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Review: Jack Foley
JAPANESE turntablist DJ Kentaro was first introduced to the Ninja
Tune label when he won the 2002 DMC World Championship title with
the most perfect score ever in DMC world history.
The creative DJ was noted for a set of pure innovation, blending
hip hop with reggae, drum & bass, house and electro in blistering
fashion.
It seemed only natural that DJ Kentaro would therefore be asked
by Ninja to provide a mix of its back catalogue for the label's
Solid Steel series - and he has obliged in breathtaking fashion.
On The Wheels of Solid Steel provides a mouthwatering
showcase of Kentaro's talent - not just with the decks, but also
in VJ form, given that it also includes a DVD that shows his impeccable
VJ skills as well.
On the CD, however, Ninja fans are sure to marvel at Kentaro's
work with the likes of DJ Vadim's The Terrorist and Coldcut's
Give It Up, which blends seemlessly into Pest's Heard
Yer Bird Moved In.
Listening to his breakneck work, it's easy to hear why Kentaro
is hailed as a 'mad dexterous surgeon' for the way in which he
slices and dices the music, providing a quality mix that would
go down a storm at any hip party (and we're not talking the sort
at which Kylie or Abba would be played!!).
In Kentaro's homeland, this album has already sold 15,000 copies
since its release in December 2004 and word of mouth made it impossible
for Ninja not to release it world-wide - especially in light of
blistering DJ sets at the likes of Cargo and Homelands.
The result is a blast - a heady mix that takes some choice cuts
from the Ninja record collection and spins them in all manner
of different directions.
Expect to hear the likes of Jaga Jazzist, Wagon Christ, DJ Food,
Funki Porcini and The Herbaliser tossed in, providing many familiar
highlights for the Ninja fraternity.
And to make this work all the more essential, the two-hour DVD
includes a mixture of live footage and animation (some of it 'visuscratched'
by Kentaro himself), that provides an audiovisual treat for the
more extravagant party-goer.
Ninja fans can't fail to be impressed while Kentaro is certain
to acquire a whole new fanbase.
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