It's nice, for once, to be able to write about something other than just Ninja Tune's music, and to do so with equal enthusiasm. If Music has long been the worst kept secret as London's best choice for record buying - proper record buying, where people go to a shop, listen to and buy records. They might even have an interesting chat with the store's owner, Jean-Claude Thompson, and leave excited about something they'd never heard of before. JC opened the store in 2003, and since then it's thrived - despite what he calls 'the general downturn in people paying for culture across the board.' JC and Ninja go way back; he's been a close friend of Cinematic Orchestra's J Swinscoe for years, and DJ'ed at the Royal Albert Hall shows the band played. Ninja isn't alone in being close to JC and If Music. Mark Ronson thanks the store for 'saving me from falling into a sea of American musical mediocrity.' SBTRKT worked in the shop for 7 years, which it hardly seems could have failed to influence his own musical formation. Jazzie B and Theo Parrish are regularly seen hanging out in the store's comfortable, gentleman's club atmosphere, amongst the bespoke prints, books and toys. All of which leads us to the second installment of an apt collaboration with Ninja Tune for the number one proponent of independent music shops; Record Store Day. Following the success of last years offering, we've one again teamed up to release Volume 2 of the IF Music series. Taking the form of a deluxe, ltd. edition gatefold triple LP. With exclusive, never before heard music from a variety of artists including a stunning exclusive remix from The Cinematic Orchestra if ever a record was made for Record Store Day this is it. Long live independent stores, and long live If Music.

• Limited to 800 copies
• music label: Ninja Tune 2014

reviewed by Ninja Tune 04/2014