Editing Coldcut (section)

===1990s===
Coldcut's second album, ''Some Like It Cold'', released in 1990 on Ahead Of Our Time, featured a collaboration with [[Queen Latifah]] on the single "Find a Way". Though "Find a Way" was a minor hit in the UK, no more singles were released from the album. The duo was given the [[British Phonographic Industry|BPI]] "Producer of the Year Award" in 1990. Hex - alongside some other London visual experimenters such as iE - produced a series of videos for a longform [[VHS]] version of the album. This continued Coldcut and Hex's pioneering of the use of [[microcomputers]] to synthesize electronic music visuals.

After their success with Lisa Stansfield, Coldcut signed with her label, [[Arista Records|Arista]]. Conflicts arose with the major label, as Coldcut's "vision extended beyond the formulae of house and techno" and mainstream pop culture (CITATION: The Virgin Encyclopedia Of Nineties Music, 2000). Eventually, the duo's album [[Philosophy (album)|Philosophy]] emerged in 1993. Singles "Dreamer" and "[[Autumn Leaves (1945 song)|Autumn Leaves]]" (1994) sung by vocalist Janis Alexander were both minor hits but the album did not chart.

"Autumn Leaves" had strings recorded at [[Abbey Road Studios|Abbey Road]], with a 30-piece string section and an arrangement by film composer [[Ed Shearmur]]. The leader of the string section was [[Simon Jeffes]] of [[Penguin Cafe Orchestra]]. Coldcut's insistence on their friend [[Mixmaster Morris]] to remix "Autumn Leaves"<ref>{{cite book |last=Larkin |first=Colin |title= The Virgin encyclopedia of nineties music |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=crs7AQAAIAAJ&q=coldcut+%22Some+Like+It+Cold%22 |year=2000 |publisher=Virgin |isbn=9780753504277 |via=2000}}</ref> led to one of Morris' most celebrated remixes,<ref>{{cite book |title= Crossfade: a big chill anthology |isbn = 9781852428754|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=pBcJAQAAMAAJ&q=mixmaster+morris+%22autumn+leaves%22 |access-date= 15 November 2004|last1 = Lawrence|first1 = Pete|last2 = Howard|first2 = Vicki|year = 2004| publisher=Serpent's Tail }}</ref> which became a minor legend<ref>{{cite book |title= All Music Guide to Electronica: The Definitive Guide to Electronic Music |isbn = 9780879306281|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=GJNXLSBlL7IC&q=mixmaster+morris+%22autumn+leaves%22&pg=PT50 |via=2001|last1 = Bogdanov|first1 = Vladimir|last2 = Woodstra|first2 = Chris|last3 = Bush|first3 = John|last4 = Erlewine|first4 = Stephen Thomas|year = 2001}}</ref> in ambient music. It has appeared on numerous compilations.

In 1990, whilst on their first tour in Japan (which also featured Norman Cook, who later became [[Fatboy Slim]]), Matt and Jon formed their second [[record label]], [[Ninja Tune]], as a self-titled "technocoloured escape pod", and a way to escape the creative control of major labels.<ref>{{cite web |title= Billboard |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=vgcEAAAAMBAJ&q=Arista+coldcut&pg=PA28 |page=28 |date=7 September 1996}}</ref> The label enabled them to release music under different aliases (e.g. Bogus Order, DJ Food), which also helped them to avoid pigeonholing as producers. Ninja Tune's first release was Bogus Order's "Zen Brakes". The name Coldcut stayed with Arista so there were no official Coldcut releases for the next three years.

During this time, Coldcut still produced for artists on their new label, releasing a flood of material under different names and continuing to work with young groups.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> They additionally kept on with ''[[Solid Steel]]'' on Kiss FM and running the night club Stealth (Club of the Year in the [[NME]], [[The Face magazine|''The Face'']], and ''[[Mixmag]]'' in 1996).

In 1991, Hex released their first video game, ''[[Top Banana (video game)|Top Banana]]'', which was included on a Hex release for the [[Commodore CDTV]] machine in 1992, arguably the first complete purpose-designed multimedia system.<ref>{{cite book |last=Cawkell |first=Tony |title= The Multimedia Handbook |date=18 May 2004 |isbn=9780203398371 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=j4JjoLzoJLQC&q=Commodore+CDTV+machine&pg=PA121 |access-date= 18 May 2004}}</ref> ''Top Banana'' was innovative in that it used sampled graphics, contained an ecological theme and a female lead character (dubbed "KT"), and its music changed through random processes. Coldcut and Hex presented this multimedia project as an example of the forthcoming convergence of pop music and computer-game characters.

In 1992, Hex's first single - "Global Chaos" / "Digital Love Opus 1" - combined rave visuals with techno and ambient interactive visuals.<ref>{{cite web |title= Billboard |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=IA8EAAAAMBAJ&q=Arista+coldcut&pg=PA66 |date= 18 January 1997}}</ref>
In November of that year, Hex released Global Chaos CDTV, which took advantage of the possibilities of the new [[CD-ROM]] medium. The Global Chaos CDTV disk (which contained the ''Top Banana'' game, interactive visuals and audio), was a forerunner of the "CD+" concept, uniting music, graphics, and video games into one.<ref>{{cite book |title=All Music Guide to Electronica: The Definitive Guide to Electronic Music |isbn = 9780879306281|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=GJNXLSBlL7IC&q=Global+Chaos+CDTV&pg=PT196 |via=2001 |last1 = Bogdanov|first1 = Vladimir|last2 = Woodstra|first2 = Chris|last3 = Bush|first3 = John|last4 = Erlewine|first4 = Stephen Thomas|year = 2001}}</ref> This multi-dimensional entertainment product received wide coverage in the national media, including features on Dance Energy, Kaleidoscope on [[BBC Radio 4]], ''What's Up Doc?'' on [[ITV (TV channel)|ITV]] and ''Reportage'' on [[BBC Two]]. ''[[i-D Magazine]]'' was quoted as saying, "It's like your TV tripping".

Coldcut videos were made for most songs, often by [[Hexstatic]], and used a lot of stock and sampled footage. Their "Timber" video, which created an AV collage piece using analogous techniques to audio sample collage, was put on heavy rotation on MTV.<ref>{{cite news |title= (unknown title) |via= 26 November 2013 |newspaper=The Independent |date=15 January 1999}}</ref> Stuart Warren Hill of Hexstatic referred to this technique as: "What you see is what you hear".  "Timber" (which appears on both ''Let Us Play'', Coldcut's fourth album, and ''Let Us Replay'', their fifth) won awards for its innovative use of repetitive video clips synced to the music,<ref>{{cite book |title= All Music Guide to Hip-hop: The Definitive Guide to Rap & Hip-hop |isbn = 9780879307592|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Wr1lmklsD8QC&q=coldcut+%22solid+steel%22&pg=PT210 |access-date= 26 November 2013|last1 = Authors|first1 = Various|year = 2003}}</ref> including being shortlisted at the Edinburgh Television and Film Festival in their top five music videos of the year in 1998.<ref>{{cite news |title= (unknown title) |via= 26 November 2013 |newspaper= The Guardian |date= February 1999}}</ref>

Coldcut began integrating video sampling into their live DJ gigs at the time, and incorporated multimedia content that caused press to credit the act as segueing "into the computer age".<ref>{{cite web |title=Billboard |date = 18 January 1997|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IA8EAAAAMBAJ&q=%22trip-hop%22+coldcut&pg=PA66 |access-date= 26 November 2013}}</ref> Throughout the 90s, Hex created visuals for Coldcut's live performances, and developed the CD-ROM portion of Coldcut's ''Let Us Play'' and ''Let Us Replay'', in addition to software developed specifically for the album's world tour. Hex's inclusion of music videos and "playtools" (playful art/music software programs) on Coldcut's CD-ROM was completely ahead of the curve at that time, offering viewers/listeners a high level of interactivity.<ref>{{cite book |title= Changing Tunes: The Use of Pre-existing Music in Film |isbn = 9780754651376|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=tvnw4_zXsl0C&q=coldcut+VJamm&pg=PA175 |access-date= 26 November 2013|last1 = Powrie|first1 = Phil|last2 = Stilwell|first2 = Robynn Jeananne|year = 2006}}</ref> Playtools such as My Little Funkit and Playtime were the prototypes for [http://www.ninjajamm.com/ Ninja Jamm], the app Coldcut designed and launched 16 years later. Playtime followed on from Coldcut and Hex's Synopticon installation, developing the auto-cutup algorhythm, and using other random processes to generate surprising combinations. Coldcut and Hex performed live using Playtime at the 1st [[Sónar|Sonar Festival]] in 1994. Playtime was also used to generate the backing track for Coldcut's collaboration with [[Jello Biafra]], "Every Home a Prison".

In 1994, Coldcut and Hex contributed an installation to the [[Glasgow Gallery of Modern Art]]. The piece, called ''Generator'', was installed in the Fire Gallery. ''Generator'' was an interactive installation which allowed users to mix sound, video, text and graphics and make their own audio-visual mix, modelled on the techniques and technology used by Coldcut in clubs and live performance events. It consisted of two consoles: the left controlling how the sounds are played, the right controlling how the images are played.

As part of the JAM exhibition of "Style, Music and Media" at the [[Barbican Art Gallery]] in 1996, Coldcut and Hex were commissioned to produce an interactive audiovisual piece called Synopticon. Conceived and designed by Robert Pepperell and Matt Black, the digital culture synthesiser allows users to "remix" sounds, images, text and music in a partially random, partially controlled way.

The year 1996 also brought the Coldcut name back to More and Black, and the pair celebrated with ''[[70 Minutes of Madness]]'', a mix CD that became part of the [[Journeys by DJ]] series. The release was credited with "bringing to wider attention the sort of freestyle mixing the pair were always known for through their radio show on KISS FM, Solid Steel, and their steady club dates".<ref>{{cite book|title=All Music Guide to Hip-hop: The Definitive Guide to Rap & Hip-hop|isbn = 9780879307592|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wr1lmklsD8QC&q=Arista+coldcut&pg=PT69|access-date=26 November 2013|last1 = Authors|first1 = Various|year = 2003}}</ref> It was voted "Best Compilation of All Time" by [[Jockey Slut]] in 1998.

In February 1997, they released a double pack single "Atomic Moog 2000" / "Boot the System", the first Coldcut release on Ninja Tune. This was not eligible for the UK chart because time and format restrictions prevented the inclusion of the "Natural Rhythm" video on the CD. In August 1997, a reworking of the early track "More Beats + Pieces" gave them their first UK Top 40 hit since 1989.

The album ''[[Let Us Play!]]'' followed in September and also made the Top 40. The fourth album by Coldcut, ''Let Us Play!'' paid homage to the greats that inspired them.<ref>{{cite news |title= (unknown title) |via=26 November 2013 |newspaper= Music Week |date=9 August 1997}}</ref> Their first album to be released on Ninja Tune, it featured guest appearances by [[Grandmaster Flash]], [[Steinski]], [[Jello Biafra]], [[Jimpster]], [[The Herbaliser]], [[Talvin Singh]], [[Daniel Pemberton]] and Selena Saliva. Coldcut's cut 'n' paste method on the album was compared to that of [[Dadaism]] and [[William Burroughs]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Shapiro |first=Peter |title= Drum 'n' Bass: The Rough Guide |year=1999 |publisher=Rough Guides |isbn=9781858284330 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=IxEpAyPvyXoC&q=coldcut+%22let+us+play%22+album&pg=PT223 |access-date= 26 November 2013}}</ref> Hex collaborated with Coldcut to produce the multimedia [[CD-ROM]] for the album. Hex later evolved the software into the engine that was used on the Let Us Play! world tour.

In 1997, Matt Black - alongside Cambridge based developers Camart - created [[Video scratching|real-time video manipulation]] software VJAMM. It allowed users to be a "digital video jockey",<ref name="ReferenceB">{{cite news |title= (unknown title) |via= 26 November 2013 |newspaper=NME |date=January 1999}}</ref> remixing and collaging <ref>{{cite news  |title= (unknown title) |via=26 November 2013 |newspaper=Sound on Sound |date=January 1999}}</ref> sound and images <ref name="ReferenceC">{{cite book |title=New Digital Cinema: Reinventing the Moving Image |isbn = 9781904764250|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=f21G0d3wX7wC&q=coldcut+VJamm&pg=PA72 |access-date= 26 November 2013|last1 = Willis|first1 = Holly|year = 2005| publisher=Wallflower Press }}</ref> and trigger audio and visual samples simultaneously,<ref name="autogenerated1999">{{cite news |title= (unknown title) | via= 26 November 2013 |newspaper= Melody Maker |date=16 January 1999}}</ref> subsequently bringing futuristic technology to the audio-visual field.<ref>{{cite book |title= Making Music with Samples: Tips, Techniques & 600+ Ready-to-use Samples |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=_HbhFKzIpDUC&q=coldcut+VJamm&pg=PA180 |page=180 |isbn = 9780879308391|access-date= 26 November 2013 |last1 = Duffell|first1 = Daniel|date = January 2005| publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation }}</ref> VJAMM rivalled some of the features of high-end and high cost tech at the time. The VJAMM technology, praised as being proof of how far computers changed the face of live music,<ref>{{cite news |title= (unknown title) |via=26 November 2013 |newspaper= Computer Music, Issue 4 |date=March 1999}}</ref> became seminal in both Coldcut's live sets (which were called a "revelaton" by Melody Maker <ref name="autogenerated1999"/> and DJ sets. Their CCTV live show was featured at major festivals including [[Glastonbury]], [[Roskilde]], [[Sónar]], the [[Montreux Jazz Festival]], and [[John Peel]]'s Meltdown. The "beautifully simple and devastatingly effective" <ref>{{cite news |title= (unknown title) |via=26 November 2013 |newspaper= DJ Magazine, Issue 33, Vol 2 |date=13–26 February 1999}}</ref> software was deemed revolutionary,<ref>{{cite news |title= (unknown title) |via= 26 November 2013 |newspaper=Muzik |date= March 1999}}</ref> and became recognized as a major factor in the evolution of clubs.<ref>{{cite news |title= (unknown title) | via=26 November 2013 |newspaper=iDJ |date=September 2001}}</ref> It eventually earned a place in the American Museum of the Moving Image's permanent collection.<ref name="ReferenceC"/> As quoted by The Independent, Coldcut's rallying cry was "Don't hate the media, be the media'".<ref>{{cite news |title= Music: Remix your television set |newspaper= The Independent |date=15 January 1999 |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music-remix-your-television-set-1073968.html |access-date=3 June 2018}}</ref> NME was quoted as saying: "Veteran duo Coldcut are so cool they invented the remix - now they are doing the same for television."

Also working with Camart, Black designed DJamm software in 1998, which Coldcut used on laptops for their live shows, providing the audio bed alongside VJAMM's audiovisual samples. Matt Black explained they designed DJamm so they "could perform electronic music in a different way – i.e., not just taking a session band out to reproduce what you put together in the studio using samples. It had a relationship to DJing, but was more interactive and more effective."<ref>{{cite web |title= AudioTechnology Magazine, issue 47 |url= http://www.audiotechnology.com.au/PDF/FEATURES/AT47_Cold_Cut.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202230621/http://www.audiotechnology.com.au/PDF/FEATURES/AT47_Cold_Cut.pdf |archive-date=2013-12-02 |url-status=live |work=AudioTechnology Magazine | issue=47 |access-date=26 November 2013}}</ref> Excitingly at that time, DJamm was pioneering in its ability to shuffle sliced loops into intricate sequences, enabling users to split loops into any number of parts.<ref>{{cite news |title= (unknown title) |via= 26 November 2013 |newspaper= Computer Music |date=March 1999}}</ref>

In 1999, ''Let Us Replay!'' was released, a double-disc remix album where Coldcut's classic tunes were remixed by the likes of [[Cornelius (musician)|Cornelius]] (which was heralded as a highlight of the album,<ref name="ReferenceB"/> [[Mixmaster Morris|Irresistible Force]], [[Shut Up and Dance (band)|Shut Up And Dance]], [[Carl Craig]] and J Swinscoe.<ref>{{cite news |title= (unknown title) |newspaper=Update |date=22–28 February 1999}}</ref> Let Us Replay! pieces together "short sharp shocks that put the mental in 'experimental' and still bring the breaks till the breakadawn".<ref>{{cite web |title=Spin |date = April 1999|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=_NXdfW9kpokC&q=Let+Us+Replay%21+coldcut&pg=PT21 |access-date=26 November 2013}}</ref> It also includes a few live tracks from the duo's innovative world tour.<ref>{{cite book |title= All Music Guide to Electronica: The Definitive Guide to Electronic Music |isbn = 9780879306281|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=GJNXLSBlL7IC&q=Let+Us+Replay%21+coldcut&pg=PT51 |access-date= 26 November 2013|last1 = Bogdanov|first1 = Vladimir|last2 = Woodstra|first2 = Chris|last3 = Bush|first3 = John|last4 = Erlewine|first4 = Stephen Thomas|year = 2001| publisher=Backbeat Books }}</ref> The CD-ROM of the album, which also contained a free demo disc of the VJamm software,<ref>{{cite web |title= Coldcut: Let Us Replay! |url= http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/1535-let-us-replay/ |work=Pitchfork |access-date=26 November 2013 }}</ref> was one of the earliest audiovisual CD- ROMs on the market,<ref>{{cite web |title= Volume 3, Issues 5-6 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=SVFLAAAAYAAJ&q=coldcut+VJamm |work=Artbyte |year = 2001|access-date=26 November 2013}}</ref> and Muzik claimed deserved to "have them canonized...it's like buying an entire mini studio for under $15".<ref>{{cite news |title= (unknown title) |via= 26 November 2013 |newspaper= Muzik |date= September 1997}}</ref>