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Coldcut
Let Us Play (Ninja Tune) |
Ars
Poetica or
Arsing Around ?
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Let
Us Play |
" Two
CDs… ? " says the unwary fellow not having fully read the packaging,
" what does this one do… ? ".
Let us play.
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Like spoilt children,
we stand in awe-struck bewilderment at the sheer volume and diversity of what is before
our eyes. Let Us Play by Coldcut, the duo of Jonathan More and Matt Black, is not
one thing : it is album, CD-Rom, album sleeve essay rolled into one experience…
this is not going to be easy. Fathers of Ninja Tune, DJs, creators
and producers, their aim is not to make your listening easy. So much more
meaningful the enjoyment.
The opening track, Return to Margin, a jazz-funk groove with a light
skip and a jazz lick here and there, is deceptive in its simplicity. The bringing together
of sampled voice and disjointed beat into a coherent whole is no less remarkable then the
intricate drumming display. The tone is set for an album which consistently challenges
your expectations, inviting us beyond synthetic beats and facile melodies.
The sensitivity of the
arrangements, the interweaving fugues of Rubaiyat
and Timber or the melodic fullness of
the trance Music 4 no musicians, is a
reference to a wider awareness of the basic dynamics of musical sound, intensity, timbre,
volume, which sets Coldcut apart from many of its contempories.
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A groove that makes you
move needs more than a loud pumping bass.
Simple ideas can have more impact
than inseperable layers of harmonic sound. The shifts of tempo and ambiance in Timber contrast with recurrent sampled sounds, a
sonar beep, a starting car, holding the track together rhythmically and conceptually. The
minimal bass of Music 4 no musicians
points to an impending paroxysme, the formula crescendo shift of a trance intro into
harsher techno tones, but it never arrives. Our senses are held hostage by the most
unobtrusive of sounds. Here, Coldcut leaves behind the well-practised formulae, and
discovers...
...the art of systems. |
Child's
play ? |
| This is not intended to
play down the sense of humour and political engagement, the playfullness and the
pure enjoyment that are characteristic of this album. From the bitter sarcasm of Noah’s Toilet, the political statement
of Every Home a Prison and Pan Opticon, to the cheeky smirk of I’m wild about that thing, Coldcut
haven’t forgotten that music is still about producing engaging tunes and adressing
universal themes. The humour and diatribes aren’t restricted to lyrical/vocal
enonciation : the trippy funk of Space Journey
(spot the Herbaliser touch), the slow mechanics and the weak timbre of
the harpsichord riff in Cloned Again,
the change to frenetic rhythms in Atomic Moog 2000,
all are as synonymous with this musical sensitivity as the melancholic pose and weeping
violins. Coldcut is equally at home with
the brash world of free-style DJing. Masters of the spinning vinyl and all that is the
scratch... |
Coldcut raids the Ninja Tune archives and comes out
with More Beats & pieces, an
incredible display of manual technique, mixing old skool, Dub, hip-hop, techno noise,
voice samples, you name it… The |
"Coldcut
is equally at home
with the brash world
of free-style DJing." |
| audacity of including the main theme of Prokofiev’s
Peter and the Wolf and the hard-core
scratching leaves you stunned. We all know it, but what’s it doing here ? A
track whose attitude cannot fail to make heads turn. |
Timber... |
The most pleasing track is Timber, part of a audio-visual project
undertaken in support of Greenpeace. Out of a perfectly
controlled progression of sounds contrasting nature and human activity, the suspense and
rising anxiety are resolved in a plateau of full sound, that maternal bass, and out of the
blue comes a sound you have never heard before…
Timber...
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You would be forgiven for mistaking this as Deep
Forest, ethnic vocals transformed into an ethereal sound with the
innocence of a child and the soul of a lost people. If the beauty and purity of the track
leaves you blissed, press replay before track ten booms forth. If not, well, the next
album of World’s Apart is due out soon, happy listening.
Timber... |
It is difficult to summarise this album, its
impossible to label every track. The quantity and quality is to be heard, not synthesised.
Coldcut defies the critique’s array of labels, since no track is pure anything, yet
the diversity maintains its coherence and purpose. Their music has evolved and their music
is evolving, Coldcut isn’t a fixed identity. So, before they mutate once more (drum
n’ bass coming on strong), go and play.ML
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Prix indicatif : 139 FF |
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