Their first major hit as Coldcut was the house-inflected People Hold On, featuring a then-unknown Lisa Stansfield. The single took the U.K. by a storm, and the subsequent album featured such luminaries as Junior Reid (on the single "Stop This Crazy Thing") and Queen Latifah.
In 1991 they started their own record label, Ninja Tune, which continues to release groundbreaking and extremely diverse music by a small army of like-minded artists. In 1997 the duo unveiled their own real time video manipulation software, VJamm. Coldcut's current live and DJ sets rely on video as much as records, taking the concept of multimedia performance into largely uncharted territory.
Conceptually, Coldcut owes as much to the ideas of beat writer and cut-up theorist William S. Burroughs, 1970s art / industrial group Throbbing Gristle, and the religious writings of J. R. "Bob" Dobbs as much as to hip-hop originators like Grandmaster Flash or later innovators Double D and Steinski.
Recognizing the power inherent in Burroughs' cut-up technique and its presence in hip hop music, More and Black have relentlessly pushed the D.I.Y. ethic and an understanding of play as a means of fostering greater interaction with and understanding of the world around you. The similarities between this ethos and that of hacking need hardly be stated. Ninja Tune uses a corporate facade to communicate via the marketplace itself, an idea first implemented by Throbbing Gristle via their own Industrial Records imprint.
One of the key aspects of the Ninja Tune ethos, Stealth, implies that their following of DJs and listeners are "agents" in a Burroughsian sense, propagating the D.I.Y. ethic of play as an essentially subversive act by replaying and manipulating media under the radar of mainstream culture. Nowadays Coldcut reach a worldwide audience through their syndicated radio show Solid Steel. Black has recently (2003) worked with Penny Rimbaud (ex Crass) on Crass Agenda's Savage Utopia project.
In 2006, Coldcut released their fifth album, Sound Mirrors. single True Skool featured rapper Roots Manuva and featured an Indian sample from a cult Bollywood era, making the track popular on the bhangra and desi scene and with most of the British Asian urban nation.
Return to Margin
Coldcut Lyrics
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Now, type in the word LOAD, and press the 'Enter' key,
The computer responds with an instruction to press the 'Play' button...
Back with the darkness.
Let me get the rhythms on. [Repeat x 3]
The lyrics of Coldcut's song "Return to Margin" seem to be an instruction manual, or at least written in that style. The first verse seems to be a reminder or an instruction on how to get started with a computer, as it instructs the listener to turn it on, type in "LOAD" and press 'Enter'. The computer then responds with an instruction to press the 'Play' button, which leads to the next verse where the lyrics say "Back with the darkness", indicating that something has been loaded or started up.
The repetition of "Let me get the rhythms on" further emphasizes the idea of starting something up, whether it's a computer or a musical composition. The term "margin" refers to the space outside of the boundaries, which could be interpreted as returning to a state of creative freedom or experimentation. The overall feeling of the song is one of creativity and exploration, with the lyrics serving as a guide for that process.
Line by Line Meaning
To get started turn the computer on
Begin the process by powering on the computer
Now, type in the word LOAD, and press the 'Enter' key,
Enter the command 'LOAD' and execute it by pressing 'Enter'
The computer responds with an instruction to press the 'Play' button...
The computer prompts the user to press the 'Play' button
Back with the darkness.
Returning to a state of obscurity or a lack of clarity
Let me get the rhythms on. [Repeat x 3]
Allow me to establish the beat or flow of the music
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: JONATHAN MORE, MATT BLACK, PAUL BROOK
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind