Coldcut - unreleased PSP ad- sound

What this video is

This ad sits at the volatile intersection of Sony's notoriously controversial PSP marketing campaign (2005–2006) and the UK art-director-led commercial renaissance of the early 2000s. Sony recruited Chris Cunningham — at the peak of his Warp Records-era prestige — to produce a UK spot for the PSP's European launch. The pairing with Coldcut (Matt Black and Jonathan More), founders of Ninja Tune and pioneers of UK…

Why it matters

Represents the apex of the early-2000s art-music-video-to-commercial pipeline: the same aesthetic language Cunningham pioneered in Aphex Twin and Björk videos was directly transposed into a 60-second broadcast format. Coldcut's involvement links the ad to the Ninja Tune / UK IDM underground. As a…

The director

Chris Cunningham (born 15 October 1970, Reading, UK) is an English video artist and music video director. He began his career in film art departments before Stanley Kubrick recruited him for A.I. He directed landmark videos for Aphex Twin ('Come to Daddy,'…