This week in music – Various Artists

Various Artists
“Xen Cuts”
Ninja Tune

Hell yeah. I nearly pissed myself when I heard that one of my favorite labels
from when I was in high school was coming out with a phatty three-disc “best
of” box set. When I got my grubby little paws on my own copy, I locked
myself in my room and immersed myself into the weird, wacky, wonderful world
of Ninja Tune’s mutant hip-hop/jazz hybrid.
Since 1990, the Ninja Tune posse has been expediting beats that have blown minds
from England, to Japan, to the States. To celebrate ten years of being in the
biz, they’ve put together two discs of some of the best material they’ve
released so far, then compiled a third disc of rare, out of print, and remixed
tracks. Lesser known artists such as T Love, Fink, Neptune, and Arc appear alongside
Ninja Tune faves such as Coldcut, DJ Vadim, Funki Porcini, and Amon Tobin.
The first disc is my personal favorite of the three. Most of the tracks found
here are collaborations between underground MC’s and Ninja Tune artists.
The results are rarely short of phenomenal.
The standout track is “8pt Agenda,” the incredible joint effort of
The Herbaliser and Latyrx. This is some of the best hip-hop I’ve heard
in years. The way the two lyricists of Latyrx trade off lines makes the mind
wobble.
Throughout the track, they go over eight rules they live by that encourage self
expression, free thinking, and personal freedom from authority. The best line:
“We don’t believe in you controlling we/I’m not obligated to
listen to s**t you tellin’ me/That’s the type of thing that’ll
lead to a felony/I don’t give a f**k if you yellin’ at me at the top
of your lungs/You do it otherwise it isn’t gonna get done.” Wow. Maybe
my love for that line explains why I can’t hold down a job for more than
three months. Anyway, this track alone is reason enough to get this set.
The second disc is mostly lengthy instrumentals, which is what the Ninja Tune
label is known for. Tracks by Loka, Flanger, and Up, Bustle & Out shine
through here.
The third disc, while mostly geared toward the trainspotter, will please the
casual listener as well, provided they can overlook the fact that some of these
tunes tend to resemble 70’s porn soundtracks at times. My only gripe about
this disc is the absence of Autechre’s remix of DJ Food’s “Sexy
Bits.”
Oh well, nothing’s perfect. (www.ninjatune.net)
Check this out if you dig: The Jurassic 5, DJ Shadow.