WOMAD

Coldcut

From United Kingdom

If all that Jonathan More and Matt Black had achieved in life was setting up the Ninja Tune record label, that single act would have been sufficient to reserve their place in the dance music history. After all, through Ninja Tune (and its offshoot Big Dada) was how most of us first heard the likes of Roots Manuva, DJ Vadim, Mr Scruff, Cinematic Orchestra, DJ Food, The Herbaliser and Antibalas among so many others. But that doesn’t tell half the story. There’s the pair’s pre-Coldcut time on then-pirate station Kiss FM, swiftly followed by their decision to adorn their remix of Eric B & Rakim’s Paid In Full with a vocal sample of Ofra Haza, taking their reputation worldwide in the process. Aside from producing pop hits in the late 1980s (for the likes of Lisa Stansfield and Yazz & the Plastic Population), the duo would go on to release a string of albums under the Coldcut moniker, undertake seemingly endless remix commissions, design pioneering sampling software VJamm, produce a Radio 3 play and even set up their own political party. They’ve been back on the critical radar most recently for their Sound Mirrors album and for the meaty Bollywood-flavoured single with Roots Manuva, True Skool. These are guys whose world never stop moving.In A Few Words… Ninja Tune chiefs and DJing dons