Released with the stated goal of providing an updated overview of Ninja Tune’s catalog at the time, this DJ mix jumps through 39 tracks in ~50 minutes, with inclusions from DJ Shadow, Amon Tobin, Roots Manuva, The Bug, and label founders Coldcut, among others.  The quick pacing of the mix, along with a handful of amusing and well-picked drop-in samples, gels with the song selections to effectively demonstrate the label’s move from downtempo and chillout electronic music to material with more pop and hip-hop influence.

Suiting the ‘label sampler’ intent, the mix is kept pretty discrete with its arrangement, basically highlighting the singles’ hooks of the songs before flowing into the next one, and rarely mixing them together past the transition point.  But the joining and overlays are done with style and smoothness, accentuating the stronger beats without losing focus, and while the ‘best of’ cut-ins are kind of blatant with their ear-grabs, they’re kept moving fast enough to all work together, making for a semi-kaleidoscopic run-through of the label’s offerings at the time.