AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Coldcut

Artist:Coldcut f/Hexstatic

Song:Timber

Album:Let Us Play!

The British duo Coldcut have been around since the 80s and are considered to be pioneers in sampling technology. They do a lot of producing and remixes and occasionally release their own music on their own label Ninja Tune. Computer programmer Matt Black and ex-art teacher Jonathan More were part time DJs in London. More worked at a local record shop where Black was a customer. Their 1987 single Say Kids What Time Is It? was the first record to consist only of samples. So as I have said before about this kind of music, it's more of a construction project because these guys are not musicians. Coldcut's first success was when Island Records asked them to remix Eric B. & Rakim's 1987 single Paid In Full and it was a big international hit. Early success included the 1988 single Doctorin' the House featuring singer Yazz and the 1989 Lisa Stansfield single People Hold On. Coldcut released their debut album What's That Noise? in 1989. After their success with Lisa Stansfield, Coldcut signed with Arista Records. They left after one album. The music wasn't commercial enough for a major label. That's when Coldcut started Ninja Tune. They release occasional albums and continue to produce artists and do remixes. Timber is from the 1997 album Let Us Play!. The song protests logging and the sampling is from a Greenpeace film. Stuart Warren Hill of Hexstatic co-wrote the song and produced the video. Let Us Play! is available as a budget CD. There are several guests on the album including legendary drummer Bernard "Pretty" Purdie. Coldcut has produced and designed video games and they even released a music app called Ninja Jamm. Remember Matt Black is a computer programmer. Their latest album was released in 2017. I think much of their activity these days is outside music. Here's the video for Timber by Coldcut featuring Hexstatic.