Coldcut - Timber

In the mid-noughties I had regular access to MTV2. It was full of videos by bands called "The [plural noun]". But there was also a late-night show - their "underground/ cutting edge" program - where you could hear more interesting tunes. On there I discovered Timber which instantly blew my socks off!

I came across Coldcut before. They made their mark on popular music in the late 80s when working with chart topping artists such as Lisa Stansfield and Yazz. A friend off mine followed their more obscure releases in the 90s which I didn't bother investigating. After finding out about Timber, I downloaded one of their albums (circa 2004 I think) which didn't really grab me. Timber though still sounds amazing.

This is sinister electronica that is dark but also playful. It's electro tribal feel gives it a haunting spiritual undercurrent which has stuck with me since I first heard it. It's not a million miles away from what Boards of Canada did on Geogaddi, although this classic pre-dates it by a few years.