Please welcome new Ninja signing Jono McCleery, a man whose voice has been compared – with good reason – to the likes of John Martyn, Nick Drake and Jeff Buckley. The first fruits can be heard on 'Tomorrow', where Jono’s sumptuous voice is run up against plucked classical guitar and double bass (which he also plays), harp, strings and the subtlest of programmed percussion. The balance between the organic and the digital is pitch perfect, effortlessly maintained. It reveals McCleery to be not merely in possession of a great voice, but a great talent as a songwriter and musician. The impression is reinforced by 'Alive Again', a song of understated yearning that sucks you into its world and holds you there until its last, fading notes.
:: Download debut single'Tomorrow' from the Ninjashop or from iTunes now.
Ninja Tune XX - Week XII - Mr. Scruff
This week's Ninja Tune XX giveaway comes courtesy of a true Ninja legend, and one of our most charismatic, multi-faceted artists. Mr. Scruff released his first record on Ninja Tune way back in 1998, going on to create one of the label's all time most successful albums - 'Keep It Unreal' - the following year. He'd been making music and mixing records for years previously however, as demonstrated by side one of this ultra-rare mixtape from 1992. Originally limited to a mere 20 copies, and sold in Manchester's Funky Banana record shop, it hasn't been available anywhere since. Unless you're one of the 20 prescient people who bought it originally, this MP3 is truly a hidden treasure. Side two will remain so, at least for now!
The mix reveals Scruff's early passion for hip-hop, and takes in tracks from A Tribe Called Quest, Del Tha Funkee Homosapien, Main Source, Digable Planets, Organised Konfusion and many more of rap music's innovators. Add in a touch of jazz in the form of Art Blakey and Charles Mingus, and you have the origins of the sound that Mr. Scruff made all his own.
Fans will already know that alongside his music, Mr. Scruff's idiosyncratic, instantly recognisable visual art has become as much of a trademark as his sound. Included in the download is the original artwork for the mixtape, featuring early versions of the characters now featured on everything from umbrellas to tins of fair-trade tea.
Mr Scruff will be hosting a room at the Ninja Tune XX party at London Ewer Street, and playing various other shows around the world. There will also be two new songs on the Ninja Tune XX compilation (one on 7" vinyl only).
Welcome, Ninja Tune’s latest signing, the one and only Eskmo. Brendan Angelides, a native of Connecticut now based in San Francisco, has been causing a considerable stir for the last few years, releasing music on labels including but not limited to Warp, Planet Mu and his own Ancestor imprint. Already tipped by many in the electronic music community to be a major presence for years to come, Eskmo shows exactly what the fuss is all about on his debut for his new home-label.
'Cloudlight' somehow manages to rope together the aesthetics of glitch, dubstep and r&b into the kind of song Marvin The Paranoid Android might have recorded if he were put on a course of anti-depressants, got laid by a washing machine and munched enough ecstasy tablets to explode a cat. Troubling, beautiful and strangely uplifting all at once, it states, simply and without the need for any of these words, that Angelides is a unique presence in electronic music. 'Come Back' develops the sound perhaps even further, a narcotisized Timberlake number or a disembodied ghost voice? It’s a question only the listener can answer, though Angelides injects real longing into his deadpan vocals. Remix duties are dealt with by Brainfeeder’s Lorn, who turns in a brutally pummeling remix.
'Cloudlight' download single is out now, with a self-titled album coming 4th October.
04.09.10Roots Manuva Pop-Up Shop
News direct from the mouth of Mr Manuva: "Come and meet the Ghost writer behind all the Roots Manuva Classics. Rodney's dead twin from Duppy Land will be haunting East London 2-6pm. Can't stay long he has to get back to being dead." Or to put it another way, Roots and friends will be celebrating the release of the record by taking over the shop Pelicans & Parrots at 40 Stoke Newington Road, Dalston, N16 7XJ; 2-6pm; Monday 6th September!.
A mixture of instore, pop-up shop and chaotic mess, come through, listen, smile, buy something and get it signed. Should be fun...
03.09.10Solid Steel Radio Show - DJ Self Help, DJ Moneyshot
Solid Steel in association with Serato (3rd September) This week DJ Self Help’s “clusterfunk” mix is a borderline schizo blend of more genres than you can count on both hands and feet; not for the faint of heart or the closed of mind. No combination of styles is left unexplored, everything from Dancehall-Afrobeat blends to Hip Hop laced over top Brazilian chants, old Soul, noisy Electro, indie rock remixes, and a few of self help’s remixes (Dolly Parton, Bat for Lashes, The Zombies) and original beats thrown in for good measure.
DJ Moneyshot takes care of hour 2 with a brazilian mix perfect for stretching out the last few weeks of summer. Music from Jorge Ben ,Tim Maia and Os Mutantes, alongside Gal Costa, Sergio Mendes and interlaced with commentary on Brasil's football legend Pele.
31.08.10Amon Tobin - 'Esther's' - Coming Soon
Here's a taste of the upcoming new Amon Tobin video 'Esther's', directed by Charles de Meyer (aka Chuck Eklectric).
