The Herbaliser

As revered mainstays of tastemaking UK imprint Ninja Tune, trip-hop duo The Herbaliser stirred instrumental hip-hop, electronica, and jazz into a potent brew that generated five killer albums for the label over the course of a decade. Formed in south London in 1994 by Jake Wherry – bassist in acid-funk troupe the Propheteers – and Ollie Teeba (born Oliver Lawrence Trattles), the pair soon began laying down tracks in Jake Wherry's studio, and were signed to Ninja Tune on the strength of those demos. The Herbaliser announced their Ninja Tune arrival with a pair of EPs in 1995 – The Real Killer/Blow It and Repetitive Loop/Scratchy Noise – before kicking up a storm with their debut LP, Remedies, in October that year. They honed their sound further across their next two albums, 1997's Blow Your Headphones – which went to number 24 on the UK R&B Albums Chart – and 1999's Very Mercenary, which climbed to number 19 on the UK indie chart. The following year, they entered live band territory with Session One, their first studio album released under the group name The Herbaliser Band, before returning to their hip-hop sound with their fourth studio for Ninja Tune, Something Wicked This Way Comes (2002), which featured guest spots from the late MF Doom and Dilated Peoples member Rakaa Iriscience. A DJ mix for Ninja Tune's storied Solid Steel series landed in 2003, Solid Steel Presents Herbal Blend, followed by the pair's fifth and final album for the label, Take London, in 2005. Now signed to !K7 Records, they christened their new home with their sixth album, Same As It Ever Was, in 2008, with the label also putting out their second live band album, Session Two, in 2009. A Ninja Tune compilation, Herbal Tonic, arrived in 2010 and two more full-lengths followed, There Were Seven (2012, Department H.) and Bring Out The Sound (2018, BBE).