Synopsis

Coldcut's "Timber" turns the destruction of tropical forests into a rhythmic audiovisual warning. Axes, chainsaws, sawmills and other logging actions are edited into repetitive patterns that mirror the track's sampled percussion. Images of industrial deforestation are contrasted with footage of an indigenous woman singing, giving the piece a human and emotional counterpoint. Rather than presenting Coldcut as performers, the video makes its environmental message the central subject, using synchronized image sampling as both musical technique and political statement.

Factoids & Trivia

• The video was assembled entirely from Greenpeace footage and was influenced in part by the work of nature filmmakers.

• "Timber" applies Coldcut's audio cut-and-paste philosophy to moving images. Repeated shots function like visual samples, with individual gestures and machine movements locked closely to the beat.

• The track itself incorporates sounds associated with logging, including axes, saws and other timber-cutting activity. The video's editing makes those sounds visibly recognizable.

• "Timber" was released in 1997-1998 in connection with Coldcut's album *Let Us Play!* and was also included on *Let Us Replay*.

• The single became notable for its unusually large number of companion videos. The 2001 *Guinness Book of Records* listed five different videos made for the song, including versions associated with EBN, LPC, Clifford Gilberto and Gnomadic.

• The video was shortlisted among the Edinburgh Television and Film Festival's five best music videos of 1998.

• Its environmental subject and sample-based editing helped establish "Timber" as an early example of the music video operating as an audiovisual remix rather than simply an illustrated performance clip.