Since the '80s -- when the first samplers came on the market -- sampling in music has evolved from a revolutionary and barely understood practice to become a standard tool in the production of even the most mundane pop song. It's all in the hands of the user -- and when those hands belong to Coldcut, one of the pioneering forces of sample-based music, you can be assured the results will be intriguing. By taking snatches of recorded music and spoken word and juxtaposing them with unrelated elements in a completely different context, Coldcut use sampling for satire, political comment and comic effect.
Owners of the Ninja Tune label, Coldcut will be arriving for a three-day series of shows in Japan to celebrate the recent release of the "Zen" collection of retrospective CDs and DVDs, which compile tracks and visuals from the Ninja archives. Joining them will be scratch wizard Kid Koala from Canada, Jason Swinscoe (Cinematic Orchestra) and the visual team Hexstatic, as well as relative newcomers to the Ninja stable Bonobo and Dominic Smith.
Jonathan Moore and Matt Black formed Coldcut back in the '80s after being blown away by the mixing and scratching experiments of hip-hop DJs in the United States. They had a go themselves -- and the results, such as the 1987 single "Beats and Pieces," instantly broke new ground in British club music and opened ears to the joys of sonic manipulation.