Staff: Hello Mr . Black , thank you for your kindness and your willingness to answer our questions. Where does the name Coldcut come from?

Matt Black: The name Coldcut, I was sleeping above a butcher shop in north London and it was very cold because I didn’t have the heating so without any heating and hot water for many months and so we were cold and also because in hip hop you have cuts, cutting records so we thought it was cool and the things were cool, they were even cooler than cool, they’re cold and we called the Coldcutters.

Staff: After the initial collaborations with Junior Reid, Yazz, how did you choose to work with Lisa Stansfield , then vocalist of a little band known as the Blue Zone ?

Matt Black: That’s right, so Lisa and Blue Zone were managed by Big Life and Big Life was a record label in which Jonathan and I signed to after a while and they had first introduced us to Yazz who turned out was married to the main director of Big Life, his name is Jazz Summers, he was a sort of experienced and it shocked. It was his idea, was managing Blue Zone and try to get them started but he couldn’t really get anywhere and after we started Yazz “Doctorin’ the house” and “The only way is up”, he suggested that we should work with Lisa and try to make a track with her and so we met her and we already knew Lisa’s work because we had a Blue Zone record which we used to djed sometimes and we liked her voice already. So Big Life introduced us we went into the studio with them to try make a track and that became ”People hold on”.

Staff: People Hold On , My telephone, This is the right time and Stop this crazy thing represent the top of your work with Stansfield , Devaney and Morris. Can you tell us how these songs were created ?

Matt Black: Well we talk about “People hold on”. “People hold on” was a really important track really, it took very good collaboration, we were in the studio with them and I was talking to them about deep-house, the style of deep-house that it looks like house mixed with soul music and I had a back in track with a drum ‘n’ bass track, drums and bass only and some other things and then I said to him I had these piano tracks and piano parts in I said I’ve been playing around with the piano part like this and played all the keyboard and that’s really good, that’s kind what I’m talking about that came together and then we started to mess having some ideas for lyrics and they went down to the pub and come back with most of the song but he didn’t have the chorus and actually what they thought was the chorus, we used as the bridge but we felt that chorus wasn’t right so between us came up with the chorus and Jonathan my partner came up with the line “people hold on” . I think I came up with the line “don’t do yourself wrong” and Lisa could came up with “we’ve got to be strong” so that how the chorus came up and you know it was a wonderful time, sometimes in the studio when you’re working with people and you look at each other you think we’re gonna win with this one, this is really really good now it was the moment of magic with “People hold on”, another success which came out with the Coldcut record, Coldcut featuring Lisa Stansfield. Then it was time for Lisa’s album and we try to work with her on that and the best track which came out it was called “This is the right time”, again was a sort of housy-soul-funky track.

So those were two best tracks and “My telephone” was a Coldcut track and we needed a singer for it and so we asked Lisa to sing it and she sang and came out quite good but I don’t think it was the same level as the other 2 tracks, and “Stop this crazy thing” that was really me and Andy just playing but no singing from Lisa on that. So that’s for the 4 tracks, there you are.

Staff: People today know the success of Lisa Stansfield and her husband / producer Ian Devaney , but the feeling is that the world has forgotten about Andy Morris, the third member of the Blue Zone who at some point broke away from the pair. What memories do you have of Andy?

Matt Black: Well that’s it’s an interesting question, you know, when we knew them it was the 3 of them and Andy was a small, quiet guy and Ian and Lisa obviously they were a couple, so I guess Andy perhaps felt be outside that, but they were all really good friends and you know they were all close and you know I think it’s a pity really that if he got any left behind in a way because when people work together and have that sort of magic, it might be that one person seems to be more important like Lisa at that moment, obviously important. So you know Lisa is the front person of the group but in my experience when people work together everyone’s contribution is important even though they might not seem to be so important, it’s often a combination of people which create that special magic. So I heard that Andy did great some money out of with all those records which they sold very well because I think it was a join effort you know, I always thought they seem very good friends, that’s my comment on it.

Staff: I think Andy Morris represented the most creative part of the trio, and that his absence has been felt in some of the album of Lisa Stansfield , We haven’t heard about him for a long time , at least here in Italy, do you know if his career has continued ?

Matt Black: I’d love to see him sometimes. I haven’t spoken to Lisa for a long time. I drop her a message trough her website but she hasn’t responded to me so I haven’t spoken to her for many years. I wish them all well and I hope Andy did get something out of that special things they all created. Next question.

Staff: Sound Mirrors is your latest album, dated 2006. Is there any news regarding the publication of the new work planned this year? Are you searching for a particular sound?

Matt Black: We are hoping to release our new co-album this year, it’s been co-produced by Dave Taylor, he used to be in Major Lazer, he also recorded as Solid Groove and Switch, he is a fantastic producer that gets really big sound and it’s a quite interesting mix with Jonathan and my crazy ideas and his incredible sound machine. I’m not so involved in the album actually, Jonathan is taking care of the music, the production, I’m concentrated more on software and visuals but I think that the album will have a new sound, it’s gonna be quite dancy and I think it should surprise people.

Staff: Have you ever thought about working with Lisa Stansfield again?

Matt Black: If I ever thought about it, this is one of the reason I try to contact her but I have no back response so the contact seems to be dead at the moment but she has released some new music and she is a very talented woman and, you know, fantastic voice and I’m sure that she will continue to be successful . I’d love to see her again.

Staff: What do you think about "Seven" the new solo album by Lisa Stansfield released after many years of silence ?

Matt Black: I haven’t heard it!

Thanks to mister Black for his collaboration!

Interview by: Alex Bettucchi & Fabiola Erasmi with collaborations by Amedeo Pesole, Cristina Solenni & Federica Russo