Ninja Tune were introduced to the work of DJ Kentaro through his success at the 2002 DMC World finals where the Japanese turntablist won outright to become World Champion with a set of pure innovation using not just hip hop, but also reggae, drum & bass, house and electro, in the process achieving the highest score ever in a DMC Final. This was unsurprising for those who had already come across him, a man who can play long, scratchless floor-filling sets, or turn his hand to VJ mixes using DVD decks with the same skills, a man who is enabled by his technique rather than imprisoned within it.

As such he seemed the perfect DJ to choose to produce a mix of the Ninja back catalogue for the Japanese market. A box full of vinyl and cds was sent off to him and he began piecing together a selection from Jaga, Wagon Christ, DJ Food, Coldcut, Pest, Funki Porcini, Herbaliser and DJ Vadim to create a truly masterful mix, “DJ Kentaro on the Wheels of Solid Steel”. The CD came out in Japan in December 2004 and has since sold 15,000 copies in the territory.

However, word of Kentaro’s lightning skills and musical ear have since spread way beyond Japan, with appearances at Fabric and Homelands (as well as Ninja’s own super hush-hush Solid Steel night) and we decided it was time to share his talents with the world.

To this end, a DVD was commissioned which showcases much of what is special about Kentaro. A mixture of live footage and animation (some of it “visuscratched” by Kentaro himself), this selection of short films will appeal to the turntablist community but, as you’d expect, would also work well as audiovisual fodder for your party.

All in all, then, a fantastic package for Ninja aficionados, turntablist aficionados and just people looking to have a g-g-g-ga g-g-g-g-ga good time.

"DJ Kentaro may be a turntablist - a world-beating turntablist, in fact - but that doesn't mean that only spotty geezers in puffas and baseball caps need to look out for him. Because hip hop and scratching represent merely one side of Kentaro's multi-faceted musical persona." - IDJ

"More than just a technical DJ, Kentaro is a performer, inciting the crowd into a frenzy while titillating the scratch fetishists." - Blast