2 languages
MJ Cole
From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist
MJ Cole is really called Matthew James Firth Coleman and was born in 1973 in London. He received a classical training on oboe and piano and won scholarships to the Royal College of Music and the City of London School. After his studies he worked at the drum and bass label SOUR as a tape operator and sound engineer. Through the 2-step remixes by Ramsey and Fen for Kym Mazelle he caught the garage bug. Between 1997 and 1999 he was a regular engineer and producer at the UK garage label V.I.P. and a DJ on the pirate station London Underground FM.
Music and breakthrough
In 1998 he wrote and produced Sincere with a sampler and an Atari. Via Pete Tong and AM:PM it became one of the first garage records in the British top forty. His album Sincere was released on Gilles Peterson's Talkin' Loud in 2000, earning him a Mercury Music Prize nomination and a Brit Award nomination, and in 2001 the MOBO for Best Producer, beating Dr. Dre. Cut to the Chase followed in 2003. Later he worked for, among others, Dizzee Rascal, Katy B and Mary J. Blige, and remixed Amy Winehouse and Mariah Carey.
Influence
UK garage is dance music from London with a swinging, broken rhythm, deep basses and soulful vocals. MJ Cole showed that a classical background and a club sound go well together, and contributed to the place of garage in British pop.
Listening
Sincere · MJ Cole, 1998Apple Music ↗