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It’s common for successful artists to suffer from ‘difficult second album’ syndrome. After seeing their debut greeted with praise, adulation and financial rewards, many retreat to the studio for years at a time steadily becoming more detached from the influences and surroundings that made them great in the first place.
It seems typical that MJ Cole has done it the other way around.
Four years ago, at the age of 24 Matt Coleman became one of the first artists to crossover from the burgeoning UK Garage scene to mainstream success. Grounded in a scene obsessed with authenticity, he was almost unique in simultaneously drawing praise from his lesser known peers as easily as the critics (the album, ‘Sincere’ was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize) and the record-buying masses (two top ten singles with ‘Sincere’ and ‘Crazy Love’). The album was certified silver in the UK alone, and a MOBO award for Best Producer cemented Matt’s reputation.
This success was not easily won; Coleman had laboured over ‘Sincere’ for three years before his breakthrough. “I got shingles after I finished the last album from all the stress that came with it” he recalls from his compact studio in Central London. “The interviews, the awards, DJing and making videos...”. As a reaction to this, his new album ‘Cut To The Chase’ was produced with almost military discipline in a much more condensed period. “I’m now adjusted to the whole process” he explains. “I don’t piss about as much as I did before. - I’ve managed to find a real focus.
This uncompromising attitude is reflected sonically in ‘Cut To The Chase’. While still bearing the DNA of ‘Sincere’s’ faultless, crisp production, the music is harder and has deviated even further from Garage’s narrow blueprint into “a sound that can only be described as ‘modern soul’.” “I was definitely part of the wave of the whole UK Garage thing which I was proud to be associated with, but the music I make now has developed from that, and I’m creating exactly what I want.
This upstaging of people’s expectations is reflected in the guest vocalists who grace the new album. As well as old partner Danny Vicious, various tracks feature UK star Sean Escoffrey, and heavyweight soul mistress Jill Scott lends her style to ‘Perfect Pitch’. At the other end of the spectrum are Jamaican Dancehall legend Elephant Man (vocals on the aptly-named ‘Madman’) and new London discovery the female Lyric L who spits over ‘Take Flight’. Other guests include The Scratch Perverts, and vocalists Vula and Naira, the latter of whom was discovered after she appeared on Roots Manuva’s ‘Swords In The Dirt’. “There’s a great deal on this album that isn’t garage in any shape or form” concedes Coleman. “Instead it’s purely soul and song based. I’ve incorporated dance influences from many different camps.” Despite the widely differing guest artists, the album fits together as a whole thanks to the instantly recognisable and faultless production sound. Again, this is in keeping with his ambitions which are - and always have been - set high above the conquering of a mere scene or just gaining critical acclaim. “I’d like to be viewed in the same way as Fatboy Slim or the Chemical Brothers. They are who they are, and they can do what they do without the pressure of being categorised. And because of this I had a great time making the record. Every morning when I woke up I couldn’t wait to get into the studio.”
One of the few respects in which this album sees him returning to his roots is his plans to trade in his live band for a stripped down soundsystem set-up. This is in sharp contrast to the nine piece band which toured the world with Roni Size’s Reprazent off the back of Sincere’s success. “I love playing live, but the costs and sleeping in bunks on a tour bus for six weeks just doesn’t appeal to me again, it was a lot of hard work for little feedback. For this next album I’ll be at the back doing the studio necessaries while the vocalists step out the front.”
The only thing that’s certain with MJ Cole is that he will continue to confound musical expectations. A quick look at the artists he has remixed over the last few years - Masters At Work, Mariah Carey, Roots Manuva, Dido, Nitin Sawney, De La Soul, and most recently Lamb - illustrate perfectly his ability to flit between genres coupled with the magpie-like instinct for filching elements of different styles that informs every track on ‘Cut To The Chase’. “I always think that I can push myself harder” he professes. “I’ve loved every minute of this record, but I’ll always feel that there’s better to come.”
But perhaps the last word should go to his manager, who sums up his unique fusion of Garage, R’n’B, Electronica and Dancehall in his own inimitable style. “'Matt is the soulman at the party, with fire coursing through his veins. You can’t say fairer than that...