NINJA TUNE XX - SEPTEMBER 20th 2010
Welcome, come on in, sit down, be at ease. I want to take you back – back, back, back into the mists of time, when Margaret Thatcher was still – just – in power, Nelson Mandela had just been released from prison, the World Cup was won not by Germany but by West Germany and a man called Tim Berners-Lee published a formal proposal for something esoteric called the World Wide Web. And two young DJ/producers, fresh from their success with the likes of household names such as Yazz and Lisa Stansfield as well as in their own right, returned from a tour of Japan sick of major label bullsh*t and decided to set up on their own. These two fresh-faced young men, Jon More and Matt Black, collectively known as Coldcut, made NINJA TUNE.
Twenty years! Twenty fu*king years!? That’s a long time for anything, but for an independent record label it’s aeons. So yes, we are going to make a fuss. Yes, we are going to celebrate. But this will not be a tired cash-in, a festival of re-tread or an orgy of old. NO! We are focussing on new material, new newness. Below is a list of what we will do. More detailed announcements to come.
NINJA TUNE XX BOX SET
NINJA TUNE XX GIGS
THE BOOK
THE VIDEO SCREENING
NINJA TUNE XX ANNOUNCEMENTS
NINJA TUNE XX BOX SET
On September 20th we release an all out, big-as-big-bollo*ks boxed set with stupendous artwork from none other than Ninja designer Openmind. The set will consist of three hardcover cases in a hardback box, all beautifully made and with foil-blocked text and loveliness. These cases will in turn contain the following material:
Case 1: 6 CDs of music (2 CDs will be material only available in this box set)
Case 2: 6 x 7" singles in a hardback book (all material only available in this box set). + an inner pocket with a Ninja family tree poster by Nigel Peake + Sleeve Cover Poster + Ninja Tune XX Sticker Sheet
Case 3: Exclusive Hardback edition of Black Dog Publishing book 'NINJA TUNE: 20 Years of Beats & Pieces' by Stevie Chick (hardback edition only available in this box set)
It will include new exclusive tracks from: Amon Tobin, Roots Manuva, Kid Koala, Mr Scruff, The Bug, Jaga Jazzist, Bonobo, Toddla T, Blockhead, Daedelus, Dorian Concept, Two Fingers, Zomby, Luke Vibert, DJ Vadim, King Cannibal, Jammer, Shuttle, The Heavy, Yppah, zero dB and more to be announced. Plus a few choice overlooked favourites and rarities.
Plus new exclusive remixes from: Switch, Henrik Schwarz, Autechre, Modeselektor, Matthew Herbert, Zomby, Toddla T, Cut Chemist, Roots Manuva, Gold Panda, Mark Pritchard, Amorphous Androgynous, Rustie, Actress, Tom Middleton, Micachu, Metronomy, Gaslamp Killer, Kronos Quartet, Tunng, Mala, El-P (and EL-B) and more to be announced.
The material not exclusive to the box will also be available on download stores and ordinary CDs in the shops.
The Box Set can be pre-ordered for a limited period at an 'early bird' price from today from http://bit.ly/aXw5mZ
NINJA TUNE XX GIGS
The Ninja Tune founders Coldcut will be presenting a massive NINJA TUNE XX event on 2nd Oct in London at the glamorous Ewer Street Car Park with our most ambitious line-up ever. There will also be gigs around the world - line ups and ticket links to be announced soon. Watch the skies.
15th Sept - Paris, Pompidou Centre
17th Sep - Paris, Pompidou Centre (afterparty at Elysee Monmartre)
24th Sep - Berlin, Astra
30th Sept - Brussels, AB
1st Oct - Paris, La Machine
2nd Oct - London, Ewer Street Car Park
Events in Montreal in June & July + New York, LA and Tokyo in October & November to be announced
THE BOOK
The paperback edition of “Ninja Tune: 20 Years of Beats and Pieces” will be available from August through Black Dog Publishing, as part of their acclaimed Labels Unlimited series. The book is written by esteemed music journalist Stevie Chick (a founder of Loose Lips Sinks Ships as well as long term NME scribe and current contributor to the Guardian, Mojo etc and author of books on Black Flag and Sonic Youth, amongst others) and includes exclusive interviews with key artists and label staff. Its 192 pages are also lavishly illustrated with original photographs, illustrations and flyers plundered from the depths of Ninja Tune and their artists’ archives.
THE VIDEO SCREENING
Ninja Tune, BUG + onedotzero present a Ninja Tune Video Showcase, Friday 12th Nov in NFT 1. A selection of our very best and strangest videos, all in the comfort of a national film theatre. Get in the popcorn, the black polo neck sweater, a beret, and join us in this celebration of un certain regard within the fractured narrative of our post-musical music natch. If you just prefer to stay in then please check youtube.com/ninjatunexx where we're publishing classic Ninja videos on our channel in never-seen-before HQ or HD.
NINJA TUNE XX ANNOUNCEMENTS
http://www.ninjatunexx.net
Get ready... For each of the 20 weeks leading up to the release date of the box set, we'll be giving away rare material and mixes from our special ninjatunexx site (despite the title, none of it will be porn.). Each item will be available for one week and one week only. In addition, we'll be unveiling brand new videos, running competitions, and announcing more details about NINJA TUNE XX.
The first in our series of 20 exclusive giveaways is a set of two tracks from the very first Ninja Tune recordings, incredibly rare until now. First released in 1990, and bearing the trademark production quality of Coldcut (recording under the moniker Bogus Order), 'Zen Bones' is from the first Ninja Tune album, Zen Brakes Vol.1 and 'Da Sound Of Zen' is from our very first 12". Listen to where it all began. (Twenty fu*kin’ years!!)
In addition this week, we have the first ever t-shirt from our exclusive anniversary collaboration with Trainerspotter up for grabs. These aren't out in the shops until September 2010. The design is dated 1990 with the name Bogus Order and emblazoned with Ninja Tune's iconic Ninja logo drawn up in a Trainerspotter style. For a chance to win, simply email your name and t-shirt size to competition@ninjatune.net.
Remember – in another twenty years time, we will all be wearing silver suits, smoking liquid ultra-meow through an alloy straw, dancing to jizstep, watching 4 dimensional ocelot and will have just elected the first Labour government in a generation. Don’t miss out now. It’s a fu*k of a long time to wait for another one…
