VARIOUS ARTISTS - You Don't Know: Ninja Cuts

The plaudits have come thick and fast for Ninja Tune over the years, championed as a bastion of UK underground hip hop, breakbeat, dancehall and – to a lesser extent, electronica. This latest triple-disc compilation highlights the majority of the label’s (and sub-label’s) headline artists new and old – even if the overall message is a little muddled.

We’re talking just under 50 tracks of music in this package, going back a decade in parts, but also adding rare remixes and unreleased material from the likes of Mr Scruff, Cinematic Orchestra and Coldcut. In the past Ninja Tune have not been shy in bringing out such compilations; they usually work very well - as the label’s ethos is very strong. However, the ethos behind You Don’t Know: Ninja Cuts is a little over-cooked, especially in the light of the triple deck of Zen releases put out around three years ago, which amply summarised the label’s activities.

All your Ninja favourites can be found spread across the three discs, from Roots Manuva, Bonobo, The Herbaliser, Spank Rock and The Cinematic Orchestra to Amon Tobin, Coldcut, Pest, DJ Kentaro, Ammoncontact, Bonobo, Blockhead… and heaps more besides, all appearing once, twice or thrice. Question is, do we really need another remix of Coldcut’s Atomic Moog? Furthermore, some of the newer tracks display a disturbing willingness to completely depart from the label's roots. John Matthias’ Evermore – although highly pleasant – moves into light folk, Pop Levi – Dita Dimone is pure B52s surf pop, Fink’s Pretty Little Thing acoustic rock. I hope we’re not witnessing the label ditch it’s principles to become ‘just another label’.

On the positive side, this is Ninja Tune - so there are corking tracks aplenty. Bonobo’s Nightlife (Ft. Bajka/Zero B Deconstruction) is banging, whilst Mr Scruff’s Donkey Ride reeks of pure Ninja electro funk. As we move deeper into the vaults, Hexstatic’s Distorted Minds (Ft. Juice Aleem/Zero DB Remix) provides utterly persuasive electro rap, Spank Rock’s Bump (Switch Mix) compulsive hip hop, and The Qemists – Drop The Audio delivers vicious breakbeat. The Cinematic Orchestra also provide their usual touches of languid class throughout - although DJ Shadow’s Bring Madlib Up is a cheap addition, it sounds like his very first demo.

Whereas previous Ninja Compilations highlighted a sense of forward motion and progression, You Don’t Know: Ninja Cuts seems like one self-congratulatory pat on the back too many. There’s just too much to digest here, so unless you’re a massive fan of the label and well into all the alternate mixes and rare tracks, you might consider this overkill too.



	VARIOUS ARTISTS - You Don't Know: Ninja Cuts
	7.1
	Ninja Tune ~ ZENCD150 ~ 10th March 2008
	The plaudits have come thick and fast for Ninja Tune over the years, championed as a bastion of UK underground hip hop, breakbeat, dancehall and – to a lesser extent, electronica. This latest triple-disc compilation highlights the majority of the label’s (and sub-label’s) headline artists new and old – even if the overall message is a little muddled. We’re talking just under 50 tracks of music in this package, going back a decade in parts, but also adding rare remixes and unreleased material from the likes of Mr Scruff, Cinematic Orchestra and Coldcut. In the past Ninja Tune have not been shy in bringing out such compilations; they usually work very well - as the label’s ethos is very strong. However, the ethos behind You Don’t Know: Ninja Cuts is a little over-cooked, especially in the light of the triple deck of Zen releases put out around three years ago, which amply summarised the label’s activities. All your Ninja favourites can be found spread across the three discs, from Roots Manuva, Bonobo, The Herbaliser, Spank Rock and The Cinematic Orchestra to Amon Tobin, Coldcut, Pest, DJ Kentaro, Ammoncontact, Bonobo, Blockhead… and heaps more besides, all appearing once, twice or thrice. Question is, do we really need another remix of Coldcut’s Atomic Moog? Furthermore, some of the newer tracks display a disturbing willingness to completely depart from the label's roots. John Matthias’ Evermore – although highly pleasant – moves into light folk, Pop Levi – Dita Dimone is pure B52s surf pop, Fink’s Pretty Little Thing acoustic rock. I hope we’re not witnessing the label ditch it’s principles to become ‘just another label’. On the positive side, this is Ninja Tune - so there are corking tracks aplenty. Bonobo’s Nightlife (Ft. Bajka/Zero B Deconstruction) is banging, whilst Mr Scruff’s Donkey Ride reeks of pure Ninja electro funk. As we move deeper into the vaults, Hexstatic’s Distorted Minds (Ft. Juice Aleem/Zero DB Remix) provides utterly persuasive electro rap, Spank Rock’s Bump (Switch Mix) compulsive hip hop, and The Qemists – Drop The Audio delivers vicious breakbeat. The Cinematic Orchestra also provide their usual touches of languid class throughout - although DJ Shadow’s Bring Madlib Up is a cheap addition, it sounds like his very first demo. Whereas previous Ninja Compilations highlighted a sense of forward motion and progression, You Don’t Know: Ninja Cuts seems like one self-congratulatory pat on the back too many. There’s just too much to digest here, so unless you’re a massive fan of the label and well into all the alternate mixes and rare tracks, you might consider this overkill too.