Ever since the “endtroduction” of DJ Shadow some ten years ago, numerous artists have attempted to recreate his sound, and some have even taken it to another level (RJD2, Blockhead). Nowadays, its commonplace for indy labels to have an instrumental artist like Shadow in their stable, and some labels are primarily based on these types of artists (Ninja Tune, Sound In Color). Next to step to the plate is Galapagos 4′s Maker, a Chicago based producer who captures the essence of the windy city with his solo release, Shooting The Breeze. While Maker’s name may be new to many, he’s been here for years, producing beats for rising underground artists, such as ThemBaddApples, Qwel, Sleep of Oldominion, Josh Martinez, and others. But Shooting The Breeze represents his official entrance as a solo instrumentalist, with 12 self produced tracks, heavy on drums and moody atmosphere.  

       Just as with any artist in this genre, Maker’s employment of hard-hitting snares and kicks, combined with dusty samples will inevitably draw comparisons to DJ’s Shadow or Krush, but Maker seems happy to take the compliment. While it’s obvious where his influences lie, there is a different degree of sampling happening here, as found on the reggae influenced “Remember The Name”, or the timely “Broken Promises”, built off a Vietnam-era folk song, mirroring today’s controversial wartime politics. The jazzy “Love Tomorrow” is a beautifully breezy re-freaking of a sample last used by People Under The Stairs, but shows just how uniquely two like-minded artists can put their own spin on the same piece of work. The title track, “Shooting The Breeze” presents the artist in his element, evolving a simple 2-bar drummer-boy loop into a magnum opus with several layers of sound. 

       While filled with great compositions, Shooting The Breeze will take criticism from some, from time to time. Towards the middle, “La Saluda” seems to drag things down a bit, while the drum programming of “Street Strut” doesn’t exactly mesh with much of the other songs on the album. And towards the end, people will undoubtedly pigeonhole the still dynamic “Live It” or the last two phenomenal songs,  “Augusta 90B” and “Sandcastle”, for having a too “Shadow-esque” sound, but the blind listener’s head wouldn’t stop nodding if you told them this was a Josh Davis album. Fact of the matter is, Shooting The Breeze plays wonderfully like a worthy sequel to Endtroducing, especially since Shadow couldn’t go home again on The Private Press.