27 years ago, Coldcut launched Ninja Tune with a release under their pseudonym Bogus Order. Now, in 2017, it’s time for ‘Zen Brakes Vol.2’ – and in characteristic style the duo have made it a vehicle for a thoroughly immersive album experience. The tracks are colourful and stimulating enough on their own, but with the addition of the pair’s Granular Synthesis App there is so much more than just a listening experience to be had here. Users can create and share pictures but can also offer visual remixes, extending the cover artwork which was also made through the app. The musical highlights include ‘Bullnose Step’, with its wider screen, lilting piano, and the really spacey ‘Can You Believe It’. ‘Soca Mania’ is brilliant too, with its swinging rhythm prompted by piano, while ‘Flight 4’ is by turns colourful and percussive. A multimedia experience for the new age, and typical of Ninja Tune’s pioneering spirit – as keen now as ever it has been.
Ben Hogwood
5 out of 5
