Matthew James Firth Coleman, better known by his

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

MJ Cole, is an English

garage A garage is a covered structure built for the purpose of parking, storing, protecting, maintaining, and/or repairing vehicles. Specific applications include: *Garage (residential), a building or part of a building for storing one or more vehicle ...

DJ, record producer and remixer.

Career

Born in London, England, in his youth, Cole was classically trained on the oboe and piano, and won scholarships to both the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...

Junior Department and

City of London School , established = , closed = , type = Public school Boys' independent day school , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head = Alan Bird , chair_label = Chair of Governors , chair = Ian Seaton , founder = John Carpenter , speciali ...

. Having graduated from City University, Cole began working at the

drum and bass Drum and bass (also written as drum & bass or drum'n'bass and commonly abbreviated as D&B, DnB, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by fast breakbeats (typically 165–185 beats per minute) with heavy bass and sub-ba ...

label SOUR, as a tape operator and sound engineer to the likes of

Freq Nasty Darin McFadyen, better known by his stage name FreQ Nasty, is a DJ and producer of breakbeat electronic music, currently based in Los Angeles, California, United States. Originally from New Zealand, McFadyen's artistic career has taken him acros ...

and

Ed Rush Ed Rush is the stage name used by the drum and bass producer and DJ, Ben Settle (born 1973). Rush has been releasing records since 1992 and primarily with his musical partner Optical (Matt Quinn), since 1997. Along with Optical he is also the co ...

. It was working on Ramsey & Fen's 2-step remixes for

Kym Mazelle Kym Mazelle (born Kymberly Grigsby; August 10, 1960) is an American singer. She is regarded as a pioneer of house music in the United Kingdom and Europe. Her music combines R&B, soul, funk, house music, dance, and pop. She is credited as " Th ...

, however, that gave him the

bug. He was the trusted engineer and lead producer of tracks on the UK garage label V.I.P. (Very Important Plastic) between 1997-1999 and a pirate radio DJ on

London Underground FM London Underground FM was a mid-1990s to early-2000s pirate radio station in London. History London Underground FM started broadcasting in 1995, from East London, primarily on 89.4 FM. It mostly played house and garage, and was one of the f ...

, alongside the likes of the

Dreem Teem The Dreem Teem are a British DJ, music production and remixing trio consisting of DJ Spoony, Mikee B, and Timmi Magic. They formed in 1996 through pirate radio, and were instrumental in developing the UK garage sound. They presented radio show ...

. From there, Cole penned and produced " Sincere" in 1998 using a sampler and

Atari Atari () is a brand name that has been owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by French publisher Atari SA through a subsidiary named Atari Interactive. The original Atari, Inc. (1972–1992), Atari, Inc., ...

, which was eventually picked up by

Pete Tong Peter Michael Tong, (born 30 July 1960) is an English disc jockey who works for BBC Radio 1. He is the host of programmes such as ''Essential Mix'' and ''Essential Selection'' on the radio service, which can be heard through Internet radio stre ...

and AM:PM and became one of the earliest

records to break into the top 40 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. He signed with

Gilles Peterson Gilles Jérôme Moehrle MBE (; born 28 September 1964), better known as Gilles Peterson (), is a French broadcaster, DJ, and record label owner. He founded the influential labels Acid Jazz and Talkin' Loud, and started his current label Brown ...

Talkin' Loud Talkin' Loud was a record label, originally founded by Gilles Peterson in 1990 after he left Acid Jazz Records. The label name is based on Peterson's Dingwalls club night "Talkin' Loud And Sayin' Something", itself a reference to James Brown and ...

label where in 2000 he produced his first album, also called '' Sincere'', which earned him two top 15 singles on the

, a prestigious

Mercury Music Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. It was created by Jon Webster and Robert Chandler in association with the B ...

nomination,

Brit Award The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...

nomination and beat

Dr. Dre Andre Romelle Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper and record producer. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and previously co-founded, co-owned, and ...

to win

MOBO The MOBO Awards (Music of Black Origin, also known as the MOBOs) are an annual British music award presentation honouring achievements in " music of black origin", including hip hop, grime, UK Drill, R&B, soul, reggae, jazz, gospel, and ...

's Best Producer award in 2001. He received a BPI certification for UK sales in excess of 60,000 copies. Cole formed a live band to accompany his ''Sincere'' album performing on

Jools Holland Julian Miles Holland, (born 24 January 1958) is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer and television presenter. He was an original member of the band Squeeze and has worked with many artists including Jayne County, Sting, Eric C ...

's ''Later Show'' as well as on ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...

'', '' CD:UK'', ''

The Chart Show ''The Chart Show'' (also known as ''The ITV Chart Show'' between 1989 and 1998) was a popular weekly syndicated music video programme which ran in the United Kingdom from April 1986 until August 1998, with revivals in 2003 and 2008–2009. ''Th ...

'' and at the

and MOBO Awards. In 2003, Cole followed '' Sincere'' with his ''Cut to the Chase'' album, also released via Talkin' Loud. After leaving Talkin' Loud in 2004, Cole released several singles and EPs via his own Prolific Recordings label. Cole's output on the label has included many notable collaborations including grime artist

Wiley Wiley may refer to: Locations * Wiley, Colorado, a U.S. town * Wiley, Pleasants County, West Virginia, U.S. * Wiley-Kaserne, a district of the city of Neu-Ulm, Germany People * Wiley (musician), British grime MC, rapper, and producer * Wiley Mil ...

and long-time collaborator

Elisabeth Troy Elisabeth Troy Antwi is a British singer and songwriter. She appeared on several top 40 hit singles in the UK, including MJ Cole's " Crazy Love" and "Hold On to Me" in 2000 and B.Traits' "Fever" in 2012.David Jhonson Roberts ''British Hit Singles ...

. In 2014, he co-wrote and produced "Nobody But You" for

Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Often referred to as the " Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and " Queen of R&B", Blige has won nine Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, four American Music Award ...

with

Sam Smith Samuel Frederick Smith (born 19 May 1992) is an English singer and songwriter. After rising to prominence in October 2012 by featuring on Disclosure's breakthrough single "Latch", which peaked at number eleven on the UK Singles Chart, they ...

and

Jimmy Napes James Napier (born 18 September 1984), known professionally as Jimmy Napes, is an English songwriter and record producer. He has won a number of awards, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, 3 Grammy Awards, and 2 Ivor Novello Awar ...

, and again in early 2015 on Napes' own ''Making of Me'' EP. He collaborated with T Williams on "Privilege", released in 2015 on Today Records and Tomorrow Records and released "Bouldaz" on

Disclosure Disclosure may refer to: Arts and media * ''Disclosure'' (The Gathering album), 2012 *Disclosure (band), a UK-based garage/electronic duo * ''Disclosure'' (novel), 1994 novel written by Michael Crichton ** ''Disclosure'' (1994 film), an American ...

's Method White label the same year. Cole continued to produce for artists across the musical spectrum.

Dizzee Rascal Dylan Kwabena Mills (born 18 September 1984), better known by his stage name Dizzee Rascal, is a British MC and rapper. A pioneer of grime music, his work has also incorporated elements of UK garage, bassline, British hip hop, and R&B. Dizze ...

's " Bassline Junkie",

Example Example may refer to: * '' exempli gratia'' (e.g.), usually read out in English as "for example" * .example, reserved as a domain name that may not be installed as a top-level domain of the Internet ** example.com, example.net, example.org, ex ...

's "Something in the Water" and

Katy B Kathleen Anne Brien (born 8 May 1989), better known as Katy B, is an English singer and songwriter. She released her debut studio album, ''On a Mission (Katy B album), On a Mission'', in 2011, which spawned two top five hits, "Katy on a Mission ...

's "Blue Eyes" were all produced by Cole. He has also remixed tracks for

Amy Winehouse Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was an English singer and songwriter. She was known for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres, including soul, rhythm and blues and jazz. A membe ...

Mariah Carey Mariah Carey (; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Referred to as the " Songbird Supreme", she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style and signature use of the whi ...

De La Soul De La Soul () is an American hip hop trio formed in 1988 in the Amityville area of Long Island, New York. They are best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternative ...

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...

and many more. He released remixes of

Jess Glynne Jessica Hannah Glynne (born 20 October 1989) is an English singer and songwriter. After signing with Atlantic Records, she rose to prominence in 2014 as a featured artist on the singles "Rather Be" by Clean Bandit and " My Love" by Route 94, bot ...

's " Hold My Hand" on

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

and

DJ Fresh Daniel Edward Stein (born 11 April 1977), better known by his stage name DJ Fresh, is an English musician, DJ, record producer, best known for making electronic music. He is one of the principal members of the drum and bass group Bad Company, ...

and

Adam F Adam Fenton (born 8 February 1972) is an English record producer and DJ who has worked across various genres. He is also the co-founder of the drum and bass label Breakbeat Kaos along with DJ Fresh. He found initial success with the 1990s dru ...

's " Believer" on

Ministry of Sound Ministry of Sound or Ministry of Sound Group is a multimedia entertainment business based in London with a nightclub, shared workspace and private members' club, worldwide events operation, music publishing business and fitness studio. James ...

. He released "Alcatraz" on Redlight's Lobster Boy Records in early 2016. This was followed by "The Rumble" in August 2016. A hard hitting, genre crossing record featuring hotly tipped UK MC AJ Tracey. Cole said of the record that it was "a slice of London, the energy of now, a fusion of all that is exciting in the U.K. for us." Through 2017 to 2018, Cole has been releasing a steady selection of singles under the 892 label, including "Pictures in My Head" and "Soak It Up". Some singles would also be accompanied by VIP mixes, also created by Cole. In 2018, he released a new EP entitled "Foundations", stating that the project "takes a step away from my more traditional form of writing". Alongside his producing, writing and remixing work, Cole continues to tour as a DJ at festivals and clubs around the world. Cole has also written and produced scores for several major TV advertising campaigns including the Schwartz "The Sound of Taste" campaign and wrote a piece called "Lava" for O2. Cole was also responsible for the construction and design of a new recording studio complex in Clerkenwell called The Gin Factory.

Personal life

Cole enjoys cycling and has ridden

Land's End to John o' Groats Land's End to John o' Groats is the traversal of the whole length of the island of Great Britain between two extremities, in the southwest and northeast. The traditional distance by road is and takes most cyclists 10 to 14 days; the record ...

Discography

Albums

Extended plays

Singles

*" Sincere" (1998) – featuring Nova Caspar and Jay Dee – UK No. 38 *" Crazy Love" (2000) – featuring

– UK No. 10 *" Sincere" (remix) (2000) – UK No. 13 *"Hold On to Me" (2000) – featuring Elisabeth Troy – UK No. 35 *"Wondering Why" (2003) – featuring

Vula ''Vula'' first appeared in Cape Town in December 1984. Distributed to beach bathers and the like, it quickly became one of the country's top, alternative publications, before disappearing sometime in 1987. Other SA Alternative Publications * ' ...

– UK No. 30 *"Never Say Never" (2004) – featuring Shea *"When You Said You Loved Me" (2004) – featuring

Tubby T Tubby T (born Anthony Emanuel Robinson, 9 September 1974 – 22 May 2008) was an English reggae, dancehall, garage and grime MC and singer from Brent, London. His 2002 single "Tales of the Hood", produced by Sticky, reached No. 47 on the UK Sing ...

*"Badboy" (2006) – featuring Laura Vane *"Watertight" (2006) – featuring Laura Vane *"Gotta Have It" (2009) – featuring Digga *"From the Drop" (2010) – MJ Cole and

*"Satellite" (2011) *"Red and Black" (2012) *"Bouldaz" (2015) *"Alcatraz" (2016) *"The Rumble" (2016) – MJ Cole and

AJ Tracey Ché Wolton Grant (born 4 March 1994), known professionally as AJ Tracey, is a British rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. He is from Ladbroke Grove, West London. Tracey rose to popularity in 2016 and was listed by ''The Guardian'' i ...

*"Undo" (2017) - MJ Cole and Alyss *"Shelter" (2017) - MJ Cole and

Bruno Major Bruno Major (born 15 July 1988) is a British singer-songwriter and guitarist. His debut album ''A Song for Every Moon'' was released in 2017. Career On 21 January 2014, Major released the four-song EP ''Live'' on Virgin Records, where he worked ...

*"Interbass" (2017) - MJ Cole and

DJ Zinc Benjamin Pettit (born 12 March 1972), better known as DJ Zinc, is a British DJ and record producer. Zinc first became known for 1995's "Super Sharp Shooter", a hip hop/jungle fusion, notably one of the pioneering jump-up anthems of its time. ...

*"Pictures in My Head" (2017) *"Soak It Up" (2018) - MJ Cole and

Kojey Radical Kwadwo Adu Genfi Amponsah (born 4 January 1993), known professionally as Kojey Radical, is a British music artist, creative director and mixed media visual artist. His style has been described as a mix of grime-y hip hop, alternative rap and ...

*"Homerton B" (remix) (2018) - MJ Cole and

Unknown T Daniel Lena (born 17 August 1999), known professionally as Unknown T, is a British professional musician. His post release album “Rise Above Hate” (2020) was a major hit on the UK music scene, the album reaching the top of the charts in the ...

*"Waking Up" (2019) – MJ Cole and

Freya Ridings Freya Ridings (born 19 April 1994) is an English singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Ridings rose to prominence in 2017 with her ballad, " Lost Without You", which became a top ten hit on the UK Singles Chart. She followed this with ...

Remixes

Flume A flume is a human-made channel for water, in the form of an open declined gravity chute whose walls are raised above the surrounding terrain, in contrast to a trench or ditch. Flumes are not to be confused with aqueducts, which are built to tr ...

- "Rushing Back" (MJ Cole Remix) (2019) *Gracey - "Gone" (MJ Cole Remix) (2020) *

Kehlani Kehlani Ashley Parrish (born April 24, 1995) is an American singer, songwriter, and dancer. Kehlani is originally from Oakland, California, and achieved initial fame as a member of the teen group Poplyfe in 2011. In 2014, Kehlani released thei ...

& Syd - "

Birthday A birthday is the anniversary of the birth of a person, or figuratively of an institution. Birthdays of people are celebrated in numerous cultures, often with birthday gifts, birthday cards, a birthday party, or a rite of passage. Many relig ...

" (MJ Cole Remix) (2020)

References

External links

Prolific Recordings

Archived website
at

Wayback Machine The Wayback Machine is a digital archive of the World Wide Web founded by the Internet Archive, a nonprofit based in San Francisco, California. Created in 1996 and launched to the public in 2001, it allows the user to go "back in time" and see ...

MJ Cole biography at the DJ List
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cole, MJ Living people English DJs English record producers Musicians from London DJs from London Remixers UK garage musicians Talkin' Loud artists AM PM Records artists Year of birth missing (living people) Electronic dance music DJs