. Part 4 was the closer—five minutes of warm saxophone samples and that drum loop everyone remembers. When Shadow finally released Endtroducing in 1996, he included Parts 1 and 4 on the album. Part 4 wasn’t originally meant to close anything. It just worked there.
Shadow was 24, living in Davis, California, spending his time digging through used-bin vinyl at record shops. He’d sample the obscure stuff—jazz fusion from Flying Island, dialogue from forgotten films, drum breaks nobody else was using. He made it a rule to avoid sampling popular material. “If I use something obvious, it’s usually only to break my own rules.”
Building Endtroducing Two Years at a Time
Shadow produced Endtroducing over two years using an Akai MPC60 sampler and minimal other equipment. The Glue Factory in San Francisco was his base. He’d edit and layer samples to create tracks with different moods and tempos, all entirely from vinyl records.
The title was deliberate: Endtroducing. Not introducing. This was supposed to feel like an ending and a beginning at once. Shadow wanted to capture the downbeat nature of his earlier Mo’ Wax singles—”In/Flux” and “Lost and Found (S.F.L.)”—that trip-hop sound the British press kept writing about.
Endtroducing became the first album created entirely from samples, certified by Guinness. It peaked at #17 in the UK, went gold. In the US it took longer to catch on, eventually hitting #37 on the Heatseekers chart. Rolling Stone later ranked it #329 on their 500 greatest albums list.
“What Does Your Soul Look Like Pt. 4” Recording and Production Details
The MPC60 and Used-Bin Vinyl
Shadow recorded “What Does Your Soul Look Like Pt. 4” at the Glue Factory in San Francisco using his Akai MPC60 sampler. The track samples “The Vision” by Flying Island—Ray Smith wrote it—chopping and layering it with drum breaks and atmospheric textures.
The MPC60 was Shadow’s main tool. He’d program beats, chop samples, layer everything by hand. No computers, no plugins, just the sampler and vinyl. The warm saxophone that opens Part 4 comes from that Flying Island sample, processed and looped until it becomes hypnotic.
Shadow described the production process as meticulous. He wasn’t just cutting and pasting—he was editing samples to create new emotional contexts. A jazz fusion track from the 70s becomes something darker, more introspective. The drums hit harder than they did originally. The space between sounds matters as much as the sounds themselves.
Why Part 4 Works on Endtroducing
Part 4 wasn’t written as an album closer, but it functions perfectly as one on Endtroducing. The track provides relief after “Organ Donor” and “Why Hip Hop Sucks in ‘96.” That warm saxophone feels like exhaling after holding your breath.
The original 1996 pressing of Endtroducing didn’t include Part 4 at all. Later reissues added it, recognizing that the track belonged on the album. The 2016 20th anniversary Endtrospective edition and the 2021 25th anniversary Abbey Road half-speed master both include it.
Shadow’s production approach on Endtroducing influenced an entire generation. Instrumental hip-hop became a legitimate art form. Artists like RJD2, Blockhead, and Flying Lotus all cite this album as foundational. Part 4 shows why—it’s proof you can make something deeply emotional using only borrowed music.
Notes About “What Does Your Soul Look Like Pt. 4” by DJ Shadow
Release Date: 1995 (as part of EP), September 16, 1996 (UK album), November 19, 1996 (US album)
Duration: 5:03
Genre: Instrumental Hip Hop / Trip-Hop / Plunderphonics
Album: Endtroducing..... (debut album, track varies by pressing)
Producer: DJ Shadow
Label: Mo’ Wax (UK), Mo’ Wax/FFRR Records (US)
Recording Location: The Glue Factory, San Francisco
Notable Achievement: Part of first album created entirely from samples (Guinness World Records)
Chart Performance: Album reached #17 UK, #37 US Heatseekers, certified gold in UK (1998)
DJ Shadow “What Does Your Soul Look Like Pt. 4” Era Details
Album Details
Album: Endtroducing.....
Release Date: September 16, 1996 (UK), November 19, 1996 (US)
Label: Mo’ Wax (UK), Mo’ Wax/FFRR Records (US)
Producer: DJ Shadow
Recording Studio: The Glue Factory, San Francisco
Recording Equipment: Akai MPC60 sampler, turntables, minimal other equipment
Recording Time: Two years (summer 1994 - early 1996)
Album Concept: Entirely sample-based instrumental hip-hop, capturing downbeat mood of earlier singles
Personnel
DJ Shadow (Josh Davis) - Production, sampling, programming, turntables
Rick Essig - Mastering (original 1996 pressing)
Barry Grint - Lacquer cutting (later reissues)
Swifty - Artwork (EP releases)
Minor vocal contributions: Lyrics Born, Gift of Gab, Lisa Haugen (Shadow’s then-girlfriend)
Album Production Notes
First album composed almost entirely of samples from vinyl records
Shadow made it a rule to avoid sampling popular material
Samples include jazz, funk, soul, psychedelia, film dialogue
“What Does Your Soul Look Like” originally released as four-part EP in 1994/1995
Parts 1 and 4 later included on Endtroducing
Original 1996 pressing did not include Part 4
Later reissues and anniversary editions added Part 4
Album influenced development of instrumental hip-hop and trip-hop genres
Received universal critical acclaim upon release
Multiple anniversary reissues: 20th (2016 Endtrospective), 25th (2021 Abbey Road)
Interesting Facts About “What Does Your Soul Look Like Pt. 4”
The EP That Shadow’s Fans Call His Best Work
Some DJ Shadow fans prefer the original “What Does Your Soul Look Like” EP to Endtroducing. All four parts together—especially Part 2, which didn’t make the album—create a 30-minute journey that works differently than the album versions.
Part 2 is the one people miss most. It opens with three minutes of doomsday ambiance, then builds into a 10-minute piece using samples from the movie Brainstorm, a Foreigner guitar riff, saxophone, drums, violins. One reviewer called it “a cataclysmic orgy” of sampling. It’s unlike anything else in hip-hop, before or since. Cruel that it got left off Endtroducing.
The EP got remixed too. Peshay and DJ Die did drum & bass versions. The Peshay remix is surprisingly effective—just running Shadow’s samples over a two-step beat with occasional amen breaks. The sample is strong enough to carry it.
From Record Shops to Guinness World Records
Shadow’s sample sources came from vinyl digging. He’d hit record shops, dig through used bins, buy obscure albums nobody else wanted. Jazz fusion from bands nobody remembers. Soundtracks to films that flopped. Spoken word records from the 60s.
That approach created something unprecedented. Guinness certified Endtroducing as the first album created entirely from samples. Every sound on the record—drums, bass, melody, dialogue—came from other people’s records, chopped and reassembled into something new.
The album’s influence is massive. It proved instrumental hip-hop could work as album-length art. It showed sampling could be compositional, not just decorative. Artists from Madlib to Four Tet to Flying Lotus all learned from what Shadow did here.
Part 4 specifically became a favorite for late-night listening. That warm saxophone, those dusty drums—it sounds like 3am in the best way. Not party music. Not background music. Something deeper.
Common Questions
Q: What is “What Does Your Soul Look Like Pt. 4” sampled from? A: “What Does Your Soul Look Like Pt. 4” primarily samples “The Vision” by Flying Island, written by Ray Smith. DJ Shadow chopped and layered the saxophone melody with drum breaks and atmospheric elements, processing them through his Akai MPC60 sampler to create the track’s hypnotic, warm sound.
Q: Why are there different parts of “What Does Your Soul Look Like”? A: DJ Shadow originally created “What Does Your Soul Look Like” as a four-part EP released on Mo’ Wax in 1994-1995. When he was working on his debut album Endtroducing, Mo’ Wax decided to release the finished music as a single first. Shadow later included Parts 1 and 4 on Endtroducing, while Parts 2 and 3 remained EP-only tracks.
Q: Is “What Does Your Soul Look Like Pt. 4” on the original Endtroducing? A: Part 4 was not included on the original 1996 pressing of Endtroducing. It was added to later reissues, including the 2016 20th anniversary Endtrospective edition and the 2021 25th anniversary Abbey Road half-speed master. The Abbey Road version has different track numbering than the original pressing.
Q: What album is “What Does Your Soul Look Like Pt. 4” on? A: “What Does Your Soul Look Like Pt. 4” appears on DJ Shadow’s debut album Endtroducing (later pressings), released September 16, 1996 on Mo’ Wax. The track was originally part of the “What Does Your Soul Look Like” EP from 1995, then included on album reissues alongside Part 1.
Q: What equipment did DJ Shadow use on Endtroducing? A: DJ Shadow produced Endtroducing primarily using an Akai MPC60 sampler, turntables, and vinyl records over a two-year period. He recorded at the Glue Factory in San Francisco with minimal equipment, sampling obscure records from used bins to create the first album made entirely from samples.