Xen Cuts [Box set]

CD1 is full of all your favourite groups; The Herbaliser, Roots Manuva, Mr Scruff, Cinematic Orchestra, Kid Koala, Coldcut and Fink. It's THE résumé of the Ninja Tunes cast-list and tracks like "8 Point Agenda" by the Herbaliser and Latryx just blow any competition away. The cut-up intro almost teases you to try and name as many of the great Ninja Tune hits as you can in 3 minutes.

CD2 is more chilled. A kind of Jazz Café del Mar with more imaginative rhythms and far less soporific.You end up asking yourself why you haven't heard of half of these artists before. Break out the Ninja Skins and enjoy!

CD3 is the unreleased, unheard of and the unusual side of Ninja Tunes. Again the question is posed: Who ARE these brilliant people and where do they all come from? Of course there are a few of your 'big names' thrown into the mix but that just makes for juicy reading on the back cover before you listen to it.

The other facter that got me hooked was the design. Ninja Tunes are kind of known for their unique design style and the kind of logo I wish I could have created of myself. The booklet gives a humourous run-down of the past 10 years, complete with chronological listing of all Ninja Tunes or N-Tone records ever released. Perfect for filling in the gaps of your collection, and believe me, when you get to the end of the third CD and put CD1 back on again without thinking, you'll want to know every Ninja Tune disc ever released and where you can get your hands on one, fast! Hats off to Coldcut, Ninja Tunes goes from strength to strength and this proves it. Damn it's good!

Far too many tracks to go into in detail in a review here but those who know their Ninja Tune will be right at home with offerings from Funki Porchini, Kid Koala, Coldcut (label bosses of Ninja Tune), DJ Food (who's Ageing Young Rebel appears on this CD in a version thats completely different ... and better to their album version), Roots Manuva, Luke Vibert ... the list just goes on. Each Ninja artist seems to have reached their peak with every track thats been selected from them, as if they have pulled out all the stops for this 10 year celebration of Ninja.

Each CD has a theme, disc 1 tends to take hip hop and rough gritty instrumental breaks, shining examples are from The Herbaliser, The Big Dada Soundsystem, Neotropic, DJ Vadim and Cabbageboy. Disc 2 heads for the more experimental and jazzy side of Ninja Tune, funk comes to the fore with cinematic soundscapes being the order of the day, DJ Food, Animals On Wheels, Funki Porchini and Amon Tobin all have quality offerings here. The final disc is a summary of older Ninja Tune, rare Ninja Tune, Chris Morris and Amon Tobin pop up with a track from his Jam series, Roots Manuva does Movements live, Squarepusher rips up in mad machine funk and once again Coldcut and Funki Porchini get a look in with slices of quality.

Inside the CD you get a booklet detailing the entire 10 years of Ninja Tune and its a thoroughly entertaining read. This is an essential purchase for Ninja heads who don't have this already. Those who like hip hop and chill should also take a look in. For the Ninja person who has it all, check out the Coldcut/DJ Krush mix Cold Krush Cuts/Back In The Base for the finest Ninja Tune back catalogue mixed up by the masters. And DEFINATELY check Coldcut's 70 Minutes Of Madness Journeys by DJs mix, the best DJ mix ever.