When he shifted focus to hip-hop instrumentals, DJ Shadow saw new emotional possibilities for the genre. Records like "Building Steam with a Grain of Salt" layer piano, guitars, chimes and vocal samples over a thunderous breakbeat, slowly—as the title promises—building steam on a journey through carefully crafted, intricately triggered samples. His compositions can be grandiose, or, as on the guitar-driven "High Noon", a jolt of pure adrenaline. "Midnight in a Perfect World" best captures his gift for uniquely abstract tonal colour, channelling a mood of reflective awe in an enigmatic universe.