2008 PROJECTS : 2007 PROJECTS : 2006 PROJECTS : 2005 PROJECTS :
KITE OPERATIONS
FESTIVAL
CD
2009

At any point in time, there is no lack of bands trying to co-opt a trend, but very few that could be said to be covering new ground, or even trying to discover a different sound. If you're looking for "pop music", look elsewhere. But if you're looking for new music to make you pop, you've found it. Kite Ops is to modern improv noise-jazz-rock as Animal Collective is to modern folk-pop-rock. Delightfully fresh, deliciously creative and something that you flat out didn't expect and haven't experienced before. For those seeking a bit more structure, go right to trk 7, the most rocked out offering. Other trks range in a variety of cadence and intensity of wailing feedback over howling vocals and bombastic percussive assaults. All clean.

 
VARIOUS ARTISTS
YOU DON'T KNOW
CD
2008

You know Ninja Tune and everything about them and exactly the type of music they put out and why and itÕs, yÕknow, cool and everything butÉ Well, you donÕt. This latest Ninja Cuts is number five in a series of classic compilations which have studded NinjaÕs 18 years of existence. And, like its predecessors, You DonÕt Know serves as a signpost of both where the label has come from and where itÕs heading. Now we can go on and wax poetic about how amazing the label is and how great the artists are and how this album contains new, old, rare and unreleased tracks; but we know the tracklisting will speak for itself. Profanity: YOU trk8 "shit, pussy, fuck", 9 "fuck, shit"; DON'T trk1 "shit?", 4 "fuck?", 5 "shit", 6 "MF, shit", 7 "MF", 13 "fuck, shit"; KNOW trk6 "shit".

Disc 1 Ghislain Poirier - Blazin (Modeselektor Remix) Roots Manuva - Seat Yourself (ft. Ricky Ranking) Bonobo - Nightlite (ft. Bajka / Zero dB Reconstruction) Daedelus Ð Fair Weather Friends Mr Scruff - Donkey Ride Pop Levi - Dita DimonŽ The Herbaliser - Gadget Funk Spank Rock - Bump (Switch remix) Zero dB Ð Know What IÕm SayinÕ (ft. Pase Rock) The Heavy - Coleen Diplo Ð Epistemology Suite 1 : DonÕt Fall King Geedorah - Next Levels Fink - Pretty Little Thing The Cinematic Orchestra - To Build A Home (Radio Version) Amon Tobin - Bloodstone John Matthias - Evermore

Disc 2 Roots Manuva - Chin High (Manuvadelics version) Wiley - No Qualms (Re-vox ft. Chipmunk JME & Skepta) Hexstatic - Distorted Minds (ft. Juice Aleem / Zero DB vox) The Qemists - Drop Audio (ft. ID) NMS - Brave New World Mike Ladd - BlahBlah Airborn Audio - Inside the Globe Max & Harvey - Thieves cLOUDDEAD - Physics Of A Unicycle Bug - Poison Dart (ft. Warrior Queen) Coldcut - Just For The Kick (ft. Annette Peacock / original version) Coldcut - Walk A Mile In My Shoes (ft. Robert Owens / Tiga mix) Pest - Pat Pong (Solid Groove mix) TTC - Travailler (Orgasmic remix) The Death Set - Around the World Yppah - Again With The Subtitles

Disc 3 Coldcut - Atomic Moog (The Qemists remix) Sixtoo Ð Jackals and Viper in Envy of Man pt. 9 Kid Koala - Slew Test 2 Two Fingers - Have It Like That (ft. Durrty Goodz) Ghislain Poirier Ð Diaspora DJ Kentaro - Free (ft. Spank Rock / Armani XXXChange Remix) Ty - Wait a Minute (Dwele Remix) Ammoncontact Ð Beautiful Flowers (ft. Prince Po, Yusef Lateef and Dwight Trible) One Self - Fear The Labour Super Numeri - The Chart Loka - Beginningless Bonobo Ð Hatoa (ft. Andreya Triana) The Long Lost - The Art Of Kissing Fog - Melted Crayons Blockhead - Sunday SŽance Jaga - Swedenborgske Rom Bigg Jus - Say Goodbye.

 
BLEVIN BLECTUM
GULARFLUTTER
CD
2008
"Breaking a four year silence with her strongest album to date, Blevin Blectum's "Gular Flutter" confirms her gift for making electronic music that is allergic to cliche. Blectum's new songs throb with swarms of transient surface details, but they never come off as haphazard. Asked about her title, Blevin notes that "Gular fluttering is the pulsation of the upper esophagus in some species of birds in response to heat-stress," an oblique reference from avian anatomy that stems from her recently completed training as a veterinary technician. It's a title that perfectly captures the mysteriously organic shifts that pulsate across this heavily processed music." - Drew Daniel All clean.

 
AU
VERBS
CD
2008
Au ("A-U") is the future of American music. Primarily the work of Portland based Luke Wyland, one can immediately tell he has lived all around the country and absorbed everything to form a sound that not only echoes the past but also sets a path for the future. Although they have been labeled by some as "psych-folk" we can assure you that Au is not another group of dudes with bandannas sitting around doing acid but rather immensely skilled musicians who put great detail into every aspect of their sound. "Au's self-titled release is a more than a solid debut full of rickety yet elated melodies. Think Animal Collective with a little less animal and a little more sobriety; it's folk with the discipline of classical music and the nagging howls of new, weird Americana"- Willamette Weekly - All clean.
   
BLACK FORTRESS OF OPIUM
[self-titled]
CD
2008
The project is named for the English translation of a town in Turkey where opium fields abound. Luscious, genre-varied songs make up this gorgeous album. An array of exotic instruments (mandolin, banjo, electric sitar, theremin, melodica) find their place in such divergent songs as the Texas-cafe flavored love song "Model Cafe," the shadowy Poe-like "House of Edward Devotion," and dark ballad tour de force "Ari" (about Warhol icon Nico). "Your Past" is a stirring mixed tempo rocker that, like most of these songs, is filled with strong emotions and honest lyrics, most with a dark side, perfectly expressed by Ajda the Turkish Queen's rich, captivating voice. Produced by Martin Bisi (Sonic Youth, Zorn, Eno, Swans). All clean.
   
ALICE COHEN
SKY FLOWERS
CD
2008
Alice Cohen has a long pop music history and bona fide pedigree, going from an 80s MTV pop songster in the Vels to East Coast punk/pop icon in Die Monster Die. Her vast talent and sparkling creativity have been expressed in other solo projects and in session work over time, including appearing in a Scorsese film (Grace of My Heart). Her 2001 project Espadrille was loaded with addictive loud guitar hooks and, by contrast, her new work is laden with clever electro-new wave references. Whatever the song framework, Cohen's songwriting is catchier than the flu in springtime, and her lilting, versatile, sweet voice is so delicious you'd think you grew taste buds in your ears. All tracks are winners, but start with 1, 2 and 4. All clean.
   
MARTIN BISI
SIRENS OF THE APOCALYPSE
CD
2008
Martin Bisi has been a prominent indie fringe record producer since the early '80s. At the Brooklyn studio he founded with the help of Brian Eno he's produced early hip-hop, indie rock, no-wave, metal and avant-garde - classic records from Sonic Youth, Material, Herbie Hancock, Africa Bambaata, Swans, Zorn, Helmet, White Zombie, Cop Shoot Cop, Foetus and most recently Serena Maneesh and Ex-Models. Bisi's new LP veers between moody, psychedelic, poppy and harder rock. The sound is mostly dense and rich in instruments and multiple vocals, but also edgy and quirky. Bisi's persona can be raw and confrontational as well as funny and self effacing. The songs are mostly entertaining vignettes of love and obsession in NYC. All clean except "fuck" trk 10.

VARIOUS
WELL DEEP
CD
2007
"The very best underground hip hop label" - Observer Music Monthly "The most progressive British hip hop label ever" - The Fader Big Dada, home of some of the most maverick, innovative artists in hip hop and beyond turns 10! Well Deep is not so much a 'best of' as an overview of the label's history and philosophy. The label started when Will Ashon approached Peter Quicke (boss of Ninja) suggesting a hip hop label to run alongside but independently of Ninja. Heavily influenced by the underground hip hop scenes of LA and NYC in the early/mid-90s, Ashon envisaged the label as a home for musical misfits & pioneers who were more interested in producing something worthwhile than necessarily having a hit. Profanity disc 1: trk3, 7, 8, 11, 13; disc 2: 6, 8, 9, 14, 15.

 
H.E.R.
SONGS ABOUT THE MYSTERIES OF HOUSEWORK AND NATURE
CD
2007
Yvette Perez plays keyboards and sings while trombonist Peter Zummo rambles through a thicket of electronic ambience in an experiment of memory and obsession on this beautiful and haunting album, telling stories about the conflicts of domestic habits with the outer world. Prior to her involvement in the Williamsburg indie music scene Perez played in Western Mass bands during the 90s, while studying with Yusef Lateef and Roger Reynolds. As part of Phil NiblockÕs minimalist crew, Peter Zummo is a versatile downtown figure who has worked with too many to name, but most notably, Arthur Russell, with whom he helped define "avant-disco", pianist "Blue" Gene Tyranny, and the legendary Teo Macero. All clean.

 
JUNI JARVI
WHEREEVER THOU ART
CD
2007
Mikael Bengtsson, the man behind Juni JŠrvi, was born in Stockholm, Sweden (with a Swede/Finnish heritage) studied at the Stockholm Music Conservatory, where he was a fan of serious dark metal, and even formed a Doom Metal band... which is not uncommon for someone from Sweden or Finland. Neither is it that uncommon for someone from northern Europe to be a devotee of sweet, gentle Scandi-pop. You just don't expect someone who formed a Doom Metal band to be making such gorgeous, luscious pop music. Juni JŠrvi, known as Juniper in another incarnation, could list as influences the likes of Elliott Smith, Belle and Sebastian, and the work of Stephin Merritt/Magnetic Fields. This debut stands out as a pop gem in Scandi-pop scene. All clean.

 
THE DRAGONS
BFI
CD
2007
In the late 60s brothers Doug, Daryl and Dennis Dragon, sons of sons of a symphony conductor and an opera singer, record a psychedelic soul/rock masterpiece that was apparently a bit before it's time. The majors at the time didn't hear a "hit", so the LP was shelved. They all end up working in the Beach Boys' backing band, Doug moves to Hawaii, tours Australia, Dennis becomes a successful record producer, & Daryl (The Captain) hooks up with Toni Tennille. 37 years later Strictly Kev/DJ Food discovers a Dragons track on a surf soundtrack while crate digging, was turned on, and, long story short, he helped the band FINALLY bring out this lost classic of psych-whimsy, West Coast sexiness and serious musical chops. All clean.

 
SIXTOO
JACKALS AND VIPERS IN ENVY OF MAN
CD
2007
This is the 2nd LP for Sixtoo on Ninja, who has releases on Anticon, Mush, Vertical Form, Endemik, Bully & 6 Months. Though Sixtoo has mad skills as an MC, this LP is solely a reflection of his studio prowess. He's done production work for Sage Francis on his Anticon and Epitaph releases as well as soundtrack work for the film NEXT: A Primer on Urban Painting, released a collaborative project with Norsola (Godspeed! You Black Emperor), helmed graphic design for indie beats label Bully, composed a mini CD with an artbook by prolific graffiti artist Other, & transformed himself into alter ego Six Vicious, & his project with Hadji Bakara from Wolf Parade, Megasoid, has been tearing up club sound systems & leaving them for dead. All clean instrumentals.
   
WAITIKI
RENDEZVOUS IN OKONKULUKU
CD
2007
Waitiki (pronounced "why-TEE-kee") is a Boston-based touring band playing "Exotic Tiki Entertainment from Polynesia and Beyond" like nobody else can! In a word, they can be described as "Exotica" - a style of music loosely defined as a mixture of jazz, Latin, and contemporary Asian sounds under a tropical umbrella - also sometimes referred to as "tiki", jungle tiki, lounge, or space-age-bachelor-pad music. They're one of only a handful of bands in the world performing Exotica live. Obvious influences and touchstones include Martin Denny, Arthur Lyman, Les Baxter and Juan Garcia Esquivel. This is THE year-round soundtrack to your South Pacific dream island... Also available on vinyl. All clean.
   
WILEY
PLAYTIME IS OVER
CD
2007
Wiley, the pioneer, the founding father, the maverick, the relentless innovator, releases his brand new (and possibly last) LP - a blazing return to the experimental crucible of the East London music known as grime. It offers everything that is most brutal, cutting edge, funny, clever, terrifying and moving about the sound and the world which created it. Over the course of 15 tracks, Wiley boasts of his pre-eminence, tells stories of his life and background, reveals a sensitive side that wonÕt surprise anyone who has met him, bigs up Bow and, in general, splatters his life and thoughts and feelings over beats in a way which hasnÕt been bettered in the short but incident-packed history of a scene whose mainstream acceptance is barely five years old. Profanity check: trk1, 5, 7, 14, 16.
   
BLOCKHEAD
UNCLE TONY'S COLORING BOOK
CD
2007
A key figure on the indie hip hop scene, Blockhead has helped propel MC talents such as Aesop Rock, Cage, Slug, Murs, etc., with his tough instrumentals, inspiring the lyrical weight of such hip hop heavies. He approached Ninja Tune with a killer demo which became his debut LP, Music By Cavelight, followed with a 2nd Ninja LP, Downtown Science, and slew of production credits - most notably his work on the Aesop Rock LP, None Shall Pass (Def Jux). To coincide with that release and tour, Blockhead has self-release his latest collection, Uncle Tony's Coloring Book. An upbeat array of fun instrumentals with the trademark Blockhead production style, tough beats & catchy grooves that have infected his earlier releases. Break out the crayons! All clean.