Ninja Tune celebrates its 20th anniversary this year with the release of a “big-as-big-bollocks” box set entitled Ninja Tune XX.

The label was founded in 1990 by Jonathan More and Matt Black, AKA Coldcut, who were “sick of major label bullshit” after working with pop acts like Yazz and Lisa Stansfield. Before long Ninja had established itself as one of the most recognisable and successful independents in the post-rave UK underground, its aesthetic rooted firmly in sampladelic hip-hop and downbeat. Over the years it has provided a home for artists such as Amon Tobin, Kid Koala, Mr Scruff, Daedalus, Jaga Jazzist, Ghislain Poirier and The Cinematic Orchestra.

September 20 will see the release of the Ninja Tune XX box set, with artwork by long-time Ninja designer Openmind, and comprised of three hardcover cases in a hardback box “all beautifully made and with foil-blocked text and loveliness”. Case 1 will include six CDs of music (including two CDs of material exclusive to the box set), Case 2 will hold six exclusive 7″ singles in a hardback book plus an inner pocket with a Ninja Tune family tree poster by Nigel Peake, a sleeve cover poster and a Ninja Tune XX sticker sheet, and Case 3 will boast an exclusive hardback edition of Stevie Chick’s book Ninja Tune: 20 Years of Beats & Pieces.

The box set will include new exclusive tracks from: Amon Tobin, Roots Manuva, Kid Koala, Mr Scruff, The Bug, Jaga Jazzist, Bonobo, Toddla T, Blockhead, Daedelus, Dorian Concept, Two Fingers, Zomby, Luke Vibert, DJ Vadim, King Cannibal, Jammer, Shuttle, The Heavy, Yppah, zero dB and more to be announced. We’re particularly looking forward to the raft of specially commissioned remixes: Rustie, Autechre, Modeselektor, Matthew Herbert, Zomby, Toddla T, Mala, Actress and El-B all contribute, as do Switch, Cut Chemist, Roots Manuva, Gold Panda, Mark Pritchard, Amorphous Androgynous, Tom Middleton, Micachu, Metronomy, Gaslamp Killer, Kronos Quartet, Tunng and El-P.

The material not exclusive to the box will also be available on download stores and ordinary CDs in the shops. The box set can be pre-ordered for a limited period at an ‘early bird’ price here.

That’s not all. Oh no. Coldcut will be helming a Nina Tune XX tour, with their “most ambitious line-up ever” (TBA) and culminating in a show at London’s Ewer St Car Park. The dates are as follows:

15th Sept – Paris, Pompidou Centre
17th Sep – Paris, Pompidou Centre (afterparty at Elysee Monmartre)
24th Sep – Berlin, Astra
30th Sept – Brussels, AB
1st Oct – Paris, La Machine
2nd Oct – London, Ewer Street Car Park
Events in Montreal in June & July + New York, LA and Tokyo in October & November to be announced

August will see the general publication (in paperback) of Stevie Chick’s Ninja Tune: 20 Years of Beats & Pieces, part of Black Dog Publishing’s Labels Unlimited book series.  There also video screenings, giveaways and all sorts planned for the coming months. For more information on all of the above, visit ninjatunexx.net.