Coldcut

Coldcut, the pioneering electronic music and multimedia duo composed of Matt Black and Jonathan More, achieved mainstream recognition in 1987 with their groundbreaking remix of Eric B. & Rakim’s ‘Paid in Full,’ reaching No. 15 in the UK and paving the way for hip-hop’s UK mainstream entry. This followed their seminal 1987 white label ‘Say Kids What Time Is It?’, hailed as the UK’s first breaks and entirely sample-based record.

In 1990, Black and More founded Ninja Tune, an independent record label, pioneering the trip hop genre and releasing music under aliases like Bogus Order and DJ Food. Their multimedia innovation began with Hex, a ‘multimedia pop group,’ formed in 1988, which produced one of the first pop promos on microcomputers for Coldcut’s ‘Christmas Break’ in 1989. Early convergence works included the 1991 video game ‘Top Banana’ and 1992 ‘Global Chaos CDTV.’ In 1997, Matt Black co-created VJAMM, real-time video manipulation software integral to Coldcut’s acclaimed live AV sets and now in the American Museum of the Moving Image’s permanent collection. Coldcut also released the album ‘Let Us Play!’ (1997), followed by DJamm software (1998) and the remix album ‘Let Us Replay!’ (1999).

Coldcut’s ‘Solid Steel’ radio show celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2013, the same year they launched the Ninja Jamm music making app. Demonstrating their enduring influence, Coldcut released the collaborative ‘Keleketla!’ album in 2020. In 2021, the duo expanded their curated soundscapes by releasing the ambient compilation ‘@0.’ Through continuous innovation in music production, label management with Ninja Tune, and pioneering multimedia development, Coldcut (Matt Black and Jonathan More) remain at the forefront of electronic music and visual arts.