Today's feature - a few of my favorite Ninja Tune label releases and other records with a nu-jazz air about them.
Cinematic Orchestra's Motion is a magnificent and atmospheric record. Their work is an excellent blend of live jazz improvisation and downtempo electronica.
DJ Food's Kaleidoscope is the best of his earlier works and features Ken Nordine doing his trademark jazzy spoken word routine.
DJ Food & Amorphous Androgynous's The Illectrik Hoax is an energetic and electrically-charged work of 60s psychedelia blended with turn-of-the-century turntablism - a really unique piece.
St Germain's Tourist is a modern nu-jazz classic on the Blue Note label. Highlights include "Rose Rouge" and "So Flute".
Bonobo's Black Sands is the favorite of the set - a brilliant and cohesive collection of downtempo, jazz-tinged mood music which is equally enjoyable in the foreground or as a sonic wallpaper.
And Skalpel's self-titled record is another highlight from the Ninja Tune label. Skalpel seamlessly blends loops of various Polish jazz unknowns into a classy and enjoyable record - the sort of sound you'd expect to hear in a hip cafe in Ibiza circa 2004. But the album has stood the test of the decade since and still sounds fresh and lively today.
