Coldcut
Sound Mirrors

Dance pioneers Coldcut return to the fold with Sound Mirrors, a release that while taking in the duo’s classic ‘beats and pieces’ style, sees them with their feet firmly in the present.

Drawing on a set of collaborators that only an act of this calibre could pull together, Coldcut expertly illustrate their knack of moulding all the right elements together to make a cracking tune.
Opener ‘Everything is under control’, a blues-rock/hip hop explosion featuring Jon Spencer of Blues Explosion fame and rapper Mike Ladd perfectly sets the pace.

The unmistakable vocals of Roots Manuva spearheads the Bangra-tinged ‘True Skool’, which whilst taking the album into new realms after the opener maintains the tempo. An array of world sounds are masterfully implemented elsewhere on the album, like ‘Boogieman’s fusion of acid-house beats and dancehall rhythms.

On skilful form Coldcut chill things out with ‘Man in a garage’ a subtle, sublime and beautiful slice of folktronica which is wonderfully completed by John Matthia’s silky, under-stated vocals.
It is not just their musical scope that becomes apparent on ‘Sound Mirrors’, with this offering Coldcut have something political to say. In true form, the duo speak through the music whilst allowing others to take centre-stage to articulate the messages.

The genius that is Saul Williams couldn’t have been a better choice to do this. Williams paints a dark picture of world affairs on ‘Mr Nicols’ over a gloriously subdued arrangement to startling effect, his direct spoken-word narrative demanding attention.

The words of legendary black American poet Amiri Baraka are featured on the swirling, psychotic title track. With tracks like ‘Aid Dealer’ and ‘Colours the soul’ the message is complete.

Sound Mirrors whilst not scared of breaking musical boundaries, shows a band that left their ground-breaking days behind them a while ago.

It does prove why Coldcut have endured and that no matter what, they are still at the top of the pile of dance producers.

by Chris Marks

Related articles

Coldcut: Official band site

Ninja Tune: Official label site