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Coldcut

All Acting Regiment

15:24 / 08.08.04

So...what do you know about these? The interview at perfect sound (which is good) made them sound interesting, and apparently they were the first band to use samples in th uk.
Does anyone here have an opinion on them?

Spatula Clarke

17:54 / 08.08.04

Ignore the interview - it makes them sound *much* more interesting than they actually were/are. In musical terms, anyway.

Ninja Tune was home to trip hop so bad it made most of Mo Wax's output sound exciting (well, almost). Responsible for putting out some absolute shit. Music that informed a thousand car adverts.

Their Journeys by DJ sounds a bit dated now, but it's still worth hearing if you haven't already. Other than that, they can safely be consigned to the dustbin of history.

rizla mission

19:17 / 08.08.04

Hey, Ninja Tune isn't all bad.. they do release stuff by some good people - Kid Koala and Amon Tobin spring to mind.

The Coldcut tracks I've heard are basically big piles of samples assembled with a real hammerblow lack of subtlety. This tends to mean they're entertaining on first listen, but get progressively more infuriating on each subsequent listen.

The Natural Way

17:37 / 09.08.04

I used to love their show, Solid Steel, back when it was on Kiss. It was consistently starnge and fun and genuinely eclectic, BUT I have to agree with Randy here - a great deal of the Ninja output is, in retrospect ('cause I really liked a lot of it at the time), a bit shit. But, yeah, Tobin is pretty nifty, and I first heard Squarepusher on Flexistentialism - that was pretty cool.

pointless and uncalled for

14:01 / 10.08.04

Beats & Pieces Good, a slow able downhill form there.

40%

11:44 / 15.08.04

I quite liked Funkjazztical tricknology, quite atmospheric in places if not overly dynamic. Better than Flexistentialism, I think, as the latter was varied to the point of being incoherent. I think it's a bit harsh to say they make Mo Wax sound exciting, some of the Ninja Tunes stuff comes a bit closer to being songs i.e. they sound like they're going somewhere, whereas a lot of the Mo Wax stuff just sounds like a continuous loop.

I think the most notable artists have already been mentioned. Coldcut never grabbed me especially, but I heard they put on some interesting events with costumes and games and various weird things. A couple of my mates went to it and I was gutted not to have made it at the time. But musically, yeah Coldcut are a bit lacking in subtlety.

I really like Ashley Beedle's "Do you believe in love?" from the Flexistentialism collection, except they fuck it up half way through with some clumsy and poorly mixed xylophone playing. Sigh...

Haus of Mystery

19:32 / 15.08.04

I agree Varriage - Solid steel was starnge.

illmatic

07:16 / 16.08.04

I used to love Coldcuts show - Jonathon Moore was a kind of old (pre-house music) warehouse party DJ who used to play freaky funky bits of "world music" - stuff like Fela Kuti amongst a lot of other stuff I can't remember. They used to a Friday evening show on Kiss (after Danny Rampling) which was amazing - really eclectic for the time. Hip Hop, weirdness, old funk bits, Prince, general oddness - I remember hearing them drop The Beat's "Stand Down Margaret" when Thatcher stood down followed by Talking Heads. "Beats and Pieces" was pretty incredible when it came out. Amazing for the time, dunno what they're like now.

Spaniel

16:18 / 22.08.04

Yep, music produced by 'em wasn't much to write home about, but Solid Steel was a bloody good show: a real dose of eclecticism after House music exploded into a zillion pidgeon-holes in the early ninties.

The mid-ninties was a funny time, it's the only period of my muscial life I look back on with a degree of shame. Christ, I used to love Smoker's Delight. UUUUGGHH!!!!

Keith, like a scientist

21:54 / 22.08.04

Ninja Tune is putting out some good stuff after years of crap crap crap. That fucking trip hop period of all that shit was so horrible. Anyway...

I'd recommend these two DJ Food albums: "Recipe for Disaster" (Kind of the definitive album of that old sound) and "Kaleidoscope" which is like a weird experimental jazz album, but with hip hop beats and samples. I know, I know, sounds like Trip Hop, eh? But really it's not. much more intelligent.

2 recent Ninja Tune releases that I love are Blockhead -"Music by Cavelight" (instrumental album by Aesop Rock's producer) and Sixtoo -"Chewing Glass and Other Miracle Cures" which is kind of like an indie rock-kraut-hip-hop-free-jazz thing.

Coldcut...I lost interest after awhile, but I still "More Beats and Pieces" (a big sample mash) and the accompanying album "Let's Play" that has it's moments.

Spaniel

08:35 / 23.08.04

Ah, yes, Intelligent Beatzzz.

Benny the Ball

12:38 / 23.08.04

I quite like the Solid Steel presents series. And "I'm Wild ABout That Thing" is a nifty little mix.

If you want to make your own mind up, the Solid Steel stuff is still being broadcast on www.resonancefm.com on a monday evening.

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