It's been ten years since Ninja Tune first released Bogus Order's Zen Brakes and the party hasn't stopped since. Now it's time for another party to celebrate. Every Ninja Tune compilation seems to squeeze more music onto it that the previous one, has better packaging and comes at a cheaper price. The quality of the music never changes however, always being top-notch. Xen Cuts is a double CD (with a limited edition containing a third CD of remixes, b-sides, rarities and curiosities) of the usual merriment, and also features a booklet containing an overview of the now 10 year long Ninja history.

Lifted from its amniotic fluid in 1990 when Jonathan More and Matt Black of Coldcut wanted to control the content and frequency of their own output, Ninja Tune was their "Technicolor escape pod" and has gracefully risen to the top of the pile over the following decade as one of the world's most respected independents. These guys know how to foster brand loyalty, mind. Attention to detail in package design, sleeve-notes, roster and toe-tappin' music has nudged Ninja Tune way ahead of the competition. The recent acquisition of the exceptional Quannum Collective (Mo'Wax's greatest loss) guarantees that the future will be even brighter than their past, for Quannum comprises none other than DJ Shadow, Latryx, Blackalicious and others amongst hip-hop's most trumpeted trump cards.

The first CD tends to focus on vocalists and hip-hop beats and Xen Cuts has some of the best of both.

Latryx and the Quannum MCs make a couple of choice appearances, just to further underline Ninja's latest acquisition. Latryx are the Quannum collective duo featuring Lateef and Lyrics Born whose voices mesh and sputter without stutter in a manner that you'd be hard pressed to outdo in hip hop today. Latryx appear on a roaring rumble with The Herbaliser, on their "8pt Agenda" which shows off their vocal talents to a (herbal) t. They specialise in the unfolding story as their voices successfully heat things up and increase the momentum with the grooviest bass rumble this side of Cordell "Boogie" Mosson.

The Quannum MCs also make an appearance on their own "Blue Flames" which finds them in similar territory to their recent compilation Schoolhouse Funk, digging deeper through black music to something older than the old school.

That's the beauty of Ninja Tune and the key to their continued success. While they've never closely associated themselves with any one particular genre, neither hip-hop, electronica, big beat, drum and bass, techno nor funk, they have never suffered when the 'newness' of new developments in their music wears off and no shifts in fashion have made their catalogue sound dated at any point.

Sarah Jones guests on DJ Vadim's "Your Revolution" with her supercool rap / rumination on sexual politics forming a powerful statement of female empowerment, rejecting the misogyny and materialism of much mainstream hip-hop and the music industry in general, firmly refusing to participate in their sordid and exploitative game. While many MCs combine their revolutionary spiel with a predatory, overtly sexual / misogynist posturing, Jones pointedly informs them, "Your revolution will not be between these thighs.". "Your Revolution" kicks off with a hefty tip of the hat towards Gil Scott Heron's "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" but contains even louder echoes of Jeanne Lee's vocal on the similarly themed Archie Shepp's "Blasé".

This tune helps to highlight the fortunate lack of 'guns and bitches' raps on Ninja Tune records. While Mo'Wax seems to occasionally veer into that kind of territory in the mistaken belief that this will help to legitimise their post trip-hop hip-hop credentials, Ninja Tune choose not to play the same game, knowing that the stupidity and offensiveness of such a move would only further reinforce the negative stereotypes too readily associated with hip-hop. Since Coldcut benefit from a more rounded politicisation, evidence suggests that both misogyny and homophobia are unwelcome on their label and are seen as unnecessary to prop up anyone's wilting machismo. As if to prove it, The Infestations are secure enough to name check Wallace and Grommit in their "Night Night Theme" (Vic Reeves, strangely, comes in for a mention too!).

The second CD changes the mood and is much more chilled than the first. Ninja Tune even manufacture their own "Ninja Skins" which benefit from a similar attention to detail as the packaging of any of their albums and are "Not for sale in the zone of Zero Funkativity". Presumably we're meant to fold a few together at this point.

The often overlooked Clifford Gilberto Rhythm Orchestra kick things off magnificently with "The 10^th Victim", a sensational trumpet-led groove which steps over similar territory to the Beastie Boys in their 70s funk mode. Gilberto pops up again later with "Restless", a Curtis Mayfield-esque instrumental with some gorgeously tumbling rhythms carrying it along. The sleeve notes promise that Gilberto's next album will "kill us all" and I'm making the preparations for my final days already.

Other Ninja favourites crop up with show-stopping moments, particularly the terrifyingly demented Amon Tobin who tones his usual ferocious-but-victimless attack down considerably for a slice of prime trip-hop in the form of "Down & To The Left" - it hits the spot, in other words.

Tobin is also featured on the bonus third CD of potentially overlooked moments with his collaboration with Chris Morris, following a theme from the Bad Sex sketch of Morris' ingeniously funny Blue Jam radio show / Jam television series. These sketches brilliantly managed to make words such as "give to charity" sound utterly filthy when gasped / panted with a squeaking bed and squelching body parts in the background. While the tune sets up a vaguely squelchy, farty groove, Morris' debased, bizarre sexual gasps and hilariously unworkable / nonsensical sex acts are kept to a surprising minimum. We hear only one breathless plea to "Chuck the spade at the child!" which produces a climactic response that sounds like, and indeed probably is, "Ooooh.. cold chicken." Anyone who has not yet encountered the warped and pricelessly original world of Chris Morris is probably now thinking that I've lost my mind with this nonsense, but should wait until 23^rd October when Warp release a CD of the best bits from Blue Jam to see exactly what I mean.

Ken Nordine's perfectly matched spoken word collaboration with DJ Food, which popped up on their Kaleidoscope album earlier this year, pops up again. While I still don't know what the hell he's talking about, his craggy, phlegm gargling voice captivates none the less.

There's so much more to this excellent collection, too much to tell you about here - I haven't even mentioned Kid Koala or Roots Manuva yet. If any of the names mentioned so far appeal, then the rest is sure to do so as well. Such is the magnificent coalescence of the Ninja. Many happy returns.

Order Xen Cuts from Amazon.co.uk