Tag Archives: Ninja Tune

New music – Bonobo: Expander (Ninja Tune)

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published by Ben Hogwood, with text appropriated from the press release

Released on Ninja Tune, Expander cuts a slice of unmistakable Bonobo, deftly weaving organic vocals and instrumentation with peak-time dance-floor sensibilities that set it up to become one of the songs of the summer. Following his recent roadblock set on Glastonbury’s LEVELS stage, numerous clips of the unreleased track begin circulating online, with fans clamouring for an ID.

The track is already a staple at his legendary OUTLIER sets, an event series curated by Bonobo which shows his continued influence as a DJ and also the reverence a new generation of artists hold for his own releases. Joining him on DJ line ups over the last year have included Barry Can’t Swim, DJ Koze, Sofia Kourtesis, salute, Kelly Lee Owens, Mall Grab, DJ Tennis, Dixon, TSHA, SG Lewis, Young Marco, Kerri Chandler, Carlita, Elkka, HAAi, John Talabot, Paula Tape amongst others. The 15,000 capacity event at Drumsheds in London was the fastest selling event of the season. Bonobo also recently played “Expander’ when going b2b with Disclosure at their Friends & Family pop-up in LA.

Expander sees Bonobo continue his stellar run of heavier, club-inspired tracks released in between albums. Following, as it does, his 2022 singles Defender and ATK, the subsequent single Fold — a collaboration with Jacques Green — and 2020’s anthemic NYC disco-inspired Heartbreak 12” with Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs.

Published post no.2,271 – Thursday 15 August 2024

New music – Floating Points: Del Oro (Ninja Tune)

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by Ben Hogwood

Floating Points, aka Sam Shepherd, has today shared a new single, Del Oro, which is out now via Ninja Tune.

With a busy summer of live appearances ahead, Shepherd is following up the energetic Birth4000 from last year with a single that has some of the Floating Points hallmarks. Beat driven and busy, Del Oro progresses between minimal beats and shimmering motifs, while never taking its eyes off the dancefloor.

As with Birth4000, ‘Del Oro”s artwork comes from Tokyo based artist Akiko Nakayama. In the words of Shepherd’s press release, “Nakayama brings her painting to life using vibrant, brilliant liquids that combine and wash away, meant to represent the natural growth, change and life cycle of all things on earth. Nakayama worked alongside long-time Floating Points collaborators Hamill Industries to create the “Alive Painting” to accompany the track”…which you can watch here:

Shepherd will be playing a number of dates throughout the summer including We Out Here Festival in Wimborne (16 August), London’s All Points East (23 August), Lost Village Festival in Lincoln (24 August) and Forwards Festival at Bristol (31 August)

Published post no.2,199 – Tuesday 4 June 2024

Switched On – Machinedrum: 3FOR82 (Ninja Tune)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Travis Stewart releases his 11th album under the Machinedrum alias, a work that began on his 41st birthday when he took a trip to the Joshua Tree National Park in California. There the thought process towards this 12-track opus began; 12 tracks that include a whole host of collaborators.

It traverses a wide range of speeds and styles in the company of Jesse Boykins III, a close friend and the album’s producer, while the vocal roster includes Tinashe, KUČKA, Duckwrth, AKTHESAVIOR, Mick Jenkins, Ezri, Tanerélle, Deniro Farrar, Topaz Jones, deem spencer, aja monet, ROZET, Will Johnson and Ian Maciak.

What’s the music like?

This is a pretty hectic album, in a good way. There is a great deal going on in a short space of time, Machinedrum packing most tracks into three minutes or less. He does this by getting straight to the point with his beat work and lyrics.

It proves to be a thrilling ride, especially on tracks such as ILIKEU, with its appealing bumpy garage, the bassy RESPEK, and the helium-inflected vocals of KUČKA, who brings euphoria to the quickfire beats of U_WANT.

The lyrical observations are pertinent, too – especially WEARY’s observation from Mick Jenkins that “I don’t see too much backbone these days”.

There are vibrant rhythms throughout, as Machinedrum moves between drum & bass, hip hop, R&B and quickfire house, and this stylistic melting pot comes to a head on tracks like Zoom, where the heady production is complemented by brilliant vocals by Tinashe.

Does it all work?

It does – and if anything it’s all over a bit too soon, as the 12 tracks whizz by in a euphoric blur.

Is it recommended?

Yes. 3FOR82 is a thrilling ride through the mind of Machinedrum, who manages to keep all his collaborators true to his own musical identity. This particular melting pot serves up a rewarding musical dish.

Listen & Buy

Published post no.2,196 – Saturday 1 June 2024

Let’s Dance – I. JORDAN: I AM JORDAN (Ninja Tune)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

I AM JORDAN is a celebration. I. JORDAN, real name Jordan Tek, has written this 10-track album as a dance music diary, a celebration of ‘collective ecstasy as a mode of self-discovery’.

It expresses “joy as a trans person, and trans joy generally, working with trans people, making all this fun music together”.

What’s the music like?

Without overusing the word, this is a joyful piece of work. I. JORDAN certainly knows how to get people up and dancing, and does so in a distinctive way that immediately lets the listener know who is involved. This is fundamentally house music, but making use of a number of other different styles, covering trance, a splash of hardcore and a touch of garage to make its point.

It’s also very cleverly crafted. The intro and outro work perfectly, raising the expectations (When Lights Flash) and bringing us back down to earth (Rapt Finis) In between, the highs include Real Hot n Naughty, featuring Felix Mufti, Casino High and The Countdown, each of them using the first principles of house music with nippy beats, clever riffs and clipped percussion. The rolling beats and bass of Butterlick, featuring Sister Zo, are also a treat.

Meanwhile the more introspective tracks, Reification and Pathetic Fallacy and People Want Nice Things, also work a treat, the latter setting flickers of treble against thick bass notes.

Does it all work?

It does – and with the guest artists, I AM JORDAN feels like a communal album, not just the product of one creative mind.

Is it recommended?

Enthusiastically. I. JORDAN have made a hugely uplifting dance music document, one that makes you smile pretty much as soon as you start listening. When it sets you down in a heap some 45 minutes later, there is the sort of satisfaction you get after a night on the dancefloor. Job done.

Listen & Buy

Published post no.2,193 – Wednesday 29 May 2024

Switched On: Forest Swords – Bolted (Ninja Tune)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Six years on from Compassion, his debut release for Ninja Tune, Matthew Barnes returns under his Forest Swords moniker for a powerful follow-up. The intervening period has seen him working on commissions writing music for film, ballet and video games – but as listeners will discover from his second album, Barnes continues to take a bold approach to his work.

Bolted was recorded in Barnes’ home city of Liverpool, in a warehouse space – and it includes singles The Low and Butterfly Effect.

What’s the music like?

Expansive. The Forest Swords sound world is one with wide, panoramic views that are especially effective on headphones. Big, reverberant beats and synths are complemented by vocals that are deliberately treated, sometimes warped to blend in with their surroundings as they are on End or brought to the front for maximum effect, as they are on the powerful Line Gone Cold, an epic and emotive piece of work that closes the album.

Often it feels like Barnes’s music is telling the story of an industrial process, with the clanging of percussion in Rubble a working example. Butterfly Effect has rolling beats like a pinball machine but with widescreen synths out front, while Tar sounds like an old, distorted squeezebox pressed into action at short notice. Night Sculpture, an impressive construction, is dominated by a bold melodic chime and is typical of an ability to paint vivid and meaningful pictures in sound.

Does it all work?

It does. Forest Swords stands for distinctive, evocative music that draws from the past – 1980s acts such as Cabaret Voltaire could be mentioned – but also feels part of the future.

Is it recommended?

Yes. This is a bold, striking album that repays repeated exploration.

Listen

Buy

Published post no.2,004 – Thursday 9 November 2023