Formed in London in 1990 by Matt Black and Jonathan More, the duo known as Coldcut, Ninja Tune has established itself as one of the world’s leading independent record labels, etching its story into the pages of ground-breaking British music. Now a bonafide global music institution, synonymous with diverse, uncompromising releases and equally visionary artists — from breaking to GRAMMY-winning acts — committed to pushing the boundaries of music. The label has celebrated a number of significant events in recent years including multiple notable GRAMMY nominations for Bonobo, ODESZA, Jayda G, and via Brainfeeder — with whom Ninja Tune have a longstanding partnership to release, promote and distribute their incredible and ever-expanding catalogue worldwide — Hiatus Kaiyote, Louis Cole and Thundercat (who also took home the GRAMMY for ‘Best Progressive R&B Album’ for previous album ‘It Is What It Is’). The label has also released Top-5 UK charting albums from Bicep (who were also BRIT nominated), Bonobo and Black Country, New Road and most recently a Top-10 album from Young Fathers (whose album was also Mercury Prize nominated); relaunched it’s Big Dada imprint as a label run by Ninja Tune’s Black, POC & Minority Ethnic staff; and entered into a partnership with multiple-platinum selling ODESZA’s Foreign Family Collective (FFC) to release, promote, and distribute their expansive catalogue worldwide. Ninja Tune is also working to support the whole music business becoming carbon neutral by 2026. In the 30-plus years since formation, Ninja Tune has become a home for forward-thinking music and artists who are at the forefront of their fields, with celebrated releases from the likes of: Bonobo; The Cinematic Orchestra; Roots Manuva; Kelis; Jayda G; Young Fathers; Bicep; Floating Points; Black Country, New Road; Little Dragon; Sampa The Great; Run The Jewels; Diplo; Helena Hauff; Actress; Coldcut; Peggy Gou; Octo Octa; Julianna Barwick; yeule; Jordan Rakei; salute; Maribou State; ODESZA; Tycho; Forest Swords; Leon Vynehall; I.Jordan; Sofia Kourtesis; Barry Can’t Swim; The Bug; Marie Davidson; TSHA; Machinedrum; 박혜진 Park Hye Jin; George Riley; Elkka & via Brainfeeder: Thundercat; Kamasi Washington; Hiatus Kaiyote; Georgia Anne Muldrow; Ross From Friends, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson and many more. On the relaunched Big Dada Label, there have also been acclaimed releases from the likes of Yaya Bey, GAIKA, H31R, LYZZA and Brian Nasty. Still 100% independent, the label has consistently defied expectations for both critical and commercial acclaim — manifesting itself with recognition as ‘Independent Label of the Year’ at the 2018 Association of Independent Music (AIM) awards, ‘Label of the Year’ at the 2016 edition of Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide Awards and more recently, nominations for ‘Label of the Year’ at both the 2021 and 2023 A2IM Libera awards. Chart positions include nearly 20 Top-40 records in the official UK Albums Chart including a #2 record with Bicep’s ‘Isles’, #3 for Black Country, New Road’s ‘Ants From Up There’ which followed their #4 charting debut album ‘For the first time’, a #5 spot for Bonobo’s GRAMMY nominated ‘Migration’, and #7 for Young Fathers latest effort ‘Heavy Heavy’, with ODESZA’s ‘A Moment Apart’ (also GRAMMY nominated) reaching #3 in the US Billboard Album Charts. Other impressive results include Mercury Prize wins for Young Fathers album “Dead” (2014) and Speech Debelle’s “Speech Therapy” (2009) and BRIT nominations for Bicep, Bonobo and Roots Manuva.
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