The Herbaliser

Combining deft midtempo beats, well-chosen jazz and funk figures, sparse scratching, and the occasional rap, British group the Herbaliser surfaced in the mid-'90s, connecting dusty B-side instrumental hip-hop with London's school of psychotropic beat scientists. Ninja Tune signed them for a decade, during which they ranked among the label's most popular and purely hip-hop-oriented acts within its roster of sample-based pocket-funk. After moving to other labels, they broadened their sound with greater live instrumentation and toured and recorded as a full band that featured percussion and horns under the name the Herbaliser Band. Beyond their own productions, they earned wide respect as DJs through two acclaimed mix CDs and have remixed Coldcut, Meat Beat Manifesto, and Lamb.

Ollie Teeba and Jake Wherry formed the Herbaliser in the early '90s. Unlike many leading figures in London's abstract beat scene who drew from acid house, the duo traced their roots to American jazz and funk (Roy Ayers, Johnny Pate, Ramsey Lewis) as well as old-school hip-hop, especially the New York variety represented by Grandmixer D.ST, Sugarhill, and Jungle Brothers. Wherry, a bass player in the acid jazz/funk group the Propheteers, met local DJ Teeba in South London, where both resided. The pair put together several tracks in Wherry's tiny studio and passed them to Ninja Tune bosses Matt Black and Jonathan More (aka Coldcut) at a club, resulting in the group's signing to the label soon afterward.

The Herbaliser issued several warmly received EPs on Ninja Tune in 1995 before releasing their debut LP, Remedies, which drew attention to both the group and the then-up-and-coming label. While that album drew more directly on London's burgeoning underground breakbeat scene by freely mixing styles into a funky, sample-heavy amalgam nearer to beat-heavy acid jazz, later singles ("Flawed Hip-Hop," "New & Improved") removed the schmaltzier elements and sharpened focus on the group's hip-hop foundation. Their second LP, Blow Your Headphones, delivered a solid hour-plus of that approach while also targeting U.K. trip-hop's leanings toward gimmick and noodling rather than depth and impact. Very Mercenary arrived in 1999 and further strengthened the duo's hip-hop base. Session 1, which contained renditions of earlier Herbaliser tracks credited to the Herbaliser Band, came out on the group's own Department H. imprint in 2000. The Herbaliser returned to Ninja Tune and their hip-hop-rooted sound with 2002's Something Wicked This Way Comes, featuring guest raps by MF Doom and Rakaa Iriscience.

Herbal Blend, the Herbaliser's contribution to Ninja Tune's Solid Steel mix series, appeared in 2003. Take London, which allotted equal space to the group's live-band funk and hip-hop influences, followed in 2005. The Herbaliser then departed Ninja Tune, contributed Fabriclive.26 to Fabric's ongoing mix CD series, and moved to !K7 for the 2008 full-length Same as It Never Was. The label released the Herbaliser Band's Session 2 the next year, while Teeba began collaborating with prior Herbaliser contributor Jonny Cuba in the hip-hop group Soundsci. Ninja Tune summarized the Herbaliser's tenure on the label with the 2010 compilation Herbal Tonic, which contained an unreleased track. The studio album There Were Seven, another heavily orchestrated release, appeared on Department H. in 2012. There Were Seven: Remixes followed in 2014, yet no further Herbaliser releases surfaced until 2018, when BBE issued the band's sample-free full-length Bring Out the Sound, which included guest vocalists such as Rodney P and Just Jack.