MJ Cole | ||
| Allmusic Biography : One of U.K. garages first true stars, MJ Coles work spanned Mercury Prize-nominated albums and a lengthy career as a remixer and producer. While growing up in London, Cole studied the oboe and piano, ultimately earning a degree in music from City University. He also immersed himself in electronic music culture, working as a tape operator and engineer for the drumnbass label SOUR. Cole founded his own imprint, Prolific Records, and issued singles as Morf, Jilt, Spectra 1000, and Matlock. While working on Ramsey & Fens 2-step remixes for Kym Mazelle in 1996, he caught the garage bug and worked on numerous productions as well as remixes for Soul II Soul, Goldie, Gwen McRae, Another Level, and State of Mind. "Sincere," one of Coles first tracks under his own name, became a Top 40 hit in 1998. Recorded using a sampler and Atari, it was released via AM:PM and was one of the first charting garage singles. Soon after, Cole signed to Gilles Petersons Talkin Loud label, which released the "Crazy Love" single in May 2000 and the full-length Sincere that July. The albums quick, crisp production style earned him a Brit Award nomination as well as a Mercury Prize nomination. Cole released another album, 2003s Cut to the Chase with Talkin Loud, before leaving the label in 2004. That year, he began releasing a steady stream of singles and EPs on Prolific, including collaborations with Tubby T, Wiley, and Elisabeth Troy. During this time, he remixed artists such as Amy Winehouse, Alicia Keys, and Mariah Carey, took his DJ set on the road, and composed music for television ad campaigns. His own Riddim EP appeared in 2010. Over the next several years, he co-wrote songs with Jimmy Napes and Sam Smith, remixed tracks by Jess Glynne and Adam F, and produced tracks for Dizzee Rascal and Katy B while also finding time to release his own music on the Panoramic EP. Lobster Boy Records released the single "Alcatraz" in 2016. The following year, he returned with "Shelter," featuring Bruno Major, the DJ Zinc collaboration "Interbass," and the solo single, "Pictures in My Head." The material kept on coming in 2018 with the Kojay Radical collaboration "Soak It Up," the Foundations EP, and "Waking Up" featuring Freya Ridings. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 7 Title: Ministry Presents: Platinum Collection Released: 1999 Tracks: 14 Duration: 56:45 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Misunderstanding (MJ Cole vocal remix) (03:50) 2 Rewind (02:52) 3 Joyrider (Y-Tribe Underground mix) (03:22) 4 Try Me Out (02:53) 5 Whats It Gonna Be? (03:50) 6 Youre Mine (05:03) 7 Enough Is Enough (Timbuktu mix) (03:15) 8 Somebody Elses Guy (Antonio & Cee remix) (03:41) 9 Guess I Was a Fool (MJ Cole remix) (04:31) 10 Summertime (04:26) 11 Liferide (04:38) 12 Standard Hoodlum Issue (Zed Bias remix) (03:09) 13 Poison (03:14) 14 Nights Over Egypt (MJ Cole vocal remix) (08:01) |
 | Album: 2 of 7 Title: Sincere Released: 2000-08-07 Tracks: 16 Duration: 1:07:45 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Introduction (03:12) 2 Tired Games (04:59) 3 Attitude (05:09) 4 Bandelero Desperado (04:00) 5 MJ FM Interlude (02:05) 6 Crazy Love (04:38) 7 Youre Mine (06:14) 8 Sanctuary (04:16) 9 I See (04:47) 10 Sincere (Re-Cued) (05:38) 11 Strung Out (03:03) 12 Rough Out Here (04:21) 13 Slum King (05:14) 14 Radio Interlude (00:43) 15 Hold on to Me (04:39) 16 Free My Mind (04:40) |
| Sincere : Allmusic album Review : Not interested in U.K. garage? MJ Cole doesnt care. The classically trained, ex-jungle alias of one Matt Coleman has already earned a British Top Ten hit with his "Crazy Love" single and got a quick Mercury Prize nomination for completing this long-awaited debut album. Hype aside, is this the sound of one of the genres first auteurs penning a musical manifesto or someone co-opting their own scene? The U.K. garage circuit -- think a Boyz II Men or a Lauryn Hill on a perpetual sugar spaz, attach some underground credibility, and fold in some jittery stop/start jungle theatrics -- had to go somewhere this early in the game and it seems that MJ Cole wants to take it to the leather couch. With the gleaming, self-aware production as well as both Danny Vicious embarrassing rapping and Elisabeth Troys overly soulful vocals, its clear that Cole wants respect at every turn. Despite the consequences. As in "Bandelero Deperado," he attempts to mix sultry pianos and vocoder effects that reek of sophistication, but theres a distinct lack of real soul to it all. His songs slide closer, dim the lights, and whisper in your ear -- while winking at the cognoscenti the whole time. Not that wonderful results dont happen ("Slum King," the title-track). It just feels too deliberate, too methodical -- mistaking bad two-step injections of jazz for an honest, eclectic take on a blooming genre. Sincere may have turned heads for those frantically looking for a new star, but its strict maturity comes when U.K. garage desperately needs a rambunctious child exploring its young potential. | ||
 | Album: 3 of 7 Title: Back to Mine: MJ Cole Released: 2002-03-25 Tracks: 15 Duration: 1:06:02 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 For Louise (04:03) 2 Diabolous (02:12) 3 Spottieottiedopaliscious (07:15) 4 Civilized Reggae (05:33) 5 Sincere (Jazzanova Sincerely Yours remix) (feat. Jay De and Nova Caspar) (05:23) 6 String Quartet in F major: Tres lent (excerpt) (Borodin String Quartet) (01:18) 7 Tell Me (04:13) 8 Strategy (03:42) 9 Zoom (04:08) 10 People That I Love (01:25) 11 Love Lady (03:35) 12 Destiny (05:23) 13 Sunshine (Groove Armada Sunset dub) (07:37) 14 Music (03:43) 15 Believe (MJ Cole remix) (06:24) |
 | Album: 4 of 7 Title: Cut to the Chase Released: 2003-04-28 Tracks: 50 Duration: 1:05:37 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 The Pianist (01:30) 2 Perfect Pitch (05:39) 3 Wondering Why (03:36) 4 Live My Life (05:52) 5 Caught You Out (03:46) 6 Take Flight (04:04) 7 Mad Man (04:43) 8 Foot to the Floor (01:26) 9 Nice and Slow (03:34) 10 Ghetto Queen (04:15) 11 Honesty (05:36) 12 Ruff Like Me (03:57) 13 All Out (Im Over You) (04:12) 14 Lost Our Way (05:01) 15 [silence] (00:05) 16 [silence] (00:05) 17 [silence] (00:05) 18 [silence] (00:05) 19 [silence] (00:05) 20 [silence] (00:05) 21 [silence] (00:05) 22 [silence] (00:05) 23 [silence] (00:05) 24 [silence] (00:05) 25 [silence] (00:05) 26 [silence] (00:05) 27 [silence] (00:05) 28 [silence] (00:05) 29 [silence] (00:05) 30 [silence] (00:05) 31 [silence] (00:05) 32 [silence] (00:05) 33 [silence] (00:05) 34 [silence] (00:05) 35 [silence] (00:05) 36 [silence] (00:05) 37 [silence] (00:05) 38 [silence] (00:05) 39 [silence] (00:05) 40 [silence] (00:05) 41 [silence] (00:05) 42 [silence] (00:05) 43 [silence] (00:05) 44 [silence] (00:05) 45 [silence] (00:05) 46 [silence] (00:05) 47 [silence] (00:05) 48 [silence] (00:05) 49 [silence] (00:05) 50 What You Give (05:21) |
| Cut to the Chase : Allmusic album Review : A pioneer of the U.K. 2-step garage scene, London producer MJ Cole bagged a Mercury Music Prize nomination, a Top Ten single, and the acclaim of both the dance and indie music press with his 2000 groundbreaking debut album, Sincere. Three years on, and the sound that he helped to break through to the mainstream has started to retreat back into the underground, with some of its most famous exponents, Craig David, Mis-Teeq, and Ms. Dynamite, opting for a more R&B flavor on their most recent output. Rather than jumping a sinking ship, Cole has valiantly decided to attempt to resurrect the genres fortunes, sticking to his trademark sound for follow-up Cut to the Chase. Like its predecessor, there are flashes of other musical influences. Controversial Jamaican rapper Elephant Man turns up on the dancehall-inflected "Mad Man," soul singer Shaun Escoffery lends his dulcet tones to the shuffling jazz-pop midtempo "Lost Our Way," and "Caught You Out" is a sassy slice of staccato-led R&B featuring Basement Jaxx vocalist Vula Malinga. But its his multi-layered garage sound, which effortlessly combines his classically trained background with his dancefloor sensibilities, where his unique lush production really shines. "Perfect Pitch," full of squelchy basslines and an 80s-style synth solo, is an uplifting slice of vocal 2-step featuring nu-soul star Jill Scott; "Honesty," a warm pizzicato string-led number in the vein of his biggest hit, "Crazy Love," showcases Xenomania songwriter Niara Scarletts laid-back soulful vocals; and Shy FX cohort Fallacy provides an authentic urban edge to the bouncy Basement Jaxx-esque club anthem "Live My Life." However, the acoustic-led "Ghetto Queen" is garage-by-numbers, while the chaotic "Take Flight" is an ill-advised attempt at pirate radio-style hip-hop that sounds hopelessly out of place amidst the rest of the albums more refined nature. Cut to the Chase may not be the huge musical step forward needed to prevent the 2-step sound from disappearing from the charts, but considering that most garage artists have struggled to sustain a career past one single, its quite an achievement that two albums on, Cole is still finding ways of making the genre sound fresh and exciting. | ||
 | Album: 5 of 7 Title: FACT Mix 67: MJ Cole Released: 2009-07-20 Tracks: 1 Duration: 45:08 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 FACT Mix 67: MJ Cole (45:08) |
 | Album: 6 of 7 Title: Riddim EP Released: 2010-04-26 Tracks: 4 Duration: 16:25 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Volcano Riddim (03:23) 2 Thekla Riddim (04:45) 3 Flux Riddim (04:42) 4 Phoenix Riddim (03:35) |
 | Album: 7 of 7 Title: Satellite EP Released: 2011-02-28 Tracks: 4 Duration: 21:38 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 TGV (04:32) 2 Hawaii (04:48) 3 Bordeaux (05:06) 4 Manta (07:12) |