[Mach V]

Let's get some ground rules set first off: Coldcut - Pioneers in UK Dance Music, Hip Hop remixers of repute, Political activists, creators of arguably the best mix cd of all time (Their contribution to the "Journeys by DJ" series) and possibly the best Audio Visual Artists in the world -Suffice to say that the news of a new LP and subsequent UK tour is something to get excited about. Regretfully, I wish I hadn't.

The gig was riddled with a number of technical glitches and continual "cockpit" errors (mostly on the visual side). Screens went blank, DVD logos popped up, colour got dropped and accidental views of software interfaces were all just some of the annoying and sadly amateurish errors that were made during the performance. Why, in this day and age, should Coldcut leave all screens blank at the end of each performance piece (some just one tune long), and why we were made to suffer these awkward breaks between numbers at all is beyond me, especially as they have two MCs who could help fill up these gaps and keep the vibe flowing.

It's true to say that when they did get all the gizmos working they did produce some pretty good stuff, such as "Tru Skool" and "ETUC" and thankfully they mixed up the new tunes and the old - often reinvented and rehashed - but overall I came away feeling that Coldcut hadn't rehearsed their technical set up enough or maybe that their setup is too complex for them to create a decent live show. They could also learn quite a lot from their other similar AV artists (no names, no pack drill) about musical flow an continuity.

Don't get me completely wrong, I would still advise seeing them on this tour as, hopefully they will iron out their problems as they progress and improve the general flow of their set and when they do I reckon the show will be worth really checking out, but sadly last night wasn't a night to remember and, as an Album Launch party, it should have been.

Marky a.k.a

Mach V (SoxaN)

http://www.soxan.co.uk

This post has been edited by Mach V: 20 January 2006 - 11:42 AM

[Mach V]

jim, on 20 Jan 2006, 11:21, said:

and has there been such a gathering of vj types like that before!

yes. :)

[Rovastar]

jim, on 20 Jan 2006, 12:36, said:

and rova.. your keeping quiet! whats your views then as a first time coldcut viewer ;)

I thought it was pretty poor and unprofessional, to be honest. On average every minute there was a noticeable @!#$ up and for ambassadors of AV and visuals this is shuddy. Many VJs have said in the past they are the best AV, etc, etc. Last year I saw some of sets from Hexstatic and VJamm all stars and they were a lot more slick than this performance.

Also as I found out afterwards they were using content from other VJs without permission goes against much of the ethos of VJing!

In a few days I write up a big review for VJForums/Central.

BTW has anyone any photos of the event. I would love to have them. It will help me write a detailed review if you have any want to share could you email them to Rovastar *-at-* gmail.com

[simon green]

soxan = the nu coldcut?

the king is dead - long live the king? dont make me laugh.

please can you add something about the 'content' of the
show? or is it only the ''technology'' you find interesting?

stuff that im doing a review....

simon

[simon green]

Rovastar, on 20 Jan 2006, 12:06, said:

BTW has anyone any photos of the event. I would love to have them.

hi rovastar... give me a few days - i have photos.

but not time to edit them.

be making a start over the weekend and i'll post them as open source....

simon x

[BarryDark]

Hmmmm. Probs a fair review by the sounds of people's reactions Marky.

.... no one's really talked about the music though.

Was it gash- or did it really need backing up by well-functioning visuals? I've got a tape recording of the Let us Replay tour, and it's not nearly half as entertaining without the visuals.....

This post has been edited by BarryDark: 20 January 2006 - 12:13 PM

[Mach V]

simon green, on 20 Jan 2006, 12:06, said:

soxan = the nu coldcut?

that's very polite of you simon, but you know it's not true. :)

[Mrs Frisby]

I'll (hesitantly) looking forward to seeing them live. Hope they get everything smoothed out.
.... no one's really talked about the music though.
Was it gash- or did it really need backing up by well-functioning visuals?
That's the thing about Coldcut though, isn't it: the visuals aren't just tacked-on eye candy, they're an intrinsic part of the show, right? I don't think that makes it a bad thing. That said, they played one track at Eastnor 04 (apparently 'new' material, so I'm looking forward to hearing it again) that really got me, which I'm sure would stand alone.
There's something about Coldcut, to my mind. They've got something that, it seems to me, other people don't have... soul? Humanity? I know that sounds a bit pretentious but there's something about them that really grabs you and takes you somewhere; it's not just ironic slick clever-cleverness, which certain other AV acts seem to revolve around.
Just my tuppence worth; I don't claim to be in the least bit learned when it comes to AV stuff...

[Mach V]

BarryDark, on 20 Jan 2006, 12:11, said:

.... no one's really talked about the music though.

It was cargo so it was diffucult to judge. ;)

It lacked flow. some of the pieces were good and good coldcut is great music , but the whole gig didn't really go anyway because they kept stopping.

A real missed opportunity.

[simon green]

Rovastar, on 20 Jan 2006, 12:06, said:

Also as I found out afterwards they were using content from other VJs without permission goes against much of the ethos of VJing!

just for the record i dont agree with this ''interpretation of vj culture''.

and especially coldcut have always been about pushing sample culture.. made no 'secret' of that and they are brave with it. (risking disney and george lucas clips for example - and stuff from bbc tv/mtv etc)

i didnt see this in any way as stealing. i thought they were paying their respects to some of the vj's in the room who they appreciate dearly.

understand there are two ways of seeing this debate but... imho this was not ''stealing without permission'' but giving a lift up to some fantastic footage.

[Rovastar]

simon green, on 20 Jan 2006, 13:18, said:

just for the record i dont agree with this ''interpretation of vj culture''.

and especially coldcut have always been about pushing sample culture.. made no 'secret' of that and they are brave with it. (risking disney and george lucas clips for example - and stuff from bbc tv/mtv etc)

i didnt see this in any way as stealing. i thought they were paying their respects to some of the vj's in the room who they appreciate dearly.

understand there are two ways of seeing this debate but... imho this was not ''stealing without permission'' but giving a lift up to some fantastic footage.

There is a clear distinction made within the VJ community at large with the ethics of sampling Hollywood films and another stuggling VJ.

If it was some of my footage without permission I would have been pissed off. Charge £17 in and they play someone else stuff and pass it off as there own is questionable at best.

I know they didn’t ask at least on the VJs there if they could use there stuff (Common courtesy really it is not like trying to clear a sample from a Holywood film studio they can easily get in contact with many of these VJs) and they honour of paying money to see their own content.

To pay respects to the VJ you contact them first say I want you use your footage and I’ll even given you credits at the end, etc. “giving a lift up to some fantastic footage” is no lift at all if you think ColdCut did all the content and they did not.

How does this benefit Mondo, Inside-Us-All, etc and give them a lift up?

[simon green]

had a fantastic time last night. the party had everything an album launch
should have.. punters.. friends.. families... press... merchandise... an event.

was also great to hang out with chums and so many of the movers and
shakers from the vj audio viz scene... all huddled together. really liked
bumping into so many old codger cultural buddies and of course some
newer 'younger' ones.

and cargo was road blocked... tickets sold out last week. touts outside
were asking over thirty quid each.. but they didnt have very many to sell.
we'd mostly come from all across the a/v scene to pay our dues to the
innovators and grand masters of electronica sampled audio visuals - with
beats.

arrived and the atmosphere was building well. people shuffling around in
blank dumb struck expectation. as ross allen (a brilliant dj imho) warmed
up the space with an eclectic slap up which ranged from gil scott heron
to the oneness of ju ju. simply solid and world class records... very nicely
mixed... and right up my musical street.

meanwhile a big video banner dominated the space on stage proclaiming
the future of multi media entertainment. text this number with your clips
and sounds... email them... stand by for bluetooth action. he he... we've
all talked about it. we've all imagined it.. we've all wished and of course
coldcut were actually trying to do it.... 'live'.

coldcut strolled on stage to very warm applause and cheers... matt, jon,
raj and mike. it's show time.

the house lights dim... there was a stressful pause.. and mike bolts across
the front of the stage fiddling with large handfulls of cables... beads of
sweat dripping in anxiety... something had gone wrong. no noise came from one
of the gizmos. and there were cables everywhere. he fiddled... didnt panic..
rattled some kit, slapped a few things and the workstation burst into 'audio/sound'.

and the show... it was a 'complicated' one for sure... and sometimes it went
wrong. infact i loved the shambolic nature of this production in places...
that's because coldcut are pushing it with the technology they always have.. and
it's hard to hold it together. and of course it was bound to splutter a few
times, which it did. but no show stopping hassles. the slot went on... and
this all added to the excitement, rawness and audience communication and interaction.

what can i say about the set? erm.. they played tracks off the new album obviously..
not sure which ones as i've only heard snatches so far.

mixed in with a few classics like 'timber' and 'atomic moog' they smashed it up.

yeah-ha... and robert owens. what can i say. omg.. wasnt expecting to witness
that. what a shock.. and what a voice.. of course he wowed the crowd with "walk
a mile in my shoes" and then ''people hold up'' (wish they had gone the whole way
and done ''the only way is up'') but hell yeah i wasnt expecting their set to break
into a live house middle eight for 15 minutes. heartwarming stuff... the audience
were dancing and smiling and hugging. oh wow.

and the two rappers did a fine job. dropping consciousness, hype and melody over
the mix. holding the chaos together in places with 'human' energy.

coldcuts content is world classs. an a/v mash up of animation, video footage.. some
stolen (loved the walt disney and star wars clips... mtv and bbc ... cocking a snoop
at mainstream media and larging up sampling culture, it shows real courage to do that
on such a high profile tour imho). they also included material from more underground
vj's, once again paying their dues to those struggling to find platforms for their
work and supporting the scene. and there was politics.. anti globalisation ... anti
establishment ... anti war... cut up against joyfull bollywood. (my fav bit). really
enjoyable and producing grins of appreciation.

finally, the qemists came on and played a storming jungle beat mash up of rinsin' beats,
some tunes going back a decade or more... and the place morphed into an old skool
bashment rave dance floor.

and at that point it was fantastic to loose it with some of the finest underground vj's
in the uk on the dance floor in pure celebration and fun :)

file under: in order to understand where uk a/v has come from and to glimpse where it
is kinda going dont miss. this tour is a significant landmark.

laters...

simon

[mavis]

Quote

coldcuts content is world classs. an a/v mash up of animation, video footage.. some stolen (loved the walt disney and star wars clips... mtv and bbc ... cocking a snoop at mainstream media and larging up sampling culture, it shows real courage to do that on such a high profile tour imho).

I'm sorry...was that you applauding stolen footage?!! So it's ok to use other peoples footage now then? Only I've heard you rail against it plenty of times..! Or is it only ok if it's used in a political context??!

In which case I assume Coldcut's use of Disney's Jungle Book to go with 'I'm the King Of The Swingers' played at VJs.net is still unacceptable. But if they'd been making a political statement about the monkey nature of the capitalist state then it would have been ok?


Mmmmmm?

[Rovastar]

Simon were me and you at different gigs? That is not what I saw at all.

[simon green]

mavis, on 20 Jan 2006, 13:23, said:

I'm sorry...was that you applauding stolen footage?!! So it's ok to use other peoples footage now then? Only I've heard you rail against it plenty of times..! Or is it only ok if it's used in a political context??!

In which case I assume Coldcut's use of Disney's Jungle Book to go with 'I'm the King Of The Swingers' played at VJs.net is still unacceptable. But if they'd been making a political statement about the monkey nature of the capitalist state then it would have been ok?
Mmmmmm?

hey mavis... ive never 'railed against sampled footage'? are you sure?

each to their own i dont care how a vj creates their content etc. all styles are good. its a matter of individual style. i have no position on 'content' other than it's in the eye of the beholder.

and you've lost me on the im a king of the swingers... im impressed that they chose a 'disney' to sample.. it shows a high degree of bravery etc as disney are ruthless at hunting down people who 'steal their work' and sueing their butts off.

each to their own...

simon

[Rovastar]

mavis, on 20 Jan 2006, 14:23, said:

I'm sorry...was that you applauding stolen footage?!! So it's ok to use other peoples footage now then? Only I've heard you rail against it plenty of times..! Or is it only ok if it's used in a political context??!

In which case I assume Coldcut's use of Disney's Jungle Book to go with 'I'm the King Of The Swingers' played at VJs.net is still unacceptable. But if they'd been making a political statement about the monkey nature of the capitalist state then it would have been ok?
Mmmmmm?

They did play "Disney's Jungle Book to go with 'I'm the King Of The Swingers' " last night too.

[Mach V]

Rovastar, on 20 Jan 2006, 13:32, said:

They did play "Disney's Jungle Book to go with 'I'm the King Of The Swingers' " last night too.

at least on one of the screens... ;)

[simon green]

Rovastar, on 20 Jan 2006, 13:31, said:

Simon were me and you at different gigs? That is not what I saw at all.

we seem to have different angles on this gig yeah.

think it's more about use and stuff and your position wrt what you 'expect' from an a/v party. it shows our 'difference' ... but that doesnt need to be a 'bad' thing.

infact it's a good thing imho we have different ''views'' of the same happening.

if we all agreed it would be a dull as dish water world.

so is the way of the true eclectic - i am an eclectic and i know what i like and i like coldcut live and socially mixing with my cultural chums and having a good time.

i really did have a fantastic evening and enjoyed the ''show'' very much.

laters...

simon

[Rovastar]

Mach V, on 20 Jan 2006, 14:33, said:

at least on one of the screens... ;)

stop reminding me how bad it was. ;-)

[dave&kitty]

Quote

I think its cos they basically push everything to its upmost limit and beyond. They've got grand ideas but the technology isn't there yet

they also dont have a huge budget - its not like theyre U2 is it...


and I cant believe theyre still playing the jungle book - theyve been playing that for years and its funny once....

the albums great though!