Ninja Tune 黑胶唱片和CD

Review: A decade after Blockhead dropped his seminal Interludes After Midnight album it gets a deserving reissue on Ninja Tune. Blockhead is of course an alias of the revered New York producer Tony Simon who is reissuing all his albums at the moment. This one set a blueprint for the broken beat and nu jazz scene, with elements of trip hop and downtempo also colouring the grooves. Some tunes like 'Never Forget Your Token' have a Latin feel thanks to the keys and breaks, others are more psyched out late night store jams like 'Hungover Like Woah.' All are great.

Review: Metronomy mark their signing to Ninja Tune with a new single that comes not long after their Posse EP Volume 1, a collection of tunes all made in collaboration with up-and-coming artists like Biig Piig, Spill Tab, Sorry, Brian Nasty and Folly Group. This one is another collaboration, this time with Pam Amsterdam. 'Nice Town' deals with the lead singer's own battles such as "internal versus the external or, intangible versus the tangible." It is a delightfully snappy dance-pop ditty with great and tight synth sequences, old-school rap vocals and nice broken early electro beats. Metronomy and Alain Ogue add their own remixes to a great label debut.

Review: Jordan Rakei is a real poster boy for the current neo-soul scene. New Zealand-born, Australia-raised artist is hugely popular here in his adopted homeland of the UK, not least because of how much great music he puts out at a regular rate. This is his fourth album in five years - third on Ninja Tune - and he's also turned out a lush entry into the Late Night Tales series. His soulful tones remain a delight on these tracks, which feature elements of dub, house, and dub as well as his aching vocals and fine songwriting. The mood is the most vulnerable yet as a result of things he learnt about himself during therapy over the last two years. Dive in deep.

Review: After Sampa's magic debut album it makes sense she's been signed by Ninja Tune for a follow up. Once again here the Zambian-born Australian singer-songwriter and rapper is in excellent form, delivering slick, complex verses that she says are "the most me to date". Exploring notions of race and relationships, amongst other things, her voice is couched in gorgeous broken beat, hip hop and r&b production. Highlights are plentiful throughout - "OMG" is a funky afro beat, "Any Day" is neo soul in the mould of Erykah Badu and "Final Form" is a trumpet lead, warrior queen anthem to get your chest pumping. Essential.

Review: With their Mercury-winning 2014 debut 'Dead', Edinburgh trio Young Fathers set the bar high for themselves, which they met with 2015's follow-up 'White Men Are Black Men Too', and continue to do so with new album 'Cocoa Sugar'. Their third record isn't as brash and in-your-face as their previous two, but that's not to say that this any less impactful, instead 'Cocoa Sugar' is a stripped back, concentrated The group have a unique ability in that they can draw elements from a range of genres, with an outcome sounding in a class of its own and tantalisingly hard to define. Also, in their use off-kilter loops, gospel-esque vocals, haunting samples and breakneck speed verses, Young Fathers create dualities and contrasts that playfully subvert. Tracks like 'See How', 'In My View' and 'Lord' appear to tread into joyous and cathartic pop territory, before being pinned down by unnerving scraping samples and dissonant synthesis. It's these intelligently executed sonics and structures that make 'Cocoa Sugar' an addictive, thrilling and beguiling listen.

Review: Five years on since their last, Young Fathers are finally back with their fourth album (if you don't include their introductory mixtapes Tape One and Tape Two). Heavy Heavy finds the trio of Alloysious Massaquoi, Kayus Bankole and G. Hastings embracing a back to basics approach formed around working in their own basement studio, keeping the equipment turned on and allowing the ideas to flow freely. Cherry picking the most fruitful moments from these extended sessions has resulted in a striking, invigorating album which bursts forth with the opening salvo of 'Rice' and 'I Saw', clutching you tight and not letting go for the duration of the album. It's been worth the wait.