Mr. Scruff Mr. Scruff

• Words: Christine Hsieh
• Label: Ninja Tune

Before he carved out a place of honor in the Ninja Tune stable, Mr. Scruff was a nubile young thing developing an impressive back catalog on Pleasure Records. His pre-Ninja material is surprisingly fresh nearly 10 years on, and here one sees the genesis of his cut-and-paste beat doctoring on "Bass Baby," his knack for sampling disparate elements in the frantic whistle-and-drums classic "Chicken in a Box," and his affinity for loose-limbed jazz in "Bobby‘s Jazz Pony." Scruff‘s mastery of hokey beats and catchy tunes had to come from somewhere, and Mr. Scruff offers welcome insight into his creative growth.