Customer Reviews

Xen Cuts

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

All I can do is agree with the other reviews -- BUY THIS! It serves as a great overview of the ninja label, if you haven't heard much of their stuff before, but contains lots of new tracks and brilliance for even the most experienced ninja.

The first CD starts off with the intro cutups, then moves into a mostly hiphop mode. The highlights for me here include Roots Manuvas insane mix of Amon Tobin, the brilliant Dj Vadim and Kid Koala tracks, and Up,Bustle & Outs "Hip Hop Barrio". A fantastic exception that stands out is Luke Viberts "I Hear the Drummer".

The second CD moves onto some mainly jazzy business. The Clifford Gilberto track is funky filmic soundtrack business, and Amon Tobin contributes a great track. Later come the amazing fried up beats of Flanger, before Funki Porcini and others finish the disc in a swirl of ambient orchestration.

The third CD (subtitled "missed, flipped and skipped), is raritys and remixes as the title suggests. This disc is also killer, with Mr Scruff and Dj Food contributing some awesome sounds, and the insanity of Squarepushers mix of East Flatbush Project's "Tried By 12". The disc finishes with more jazzy sounds, but the real highlight here for me is Kid Koala's "Drunk Trumpet", where a trumpet sample is munted and mutated by the kid over a jazzy piano loop. Absolutely insane, and brilliant with it.

To sum up, if you are even the slightest bit into the hiphop / jazz insanity that the ninjas do so well, then you need this like you need food and air. Sell your own mother if you have to.

So Ninja Tune decides to release a huge, mega-compilation (3 CDs, 46 tracks) ... I then decided to take a chance (going simply on the label's reputation and a few tracks I'd heard). And I'm glad I did. There's so much here, and the amazing part is how much of it is outstanding.

Disc One concentrates on hip-hop. The general theme here is decent MCs dropping above-average lyrics over phenomenal beats. It's probably the most consistently high-quality disc here.

Standouts: Amon Tobin - "Saboteur"; Big Dada Sound - "Showtime"; Kid Koala - "Emperor's Main Course"; Luke Vibert - "I Hear The Drummmer"; Up, Bustle & Out - "Hip Hop Barrio"

Disc Two emphasizes the more chilled, jazzy, trip-hop stuff. There are some moments that don't work (Loka, Animals on Wheels, Flanger) because of off-tempo programming, but the vast majority of the disc is excellent.

Standouts: both Clifford Gilberto tracks, Funki Porcini, Amon Tobin, Up, Bustle & Out

Disc Three is less cohesive as a single unit, but is equally fun. The winners here (out of a huge batch of winners) are Saul Williams, DJ Vadim, DJ Food, and Roots Manuva.

All in all, a great compilation of innovative hip-hop/techno/trip-hop. The only drawback is there's so much here it may be overwhelming!

Ahhh...Ninja Tune...purveyors of atmospheric beats, mad samples, and numerous flavors of abstraction. The Ninja crew has had a major hand in redefining conventional views of hip-hop and jazz, and with Xen Cuts they prove that they are once again without peer. This diverse collection beautifully displays all aspects of the genre-bending Ninja sound, all in the space of about two hours...and there is very little redundancy to be found here. Even hardcore Ninjas will be hard-pressed to find many of these tracks already in their collection. There are some new/exclusive tunes here, but most seem to have been purloined from the massive Ninja backcatalogue of now-OOP singles and LPs, which is fortunate for both the many who haven't yet been exposed to Ninja Tune, and for the completists whose palates are in desperate need of satiation. In addition, the included booklet is well-assembled, and features an extensive, often humorous history of the label, album cover-adorned pages, and a complete discography of every artist on the Ninja Tune, N-Tone, and Big Dada labels. I was hoping for some mention of Ninja's occassional partners-in-stealth, Shadow Records; however, this is a minor omission. The Cuts are broken up into three discs: Disc 1 is mostly hip-hop/MC oriented, Disc 2 embraces the jazzier, more instrumental side of Ninja, and Disc 3 features a mix of unreleased mixes and rare tracks (by the way, track 15 is not credited on the packaging). The highlights of this release? Well, there are 47 of them, so take your pick. Do not hesitate, young grasshopper...

This is my best music purchase ever. Yeah that sounds a bit much but look at what you get for the price! I don't know of any other box set that's as inexpensive as this. Thank you Ninja Tunes.

It brakes down like this, the first cd has mostly hip hop, the second cd has a lot of jazzy hits, and the last cd called "Missed, Flipped & Skipped" is my favorite filled with unbelieviable beats for your head. I have not stopped listening to this cd set yet. It truly has something in it for everyone. Jazz appreciation and experimental electronic music are a big part of this album. If you get it I guarantee you won't be dissapointed (and guarantee is a strong word).

Xen Cuts is basically a compilation of music from different musicians from the Big Dada and Ninjatune label. It's a great showcase of all the labels have to offer and is almost like like gourmet dish of different foods to sample before you decide to buy them on your own. The tracks range from trip hop to hard acid jazz (I love Clifford Gilberto's tracks) and some lyrically sound hip hop tracks. With as many musicians as they have, a lot of the tracks are well done. Granted, I would be hard pressed to find all the tracks appealing, the ones that are give birth to a sense of style that each of the musicians have thoroughly developed through the years and deserve the recognition that they get for their respective genres.
The hip hop tracks are nicely done, the Big Dada Sound track is a highlight just because it features some big name (well, relatively speaking) that all collaborate on one track. It's the perfect high-bass track for any bloke rolling out on the town one evening. The acid jazz tracks are spectacular, especially the clifford gilberto. The tracks leave you drenched in saturation, and push you towards the epiphany of "This is *real* acid jazz". The drum n bass tracks are alright, besides Amon Tobin, it's not really a genre that the labels are known for producing, but some of the d n b tracks are enjoyable. Overall, there are some tracks that pale, while others that embody their respective genre in full. But for the price, it's all good.

Okay... Fully aware that this is a "10 Year Anniversary / Best Of" compilation and all that... But it is 100% essential. While I was disappointed that this set was not mixed, I won't drop stars over it.

For those unfamiliar with the works kicked out by the various Ninja Tune artists: This is as good of a place as any. The included booklet will give you the low-down on the label's history and the CD's feature the eclectic sounds being dropped by the various producers, artists, DJs, and madmen that are all affiliated with the nebulous and at-time-enigmatic Ninja Tune.

Like jazz? Check it out. Hip hop? Check it out. Trip hop? Check it out. Drum & bass? Check it out. There's such an array of styles in here. But as far as being a "best of" --- well, for once someone delivers on that promise. This truly is the best of what Ninja Tune has to offer. Perhaps a little more Coldcut, but with so many artists...

This CD set probably has the largest range of sheer music styles that I have ever heard. I saw this in a record store and it looked promising when I saw the highlight names on the back (Koala, Coldcut,Food, Herbaliser), but I had no idea what I was really buying. There really is something for everybody. If you feel like kickin it old school with the homies, first disc has sweet hip hop beats and subtle turntablism that just about anyone who's remotely on the scene can appreciate and grow to love. Incidentally, Kid Koala's track on CD1 has broken more of my friends into the scene than any other. The 2nd CD showcases the slower, more moody side of Ninja, with Amon Tobin making a big showing, as well as Funki Porcini and DJ Food making great contributions. The 3rd CD is just craziness...all sorts of great songs that don't fall under any particular category, but all top notch. And the thing that really hit me was despite the scope of the CD and the amount of artists involved, it is more consistent in quality than almost any other album I've bought, ever. Out of the whole set of 40-something tracks, there are only 3 or 4 that I feel like skipping over, and even then it's just becuase they are like a 9 out of 10 instead of straight awesome. This CD is a definite pickup, I've bought maybe 8 CDs from Ninja since I bought this 2 months ago, and I'm just getting started. In short: Top quality, huge quantity, something for everybody. Get it now.

First of all, I run out of stars. This tripple album is definitely a worthy follow-up to the earlier Ninja Tune compilations. The first cd is mostly hiphop, but then refreshing, new and daring (like hiphop supposed to be). The 2nd and 3rd cd show a wide variety of subtle breaks, chilling grooves, spiced with latin beats. Artists like Amon Tobin take sampling to a higher ground. Ninja Tune shows the best of both worlds: good tracks and good artists. This collection is an impressive showcase of a label that luckily does not travel the well-known. If you want a headtrip, do yourself a favour: buy the cd.

For 17.99, you get 3 CD's with 77 minutes of music on each one.How's that for spectacular? I really enjoy this compilation because it stands apart from other recent comps I've bought from Warp and Matador.There is an element of class with Ninja Tune that you just don't find elsewhere.There's not a song on here that disintegrates into unlistenable white noise.It's all..groovy.The first and third discs are kinda street, kinda hip-hop.The second one is jazzy, serious seduction music.Nothing reeks of cheese, though, surprisingly, Luke Vibert's "I Hear A Drummer" might be the most whack cut in the whole box.Coldcut, Saul Williams, DJ Food Feat. Ken Nordine and Clifford Gilberto all have amazing tracks.Kid Koala kills.Insanely consistent and very educational.

Sit up and take note James lavelle, ninja tunes have been doing it longer and better than mo'wax, so, they might not have the backing of trendy japanese t-shirt manufacturers but they can release quality tunes time and time again, as this compilation testifies. Xen cuts is like a katana to the throat of all trip-hop/hip-hop pretenders. Buy it so you can say you were down, even if you weren't. Nobody, but nobody should sleep on this. It's like moon rock or something, you'll be buying a piece of history.