The Bug – Infected EP

Twenty years on, and Ninja Tune’s fire still burns bright. Hot on the heels of its retrospective mix comes this four-tracker that neatly sums up the label’s aesthetic – forward-thinking eclecticism that never forgets its hip-hop, dub and soul roots. First cut Catch A Fire is an eerily disconnected future dancehall rub that sounds like it was recorded over a telegraph wire (in a good way).

Roots Manuva pops up on the second track, a weighty number that does nothing to lift the ominous mood, but the highlight is Autechre’s typically irregular version of Skeng, a squelchy robo-ragga remix that contains the memorable line: “Shot in the face / make you scream for the nurse; doctor can’t fix you / send for the hearse.’ [Euan Ferguson]