Ninja Tune. Man, where to begin?
I guess for me it all started when I was spinning at WMFO. Each week, an hour or two before my show, I’d go through all the new CDs and records to listen to what tracks I might want to play when I went on air. Whenever something particularly special came in I’d check out what label it was on for future reference. As the months, then years went by, I could help but notice that some amazing stuff was consistently coming out from this label called Ninja Tune.
There are certain record labels that develop a distinct personality by their roster of musical artists. A classic example would be Motown Records. Back in the 60s, Motown represented a staggering collection of mind blowing talent such as Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and Diana Ross & The Supremes. Motown developed a reputation for putting out such insanely great music that if a new album came out by, say, the The Jackson 5, you could virtually bank that it was going to be great. And if a record came out by someone on Motown you didn’t know you could take it on faith that it was probably going to be good.
This has happened time and time again and most relevant to me are the indie/hardcore record labels that came out in the 80s like Dischord, SST and TAANG!.
Which brings us to Ninja Tune.
NInja Tune also has a flavor all its own. The sum of all the artists on Ninja Tune makes it sexy and aggressive, gives it a wry sense of humor, and moody and menacing. Ninja Tune skips from drum and bass to abstract hip hop to nu jazz and chillout and on and on… The thing is, some how all these different artists and different artists belong together. They all feel as if they are part of the same cloth.
A few months back I had Ronnie Darko on the show and played a few tunes he mixed from the Scion CD Sampler v. 18: Ninja Tune Mix. Darko put me in touch with Jonathan Shedletzky from Ninja Tune and I asked him to come solipsistic NATION to talk and play a mix of new and classic music from the label. Think of it as my attempt to sketch out a mug shot of Ninja Tune.
- Neotropic “Ultra Freaky Orange”
- Interview with Jonathan Shedletzky of Ninja Tune
- Roots Manuva “No Love”
- Ghislain Poirier “Blazin (Featuring Face-T)”
- Wiley “50/50”
- Blockhead “Duke Of Hazzard”
- Interview with Jonathan Shedletzky of Ninja Tune
- Sixtoo “Jackals and Vipers In Envy of Man (Part 8)”
- Daedelus “Fair Weather Friends”
- Interview with Jonathan Shedletzky of Ninja Tune
- The Heavy “Colleen”
- Hexstatic “Tokyo Traffic”
- Interview with Jonathan Shedletzky of Ninja Tune
- DJ Kentaro “One Hand Blizzard”
- Amon Tobin “Kitchen Sink (Boxcutter Remix)”
- Cujo “The Light”
- Bonobo “Ketto”
- DJ Food “The Ageing Young Rebel (Featuring Ken Nordine)”
- Coldcut “Eine Kleine Hedmusik”
- Interview with Jonathan Shedletzky of Ninja Tune
- DJ Vadim “Your Revolution (Featuring Sarah Jones) [Version]”