MJ COLE Vinilo y CD

Review: ***B-STOCK: Creasing to corner of outer sleeve but otherwise in excellent condition***


UK legend MJ Cole is best known for his vital contribution to drum & bass and then garage over the years, but on his first new album for 17 summers he takes a different turn. Here he dare on the classical music on which he was brought up, and shows off the vast array of studio skills he has picked up over the years, all in order to lay down some evocative early hours ambiance, classical compositions and sunrise sounds on his studio's piano. It's a serene listen, a grown up sound that provides you with plenty of moments of contemplation and is finished with some lush strings for a truly luxuriant sound.

Review: Hands up all of those who expected UK garage legend MJ Cole's first album in 17 years to be an ambient set with neo-classical intentions. While on the surface it may seem like an odd move, he says that it has been "gestating" his "whole life", though in the end he apparently recorded it fairly quickly. Musically, it's well worth a listen, with Cole cannily combining sweeping strings, jazz style double bass, fluid piano solos, opaque ambient chords and very occasional rhythms to create compositions closer in tone to film soundtracks and conceptual neo-classical pieces than the sweaty, soul-fired club bangers he's long been renowned for. Judged purely on musical terms rather than his previous career, it's a hugely impressive achievement and well worth a listen.

Review: UK legend MJ Cole is best known for his vital contribution to drum & bass and then garage over the years, but on his first new album for 17 summers he takes a different turn. Here he dare on the classical music on which he was brought up, and shows off the vast array of studio skills he has picked up over the years, all in order to lay down some evocative early hours ambiance, classical compositions and sunrise sounds on his studio's piano. It's a serene listen, a grown up sound that provides you with plenty of moments of contemplation and is finished with some lush strings for a truly luxuriant sound.

Review: Disclosure's fledgling Method White label flex their status with some serious 4/4 dark garage business from the don MJ Cole whose one-sided Bouldaz 12" is a return to roots replete with a chunky bass blunderbuss that's so simple but seriously effective. With slap-happy drums and a waspy bassline that buzzes and mutates around the beats, it's at once timeless and very much of the now thanks to its ability to fit into any style of DJ set from garage to house to the more muscular tech sounds. A really interesting and effective release.

Review: Brand new release from MJ Cole on Prolific. On this 12" we have four different mixes and this time MJ employs the d&b talents of Code Zero.

Review: Wiley spares some time from amusing all and sundry on Twitter to collaborate with the equally legendary MJ Cole. Released on the latter's Prolific label, "From The Drop" is purported to be the first of many collaborations and bodes well if this is the case, with Wiley on lyrical form, riding a skeletal beat from MJ Cole. Equally impressive is the accompanying remix from L Vis 1990 which sees the Night Slugs don deliver yet another unique remix. A cavernous, almost Basic Channel rhythmic thrust is complemented by rough round the edges beats and liberal spurts of acid. The MJ Drop Dubb on the flip will please those craving a preponderance of bass.