DJ Shadow Critically Examines Technology's Influence on "Urgent, Important, Please Read"

Last month, DJ Shadow revealed plans for his next major studio project, Our Pathetic Age. A double album, Our Pathetic Age will deliver 23 new tracks to listeners, including collaborations with Nas, Run the Jewels, De La Soul, Pharoahe Monch, Raekwon Ghostface Killah, Wiki, Dave East and more. Now, following the release of Our Pathetic Age‘s lead single “Rosie,” the trailblazing musician is debuting his upcoming album’s second major single, “Urgent, Important, Please Read.” Propelled by verses from Rockwell Knuckles, Tef Poe and Daemon, “Urgent, Important, Please Read” takes a critical look at contemporary society’s firmly-entrenched reliance on technology.

“More than anything, I try to get a sense of the mood of society as a whole,” DJ Shadow previously shared in an official press statement, opening up about Our Pathetic Age‘s themes, purpose and narrative. “In my part of the world, people are scared. There’s rampant homelessness, and a real fear of falling into generational poverty. People are addicted to, and addled by distraction; they’re angry and confused, and disaffected by their own governmental institutions. There’s songs that are inspired by this energy and seek to harness it, to make sense of it. In some cases, there’s attempts to salve the wound; in others, the songs merely observe but don’t offer solutions … I want it to reflect the times we live in, a signpost in the ground to mark the era.”

You can check out DJ Shadow, Rockwell Knuckles, Tef Poe and Daemon’s new collaboration and single “Urgent, Important, Please Read” above. DJ Shadow’s sixth full-length studio album Our Pathetic Age will see release on November 15 via Mass Appeal Records.

DJ Shadow’s last studio album was 2017’s The Mountain Has Fallen.