Ninja Tuna

Released on Friday 29th March, the brilliant Ninja Tuna is the latest Mr. Scruff album to get a fancy makeover. Originally released as a CD in 2008 it’s now available for the first time on vinyl as a deluxe triple LP with bonus tracks, pressed on biovinyl with an “infinity peelable” tuna sticker on the cover.

“Everything came together really well for this album,” reflects Scruff looking back fondly at the times spent composing and recording Ninja Tuna. “Some amazing collaborators (Roots Manuva, Andreya Triana, Alice Russell, Quantic, Danny Breaks, Skuff & Inja, Pete Simpson, Jon Thorne and Kaidi Tatham), old friends in the studio (multi-instrumentalist Andy Kingslow and my long time engineer Phil Kirby), and fat sonics that took the chunky and playful spirit of my early productions forward. We were on a roll and recorded enough material for a full album and a bonus CD. ‘Kalimba’ was a surprise success after being included on the Windows 7 music (thus intruducing many new ears to my music), and ‘Music Takes Me Up’ has been a highlight of my DJ sets since its release. Though many 12” singles were released, the album never came out on vinyl. 15 years later, I am really happy that it is finally getting a hefty triple vinyl release.”

Bolstering this new 3LP edition are no less than 6 bonus tracks. The record opens with an extended version of ‘Test The Sound’ and also included are the delightfully squelchy and functional instrumental of Scruff’s ‘Nice Up The Function’ remix, the glorious 10+min keyboard workout that is ‘Bunch of Keys’ (featuring Mssrs. Kaidi Tatham and Andy Kingslow on outstanding form), plus ‘Rocking Chair’, ‘Fix That Speaker’ and ‘Zen’ featuring UK rap mainstays Skuff and Inja.

Released: March 2024
Cat: ZEN143
Label: Ninja Tune

Listen

Tracklist

A1. Test The Sound (Extended Version)
A2. Music Takes Me Up (with Alice Russell)
A3. Donkey Ride (with Quantic)

B1. Hairy Bumpercress
B2. Whiplash
B3. Nice Up The Function (with Roots Manuva)

C1. Bang The Floor (with Danny Breaks)
C2. Get On Down
C3. Hold On (with Andreya Triana)

D1. Give Up To Get
D2. Kalimba
D3. Zen (with Skuff & Inja)

E1. This Way (with Pete Simpson)
E2. Stockport Carnival
E3. Fix That Speaker

F1. Bunch of Keys (LP Edit)
F2. Rocking Chair
F3. Nice Up The Function (Remix Instrumental)