Various Artists - Zen (32 tracks) +Album Reviews

Short changed

R. Solomon | New Zealand | 11/01/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I never thought i'd pen something negative about Ninja Tune but I have some issues with this 'retrospective'.

But before I get all annoying-pedantic-reviewer, let me clarify. The music on this compilation is fantastic. No qualms about it in the slightest. Ninja Tune has and continues to release some of the most interesting music around (i.e Fog, Sixtoo, Coldcut)and through the Big Dada label. If you don't know anything about this label then this is a good place to start.

However if you've got an interest in this label, even half-hearted then this retrospective compilation may come as a dissapointment. These are my two issues.

1- The track selection. At least 6 of the tracks on this album can be found on three other ninja tune compliations: Funkjazztical, Flexistentialism and Funkungfusion, all great compilations in their own right. BUT I feel short chaged, pulling tunes of already on compliations when there's such a great ninja catalogue, come on. I mean this label is renowned for its selections, its diversity etc...I just don't think they've done justice to their history.Which leads me to the second criticism.

2- Artist representation: No Cujo, Roots Manuva, DJ Krush, Fog, Flanger etc...Where are these names??? What about the Big Dada stuff, where is it?

Maybe I'm being an anally retentive prick who should have looked at the track listing before I spent New Zealand $49 on a CD. But the fact of the matter is I think they didn't put much thought into this retrospective.

Aside from the fact that any retrospective is going to be contentious and problematic, I feel Ninja Tune chose an easy way out with this CD. Retrospectives are like those 'greatest hits' albums that always miss that KEY tune YOU thought was the greatest/ most under appreciated. They've always got problems but not getting tracks of other compliations, missing out a huge variety of artists and having two or three songs from the same albums....come one guys you can do much better than this."

Inspecting the Past

clove_112 | Canada | 05/14/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"So after defining itself as one of the preeminent electronic music labels of the past 10 years, Ninja Tune has now felt compelled to release a compilation that reads as an aural history of its best moments. And they are here, ranging from the bedlam compositions of Coldcut ("Atomic Moog 2000") to the stilted breakbeat funk of Luke Vibert ("Get Your Head Down"). These are some of the label's most accessible tracks, packaged here in a handy set that you can put on and not worry about any filler getting in the way of your next dance function. Check out Mr. Scruff's "Sweetsmoke", a swerving stop-start beat replete with 80s-inflected pop horn samples - if your mates aren't getting down to this, they're spending too much time checking out your silverware. Also nice is the inclusion of a Bonobo track, "Pickup", which gives the jazz headz their fill of fluted bluntedness. If you grab this, and you're a completist like me, you'll also want to get the companion DVD and remix collection as well."

Alarming lack of reviews for this one...

Tim Fawcett | Nagano, Japan | 04/02/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"so feel obliged to add one. Very tight and imaginative electonica and breaks; the finest of the ninja tune label on two tidy cd`s. If you`re even reading this then there`s bound to be something on here that you like and you`ve never heard anything like before. Genres get annhilatled and blended to perfection with none of the patchy lack of quality that you`d expect from such an ambitious compilation. This is very strong make no doubt about it. The feeling for me is that of a very groovy party, the kind where every tune interests but few are familiar. Play this when your mates are round and sit back while they admire your good taste!"

If you're a Fan of the 'Ninja Tune' Label, this is an absolu

fetish_2000 | U.K. | 09/09/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Ninja Tune label surely must be one of the premier labels, when it comes to the genre of "Trip-Hop / Electronica". Their list of artists are not only wide ranging, but also contain a extremely consistant selection of artists, that have been at the forefront of the evolution of the electronic scene. And although this compilation probably could have benefited from being released a few years back, when the electronic scene was arguably a little bit stronger back then. Not this will most deter most people, as anyone that (like myself), has been a long-term committed follower of the label, will investigate their releases regardless of what music genre is currently in fashion or flavour of the month. What this 2-CD retrospective beautifully illustrates, is the broad range of artists on the label, and (more importantly) being the perfect sampler of the label work, and brings anyone new to the label up to speed.

Disc 1:

Both discs are arguably as strong as each other, with the first disc kicking off with the eerie, freewheeling nocturnal breaks of "Dj Food's - Dark Lady", after which the textural organics and almost ambient melodies of "Bonobo's - Pick up", perfectly compliment. Amon tobin pefers to favour tougher sounding, moody breakbeats on his track "Get Your Snack On" which is a musical highlight. And then its time for some deft turntable trickier, with a healthy dose of humour....does the idea of spinning a hip-hop flavoured track, mixed with vintage Jazz sound odd??, well...you've just imagined "Kid Koala's" superb "Skanky Panky". Luke Vibert usually known for his spacey good natured electronica, delivers a slight change of pace, with one of my favourite tracks, the harsh, almost jungle/breakbeat sounding, tough B-boy stance of "Get Your Head Down". "Coldcut's" first entry on this disk is the stuttering Trip-Hop of "Timber" that clevers uses a female chant & a chainsaw sample to brilliant effect. Next, is the exceptional, sprawling Jazz-electronic fusion, that manages to encompass 'Downbeat, soundtrack music & trip-hop', and somehow incorporates Jazz singing, this would be the work of "Cinematic Orchestra's - All That You Give", whom are amongst my personal favourites on the label (**to be completely honest, pretty much all the artists here, are personal favourites of mine!!!**), before rounding out the disk with the lush downtempo breaks and smooth ambience of "Funki Porcini - Long Road".

Disc 2

Moves in pretty much the same manner as the first disk with a couple of artists that aren't on the first disk. "Coldcut" start this disk with the glorious Cut 'N' Paste of their "More Beats & Pieces", which constructs a track purely from sampled beats and various diagloue snippets. Hip-Hop makes an aggressive play, with the sparse musical throwdown, that is the ominous underground rap sound, of "Dj Vadim's" incredible "Terrorist" track. More energetic turntable trickery is the order of the day, with "Kid Koala's" campy & downright enjoyably silly "Fender Bender" which subtly changes the mood. "Dj Vadim" gets another flip of the coin, with the 'Sarah Jones' voiced pro-female spoken-word of "Your Revolution", that pours stinging scourn, on wannabe 'Players'. The Carefree and trippy outlandish sound of "Mr Scruff's - Shrimp" takes all liberties with creative sampling, and sounds more like warped 70's electronic funk, than Trip-Hop. "The Herbaliser" takes his style of 70's referencing Soul-Jazz Hip-Hop, and comes up looking good, with strong instrumentation, to create "The Blend". "Up Bustle & Out" can always be relied up to deliver tracks that take elements of Cuban/Latin music, and fuse it with current electronica, to sublime effect. To make a sort of World-Fusion hybrid, and they don't disappoint with the experimental hip-hop groove of "Aqui No Ma". "The Cinematic Orchestra" return to with their epic sounding orchestrated "Channel 1 Suite", which is by turns lush, edgy & expansive, and takes the improvisational energy of jazz, to create something truly beautiful sounding. "Jaga Jazzist" only features once on this compilation, so picking a good track to represent their sound is a must....thankfully they've chossen the brilliant "Lithuania" to illustrate that point. mixing Nu-breaks with progressive-Jazz, you'd be hard pushed to find a more ambitious and enigmatic artist reworking the structure of electronic jazz, than these guys. "Funki Porcini's - Purrfect", shows their flare for quietly dramatic combination of soft, murky beats, and slow tempo pacing. And finally ending the second disk is the epansive and celebatory Hip-Hop soul, of "The Herbaliser" breathtaking female vocal inspired "Something Wicked".

And so there you have it!!!, a compilation that cherry picks, 2 Disks worth of material from the considerable back catalouge of tracks that the label has to choose from. And in instances like this, it's important to remember that there are always going to be tracks that you felt deserved inclusion but didn't make it. (personally speaking I wish there were several tracks that had made it), but then I strongly believe that this retrospective isn't aimed at those of us that are 'Hardcore fans' (you know, who you are!!!), and is indeed intend for those new to the label, or only have a couple of albums by the label. I must admit that I probably have about 96%, of the tracks on this retrospective, and several tracks have indeed been on previous Ninja tune compilations. But its still fantastic hearing them all in one place. And to be honest if your a hardcore fan, thats what the "Zen Remixes" release is for. Everyone else really should be seeking out this tremendous compilation....the track selection is incredibly well chosen, with a impressive amount of tracks, it's also very reasonably priced, and arguably is one of the best introductions, I can think of, for getting to grips with one of Electronic music most regarded labels. Essential!!!"

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