FORMED: 1986, London, EnglandDJs Jonathon More and Matt Black, aka Coldcut, rose to acclaim in the mid-'80s through production and remix work for a number of modern rock, hip-hop, and dance outfits, including Yaz, Lisa Stansfield, Junior Reid, Blondie, Eric B. & Rakim, and Queen Latifah. While that connection has pegged them as a product of the U.K. acid house and rave scenes, the pair's larger commitment has been to urban breakbeat styles such as hip-hop, ambient dub, and jungle, the three of which have constituted the bulk of their recorded output since their first mid-'80s white-label EP, Hey Kids, What Time Is It? Comprising project titles like Hedfunk, Hex, DJ Food, and Coldcut, More and Black have assembled an empire of U.K. breakbeat and experimental hip-hop through their Ninja Tune/Ntone labels and been a unifying force in underground experimental electronic music through their eclectic radio show, Solid Steel, and club and tour dates.
More and Black got their start, not surprisingly, as radio DJs, working at the pirate station Network 21 during the first half of the '80s, and latching onto the snowballing club scene mid- to late-decade. Their claim to early fame, Hey Kids, What Time Is It? was modeled on the cut'n'scratch turntable aesthetic of underground deck heroes like Grandmaster Flash and Double D & Steinski. Widely regarded as the U.K.'s first breaks record and an influential force in bringing identity to London's nascent club culture, the record -- released as a U.S. import billed to DJ Coldcut to avoid sample litigation -- opened as many doors for More and Black as it did for DJs, bringing scads of production and remix work their way. The attention (and sales royalties) also allowed them to launch their Ninja Tune and Ntone labels, which together have been home to some of the most acclaimed and influential artists of London's post-rave underground scene, including DJ Food, Drome, Journeyman, 9 Lazy 9, Up, Bustle & Out, and the Herbaliser.
Although Coldcut was their earliest nom de plume, following a befuddled contract with Arista, the name has languored in legal channels for the past few years. The intervening period found the pair no less active, releasing a flood of material under different names and continuing to work with young groups. 1995 brought the Coldcut name back to More and Black, and the pair celebrated with a mix-CD on the Journeys by DJ label dubbed 70 Minutes of Madness. The release is credited with bringing to wider attention the sort of freestyle mixing the pair have always been known for through their radio show on KISS FM, Solid Steel, and their steady club dates, a style that has since taken off through clubs like Blech and the Heavenly Sunday Social. In 1997, Coldcut finally released another full-length, Let Us Play! Two years later, the pair followed up with the remix album Let Us Replay! ~ Sean Cooper, All Music Guide