This guided tour of the Ninjatune warehouse takes in a wide angle of projects past, present and future, exclusives littered among its fifty tracks. The sheer variety makes repeat visits mandatory, since anyone taking in the acoustic asides of Fink will also need to be wired for the athletic drum & bass of Qemists, or the electric funk of The Death Set. Going back to Mike Ladd and 1998’s ‘Blah Blah’, the collection takes in flagship Big Dada acts Roots Manuva, Ty and Spank Rock as well as the vibrant, jazz-inflected Cinematic Orchestra, three club bound tracks from founder members Coldcut and two coruscating remixes from Zero dB. Of the new material, Mr Scruff’s ‘Donkey Ride’ is typically friendly funk, while Pop Levi and DJ Kentaro stand out. That this is effectively a generous slew of B-sides, remixes and unreleased future projects only serves to make the achievement more worthwhile.
5 Out Of 5
Reviewed By: Ben Hogwood
