Coldcut

Coldcut are an English electronic music duo composed of Matt Black and Jonathan More. Credited as pioneers for pop sampling in the ‘80s, Coldcut are also considered the first stars of UK electronic dance music due to their innovative style, which featured cut-up samples of hip-hop, breaks, jazz, spoken word and various other types of music, as well as video and multimedia. According to Spin, "in ’87 Coldcut pioneered the British fad for ‘DJ records’".

Coldcut's records first introduced the public to pop artists Yazz and Lisa Stansfield, through which these artists achieved pop chart success. In addition, Coldcut has remixed and created productions on tracks by the likes of Eric B & Rakim, James Brown, Queen Latifah, Eurythmics, INXS, Steve Reich, Blondie, The Fall, Pierre Henry, Nina Simone, Fog, Red Snapper, and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.

Beyond their work as a production duo, Coldcut are the founders of Ninja Tune, an independent record label in London, England (with a satellite office in Montreal) with an overall emphasis on encouraging interactive technology and finding innovative uses of software. The label’s first releases (the first four volumes of DJ Food - 'Jazz Brakes') were produced by Coldcut in the early 90s, and composed of instrumental hip-hop cuts that led the duo to help pioneer the trip hop genre, with artists such as Funky Porcini, The Herbaliser and DJ Vadim.

Links To Peel

Matt Black (real name Matthew Cohn) a British DJ and one half of music duo Coldcut (along with Jonathan More) as a student at New College, Oxford, was a member of a band called The Jazz Insects, whose first single was played by John Peel in his radio show in 1979. According to the Keeping It Peel site published in 2004, Matt tried to call Peel on the BBC Radio One:

"About 25 years ago when I was at college, I was in a band called the Jazz Insects, and we sent a copy of our first single to John. Now, we'd heard it was possible to speak to John on the phone if you called Radio 1, and after a few unsuccessful tries we actually managed to speak to him. He had a very cool manner, and I dried up immediately, but he did play our record that night and we received a helpful £50 royalty cheque. Little did I know that years later I'd be doing a session on the same show."[1]

In the late 80's and beyond, Coldcut's pioneering sampling techniques got playlisted on Peel's show and continued getting played into the early 00's, despite the group's hits drying up in the 90's and 00's.

In a 2017 Ninja Tune podcast with Adrian Sherwood, Matt Black commented:

"For me, Peel was the man who made it cool to be into a lot of different sorts of music. … Sadly missed. There’s no one with that kind of stature around nowadays. We need people like that.

Sessions

Coldcut & Headspace - Peel Session (2002)

1. Recorded: 1997-02-18. Broadcast: 18 February 1997

• Coldcut vs Grandmaster Flash / Creatures / Shakatakadoob / Scratch Yr Heads / Beats + Pieces ’97

2. Recorded: 1997-12-18. Broadcast: 18 December 1997

• DJ Set

3. Recorded: 2002-10-17. Broadcast: 24 October 2002

• Midnight (A Brief Intro To Time) / Kodeck / Kid Scratch / Disco Sattalite

Live

1. Recorded live at Queen Elizabeth Hall, London: 1999-02-17. Broadcast: 17 February 1999

• Live DJ Set

2. Recorded live at Sound City, Liverpool: 1999-10-26. Broadcast: 26 October 1999

• Live DJ Set

Other Shows Played

Coldcut "Beats And Pieces"

1987

• 20 July 1987: Beats + Pieces (12") Ahead Of Our Time
• 21 July 1987: Say Kids (What Time Is It?) (12") White Label
• 22 July 1987: Beats + Pieces (12") Ahead Of Our Time
• 27 July 1987: Beats + Pieces (12") Ahead Of Our Time
• 28 July 1987: Beats + Pieces (12") Ahead Of Our Time
• 31 July 1987 (Radio Bremen): Beats + Pieces (12") Ahead Of Our Time
• 31 July 1987 (Radio Bremen): Say Kids (What Time Is It) (12" - Say Kids) White label
• 03 August 1987: More Beats (12" single - Beats + Pieces b-side) Ahead Of Our Time
• 13 August 1987 (Rockradio): Beats + Pieces (Mo' Bass Remix) - Beats + Pieces 12" - Ahead Of Our Time (CCUT 1A)
• 07 September 1987: 'The Music Maker' (12") Ahead Of Our Time
• 09 September 1987: That Greedy Beat (12" - The Music Maker) Ahead Of Our Time
• 15 September 1987: That Greedy Beat (12" - The Music Maker) Ahead Of Our Time
• 1987 (Rockradio): The Music Maker - 12" - Ahead Of Our Time (AHEAD 1202)
• 06 October 1987: Beats + Pieces (12") Ahead Of Our Time

Coldcut .........Doctorin The House 12 Inch Mix

1988

• 05 January 1988: Doctorin' The House (Speng) (12" - Doctorin' The House) Ahead Of Our Time
• 11 January 1988: Doctorin' The House (Speng) (12") Ahead Of Our Time
• 19 January 1988: Doctorin' The House (Vocal) (12") Ahead Of Our Time
• 26 January 1988: Doctorin' The House (Speng) (12") Ahead Of Our Time
• 03 February 1988: Doctorin' The House (12") Ahead Of Our Time
• 08 February 1988: Doctorin' The House (Speng) (12") Ahead Of Our Time
• 20 February 1988 (Radio Bremen): Doctorin' The House (Vocal) (12" A-Side) (12") Ahead Of Our Time
• 01 August 1988: 'Doctorin' The Trak (2x Compilation LP-Out To Lunch With Ahead Of Our Time)' (Ahead Of Our Time)
• 10 August 1988: Stop This Crazy Thing
• 16 August 1988: Stop This Crazy Thing (12") Ahead Of Our Time

1989

• 25 April 1989: (I'm) In Deep (album - What's That Noise?) Ahead Of Our Time
• 10 May 1989 (BFBS): (I'm) In Deep (album - What's That Noise?) Ahead Of Our Time

1990

• 07 June 1990: Find A Way (12" mini-promo album - Some Like It Cold) Ahead Of Our Time
• 07 June 1990: Original Box (12" mini-promo album - Some Like It Cold) Ahead Of Our Time
• 13 June 1990: Find A Way (12" mini-promo album - Some Like It Cold) Ahead Of Our Time
• 20 June 1990: Find A Way (12" mini-promo album - Some Like It Cold) Ahead Of Our Time

1993

• 03 December 1993: Autumn Leaves (Nellee Hooper Mix Dub) (2x12" promo) Ahead Of Our Time
• 18 December 1993 (BFBS): Autumn Leaves (Nellee Hooper Mix Dub) (2x12" promo) Ahead Of Our Time

1994

• 01 January 1994: Autumn Leaves  (Nellee Hooper Mix Dub) (2x12" promo) Ahead Of Our Time

1996

• 09 March 1996: Atomic Moog 2000 (v/a album - Ninja Cuts: Flexistentialism) Ninja Tune

1997

• 04 January 1997: Atomic Moog 2000 (Bullet Train Edit) (album - Atomic Moog 2000 / Boot The System) Ninja Tune
• 19 January 1997: Atomic Moog 2000 (Bullet train Edit) (CD - Atomic Moog 2000 / Boot the System) Ninja Tune
• 03 July 1997: More Beats & Pieces (Obsessive Behaviour - Kid Koala Version) (CD Single) Ninja Tune
• 19 August 1997: Timber (LP - Let Us Play) Ninja Tune

1998

• January 1998 (FSK): Timber (CD - Let Us Play!) Ninja Tune
• 28 January 1998 (with Hexstatic): Timber (EP) Ninja Tune ZEN CDS 65A
• 05 February 1998: Timber (CD Single ) Ninja Tune
• 18 February 1998: Timber (CD Single ) Ninja Tune

1999

• 09 February 1999: Last Night A Cliche Saved My Life (LP: Let Us Replay) Ninja Tune
• 11 February 1999: More Beats & Pieces (DJ Lord Fader Turntable mix) (LP: Let Us Replay) Ninja Tune
• 13 April 1999: Noah's Toilet (7") White Label
• 14 April 1999: Cloned Again (Rei Harakami Mix)(10") Ninja Tune
• 29 April 1999: Noah's Toilet (7") White Label
• 29 April 1999 (Radio Eins): Noah's Toilet (Nobukazu Takemura Remix) (7") Ninja Tune

2000

• 28 September 2000 (Radio Eins): Give It Up (v/a album - Xen Cuts) Ninja Tune

2001

• 26 April 2001: 'Re:volution' (Single) Ninja Tune

2004

• 16 December 2004: 10 Minute Set

Others

• Staying Single: Say Kids What Time Is It?
• Radio 1 Vintage - John Peel: The Music Maker

External Links

• Wikipedia
• Discogs
• Official Website