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).
It's a busy week for celebrations and, indeed, for Dalston. On Thursday night Roots, Wrongtom, Ricky Ranking, the legendary Don Letts and Photomachine will be seeing 'Duppy Writer' off out into the world at The Alibi, 91 Kingsland High Street E8 2PB. The night will run from 8pm until 3am, it's free entry and the place is really quite small, so please get there ridiculously early or stand around outside feeling vexed. The choice is yours....
07.09.10Ninja Tune XX Pop-Up Shop
Come to the Ninja Tune XX '20 Years of Beats & Pieces' exhibition this Saturday and browse a special pop-up shop with handpicked items from the Ninjashop. From 12-5pm, free entry.
Black Dog Space 10a Acton Street London WC1X 9NG
06.09.10Ninja Tune exhibition at the AB restaurant in Brussels
Didn't get a ticket to the (sold out!) Ninja Tune XX show at Ancienne Belgique - AB? Want to celebrate the label's anniversary?
Get your ass down to the AB Resto and see some of the best Ninja Tune artwork, chosen by the London crew themselves.
05.09.10Eskmo - Cloudlight
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.
