Celebrating our 25th Birthday with ‘Shapes 25’

“I gotta large up Tru Thoughts as well because it’s so important for labels to really invest in new talent and to hold them up alongside some of their mainstays and some of their more heritage artists, but also to leave room to introduce us to other artists as well” JAMZ SUPERNOVA (BBC 6MUSIC)

“A brilliant record label from Brighton” GILLES PETERSON

“Big up the Tru Thoughts massive!” SIR SPYRO (BBC 1XTRA)

“Tru Thoughts, an incredible label” JULIE ADENUGA (BEATS 1)

“The brilliant Tru Thoughts label, one of our favourites” LAUREN LAVERNE (BBC 6MUSIC)

Curated by A&R, label founder and co-owner, DJ Robert Luis, ‘Shapes 25’ is a 30-track compilation split into two parts, each exploring a different facet of our eclectic roster. Part One offers a taste of our soul, downtempo and jazz releases. Part Two highlights our club and dance floor anthems, including an exclusive, previously unreleased remix of Sandunes’ “Follow Me feat. KAVYA” by the MOBO-nominated “godfather of dubstep”, Zed Bias (aka Maddslinky and Phuturistix) – the dark-swing, UK bass reworking of “Follow Me” is a dubstep-influenced floor filler.

“Compiling songs to celebrate 25 years of the label was quite a task. I reached well over 100 songs before realising that I would not be able to include many artists and songs in order to make a compilation that more people would put time aside to listen to and check out. So this features artists who played a significant part in the development of the label, but I also felt it was important to include songs from recent signings too. Hopefully, this compilation will remind “day one” and early supporters about some of our artists and releases, but also show the direction the label is heading.” Robert Luis

New signee Tara Lily brings her signature sound to the compilation with ‘No Way Out’. This pensive ballad blends Indian soundscapes, ethereal vocals and dark jazz textures. It is joined by a selection of our latest releases, including the broken beat stomper “Get Low” from Bruk Rogers (aka Zero T/Searchlight), Colleen ‘Cosmo’ Murphy’s disco-ready Cosmodelica remix of Bryony Jarman-Pinto’s “Moving Forward” and Sly5thAve’s “Exodus” taken from his first full album of original orchestral arrangements, ‘Liberation’. Amongst our newer releases is “Kaleidoscope feat. Scarlett Fae”, from singer, songwriter, and producer Steven Bamidele’s debut full-length release.

The compilation opens with Bonobo’s “Terrapin”, a Tru Thoughts staple taken from his breakout debut album ‘Animal Magic’, released on the label in 2001. Bonobo reappears later in the compilation as one half of Nirobi & Barakas on “Bungee Jump Against Racism”, an early collaboration with label head Robert Luis, making first-wave broken beat fused with South-Asian styles.

Among the classics are two tracks by the esteemed Quantic: “Furthest Moment” and “Look Around the Corner”, where he’s joined by the universally acclaimed soulstress Alice Russell and the Combo Bárbaro. These tracks represent a glimpse into his extensive discography with Tru Thoughts, which spans over 20 projects such as ‘The 5th Exotic’, ‘Apricot Morning’, ‘Flowering Inferno’, and his notable work under “Quantic Presents The Western Transient”.

Alongside “Look Around the Corner”, part one of this two-part compilation dives into Tru Thoughts essential downtempo works, featuring seminal pieces from Nostalgia 77, Hidden Orchestra, Belleruche, Kinny, Wildcookie (better known as Freddie Cruger & Anthony Mills) and The Bamboos. It also includes big tracks from the roster’s aliases. For example, Lanu, the experimental side project of Lance Ferguson, guitarist and leader of The Bamboos, represents the Australian funk and soul scene with the “Dis-Information – 12″ Mix”. The late Frederik Lager, known alternatively as Red Astaire and Freddie Cruger, also makes two appearances on the compilation, with “Serious Drug” and groove-laden “The Hustle” serving as a celebration of his memory.

Off the back of its use in Dua Lipa’s headline set on Glastonbury’s Pyramid stage, Flowdan’s “Welcome to London” (produced by Plastician) injects a grime showstopper to the mix. In addition to tapping into the prestigious Recording Academy of the United States via the Grammy-nominated Moonchild and Grammy-winning Hot 8 Brass Band, both featured in this celebratory edition of ‘Shapes’, the label is firmly rooted in the underground scene. Tru Thoughts has consistently supported emerging talent bubbling beneath the mainstream surface. A testament to their connection with these scenes is the signing of Zed Bias and Omar’s “Dancing feat. Fox”, which, as Robert Luis explains, was “a big tune doing the rounds on dubplate for a while before we finally released it”.

In the spirit of musical connection, a handful of standout remixes are incorporated into the tracklist. Namely, WheelUP’s BBC 6 Music playlisted rendition of Tiawa’s “Soldiers”, a rare and iconic Brit-funk style rework by STR4TA (aka Gilles Peterson and Jean-Paul “Bluey” Maunick) of Anushka’s “Bad Weather”, and an extended dub of Sefi Zisling made by Mahogani and Defected Records recruit Obas Nenor.

Leading the charge on the percussive side of the roster is Magic Drum Orchestra, a powerful 20-piece collective formed by Ralph Cree and Glyn Bush (aka BiggaBush) with “Ragga Samba”. Their infectious samba-infused dance beats have also seen syncs in Vice Principals on HBO and placement in Google and Nike ads.

Closing the compilation are four tracks exemplifying the versatility of the roster, even within the club scene: Nikitch & Kuna Maze’s “La Di F…Da”, their Brazilian leaning house record, Palm Skin Productions acid-tinged, Detroit-inspired single, “Trickle Up”, jazz outfit Ebi Soda’s playful horns and breakbeat drums making up “Yoshi Orange”, and sUb_modU’s synth-heavy take on Fela Kuti’s classic “Expensive Shit”, supported by the late Virgil Abloh.