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Going It Alone By Chase Hoffberger become trendy," says Waye. "We'll stupidly get at it before it has the chance to put its head up its own ass, and a lot of times we won't get to reap its rewards. But at the same time, that's allowed us to survive. We don't ever get too pigeonholed to something, so we're not tied to it when we want to do something else." Just like the label's penchant for staying ahead of the musical curve, Ninja Tune Records' inception came long before it was trendy for such a thing to exist. London-based DJs Johnathan More and Matt Antipop Consortium Coldcut A Let Us Play: Ninja Tune Celebrates fter 14 years pushing the electronic and alternative hip-hop envelope, Ninja Tune's Jeff Waye has no trouble explaining his innovative label's two decades of success. "We've always been good at being in on things that to stay true to being an independent label that doesn't mess with people and does the best we can. And that's helped us become a pretty large international company with some good success, considering this day and age where success isn't what it used to be." One benefit of success is that Ninja Tune now has the freedom to release a wider array of musical styles. As Waye suggests, "Eventually you're just known for being a good label. You're recognized for quality instead of being known for one sound." In Ninja Tune's case, the label has been able to shift its focus from underground hip-hop to a roster that now includes such groups as Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra and British neo-soulsters The Heavy. Jammer "That's the attitude of all the major players at the label. We just want Black, known together as Coldcut, grew fed up with their situation at Arista Records and decided to take matters into their own hands. They launched Ninja Tune in 1990, turning a blind eye to the longstanding belief that artists perform and businessmen handle the books. "Very early on they were the ones behind most of the projects," remembers Waye, who heads up the label's Montreal office, which opened in 1996. "We had a fairly wide roster, but if you looked at all the fine print, they were usually the guys behind it. They had a few pseudonyms, and they'd pull in friends and acquaintances who were also looking for a better way to do it." What evolved was a label in prime position to take advantage of the electronic and alternative hip-hop boom of the mid-to-late 1990s. Currently, the Ninja Tune Empire has three offices worldwide (a London office that houses all marketing and promotions opened in the spring of 2009) and operates three different imprints – Ninja Tune, Big Dada and Counter Records. Waye suggests the label's success can be attributed to the fact that it has never lost sight of its original ideals: "As much as we're smart busi- ness people, we're all still here because we really like music. We all do okay by independent standards, but I could probably make three times more with the skill set I have if I actually wanted to get a job. 54 SXSW ORLD / F EBRUAR Y 2010 funk and soul, early hip-hop and electronic music," says Waye. "But that doesn't apply to someone like Ape School or The Death Set. That stuff's more post-punk, early punk." That said, there is still a great deal of alternative hip-hop to be found "Ninety percent of the roster shares at least a common interest in on the Ninja Tune roster. Waye considers Ghistlain Poirier and Antipop Consortium (both of whom he expects to serve as the label's headliners when Ninja Tune showcases at this year's SXSW) to be two of the label's finest young talents. He is quick to add that the label just recently released "Party Animal," the newest single from U.K. grime rapper Jammer. "Ghislain's been all over the world over the past year. He played in front of 5,000 people in Mexico recently, and we just had the Bridge Burner party up here in Montreal that drew another 5,000," he explains. "He's been building a solid base over the past year. And Antipop's always been considered some of the forerunners of leftfield hip-hop, so we're excited to bring those guys down to Austin this year." Others on the SXSW docket include Texas' Yppah and DMG$, the Death Set and Los Angeles DJ Daedelus. Expect surprises. Ninja Tune has never been one to stay the common course. n Check my.sxsw.com for details on Ninja Tune's artists at SXSW Music.

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