One of the UK's most respected record labels, Ninja Tune, was conceived in 1990 by pioneering hip-hop duo Coldcut. Inspired during a visit to Japan, Matt Black & Jonathan More decided to start releasing music on their own imprint - music that was free from the constraints placed on artists by major labels - and giving their acts the creative freedom they deserved.
Nearly 20 years on, and Ninja Tune (now joined by its hip-hop and rock brothers Big Dada and Counter, respectively) continues to release some of the most groundbreaking and eclectic music known to ANYONE'S ears. The three labels are refreshingly self-sufficient, coming together as a massive collective of music listeners and collectors just putting out what they think sounds good.
We think it sounds good too. So much so, that Urban Amplified have got together with the Ninja collective to offer up this awesome package of videos, free downloads and a selection of albums for you to buy and download in high quality MP3 format.
We're also giving four lucky readers the chance to win a frankly brilliant Ninja Tune goodie bag, containing all manner of Ninja merch - posters, t-shirts and your very own copy of the sensational 3CD retrospective compilation 'You Don't Know', which displays the breadth of Ninja's releases with the sheer ambition and diversity of the three labels' rosters.
For more information on Ninja Tune and their artists, you can visit their website at www.ninjatune.net or their MySpace page at www.myspace.com/ninjatune.