Animals on Wheels

Animals on Wheels emerged as a drill'n'bass project that became Ninja Tune's first acquisition from the Bovinyl imprint, the Cambridge-based operation run by Andy Coleman. Coleman also directs AOW, whose witty approach to jazzy, hyperdriven breakbeat fracture echoes the styles of Aphex Twin, Plug, and Squarepusher, among others. The odd name reportedly originated with a friend of Coleman's who professed the largest collection of the corresponding figurines. Before issuing his 1997 Ninja Tune debut, the full-length Designs and Mistakes, Coleman released three twelve-inch singles on his own label plus several compilation tracks. The album fused dimestore jazz samples, mile-a-minute breaks, and fizzy downtempo weirdness into a fashionable blend that arrived about six months after the cheeky jungle peak, although it secured Coleman a broader audience than Bovinyl's narrower distribution had permitted. Nuvo I Cadira appeared in 1999.