In 1990, having blasted a piratical path with the pioneering mash-ups on their Ahead Of Our Time label while making high-profile moves like introducing Lisa Stansfield into the world, Coldcut’s Matt Black and Jon Moore threw their obsession with musical cross-pollination and going against the grain into starting a label they decided to call, with suitable stealth imagery, Ninja Tune. Since then the label has unleashed a barrage of genre-defining assaults which have launched stars and nudged audacious sound clashes into the too often formularised field of electronic music. The Ninja Cuts series is more than retrospective compilation, mixing highlights from Ninja Tune, Big Dada and Counter with unreleased material and upcoming projects. Volume five is breathtaking in its scope, ranging from familiar names like Roots Manuva, DJ Shadow, Cinematic Orchestra [with the stunning new ‘Rites of Spring’ live at the Barbican], Mr Scruff, the Herbaliser, Billy O’Testicle and Jaga to Baltimore’s Death Set charging through the electro-punk gallop of Around The World while rarities include Mike Ladd’s Blah Blah from 1998. Coldcut are represented, including Walk A Mile In My Shoes, their haunted collaboration with the legendary Robert Owens, house music’s greatest soul singer. There’s 50 tracks over three CDs, every one a reason to be cheerful with a tale to tell.
5 Out Of 5
Reviewed By: Kris Needs
