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CD Review by Rob Faust VARIOUS ARTISTS Xen Cuts Ninjatune Records · A 10-year retrospective box set of groundbreaking music for beat junkies. For all those who recently got on the program with Ninjatune or who never collected every single and b-side, this one is for you. On Xen Cuts, Ninja pulls together all manner of singles from its 10 year history, leaving out some crucial tracks but aiming for an all inclusive historical romp through a three CD set of zen trickery. On the set, 17 tracks appear for the the first time alongside 12 reissued tracks of rare material, formerly available only as singles. There’s also a disc dedicated to some of the overlooked elements of the Ninja crew. As with most Ninjatune compilations, this is an excellent cross-section of material from a label that has almost single-handedly defined the genre, specifically leftfield and (for lack of a better term) trip hop, while also honing a sound that is distinctly Ninja. Sixty-five albums later, this label proves its staying power at constant intervals, always reinventing the way most of us hear this music. Better than a greatest hits package, this is a collection that highlights the fact that this music does have staying power, probably more then even label founder Matt Black would have envisioned. 5/5

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