“I didn’t know garage very well, so I made a slightly skewed version of this sound – which is what ended up being my USP”: MJ Cole on the making of UKG classic Sincere

“It was hugely inspiring. I’d go to clubs, then come back to the studio with my ears ringing and try to recreate what I had heard there,” says UK garage producer and DJ Matt Coleman, better known as MJ Cole.

Emerging from late-'90s underground dance music, MJ Cole was a driving force behind the sounds of 2-step and UK garage, a scene that would lead to grime and dubstep while his breakthrough track, Sincere, scraped the top 40 on its initial release back in 1998 before becoming a genre-defining UKG classic.

Since then, Matt’s career has gone through various creative twists and turns, moving beyond the scene that birthed him to take in production and remixes of all aural flavours. He’s previously worked with Stormzy, Mary J Blige and Sammy Virji alongside launching his own 892 Recordings label. In 2026, Sincere has been reworked by breakout Grammy-nominated and BRIT Award-winning artist and producer PinkPantheress as Still Sincere.

Initially a drum and bass head and lover of breakbeats, Matt’s classical upbringing combined with these darker sounds led to a unique way of working. “Garage started for me while I was a studio engineer, collaborating with garage DJs coming in with a box of records,” he says. “They would play me tracks and I would be in the studio on the buttons trying to come up with something similar.”

“I didn’t know garage very well so I made a slightly skewed version of this sound - which is what ended up being my USP.”

Raised in a musical family, Matt was classically trained, studying piano and oboe from the age of five. He ultimately landed a scholarship and would go to the Royal College of Music on Saturday mornings.

“From the age of five until I was 13, I wanted to be a concert pianist, and my musical tastes were super classical,” he says. “Then I had this cousin who was a couple of years older than me, he had these mismatched belt drive decks. Through him I was exposed to this kaleidoscope of different electronic music styles. I was also a bit of a gamer and started trying to make music on a Commodore 64, then the Atari ST and got into dance music from there.”

As he grew older, Matt began dipping his toes into nightlife, going clubbing and to parties while also practicing piano and playing classical music recitals. “I was living this very dual existence,” he laughs. “I’d go off to do performances with my tie and shiny shoes on, then at night, I’d be playing records, going to clubs, doing graffiti.

“In my career that has shown up more recently. I did this MJ Cole Presents Madrugada album which is very string-filled and piano-based. That was me revisiting my past self, it’s a creative energy that continues.”

After finishing his studies, Matt had accumulated plenty of knowledge on musical mechanics and began applying to different studios for work. “I was offered a night reception role at Metropolis and this job at SOUR,” he recalls.

“I remember asking myself - do I want to go to a big shiny studio like Metropolis? Or do I want to work at SOUR and make records like those I was buying? I chose SOUR, started making teas, doing copies of tapes for sessions and met artists like Elizabeth Troy and Shy FX.”

Matt’s musical skills helped him progress with SOUR into an engineering role, a route that gradually evolved into production. SOUR hooked up with pirate station London Underground which saw garage DJs visiting the studio to work on music, and they would call on Matt for his expertise.

“I didn’t have any aims other than I knew I wanted music in my life and I loved working in recording studios,” he says. “I was asked to do these sessions with DJs where they would play me these garage records but I didn’t know much about the sound. Whenever I went to a club at that time, I’d always head straight to wherever they were playing jungle.”

As he worked with DJs like Ramsey and Fen, Nortee B Nice and Daniel Ward, Matt’s name began to be shared and he was asked to join an increasing number of sessions.

“People just started to work out that I was the thread unifying these records,” he says. “I then started making my own music in my bedroom on this garage tip. My sound emerged from my love for jungle and being squashed in a room with these garage DJs.”

His set-up at the beginning featured an Atari ST, Cubase and the Yamaha SY22 synth before adding a sampler to his early workflow.

“I remember trying to make these breakbeats with a MIDI drum module, trying to work out exactly what these guys were doing, and it took me a while to realise that they were sampling records,” Matt explains. “This was when I clubbed together with a mate to buy my first sampler, the Cheetah SX16.”

Sincere was made in Matt's bedroom in Twickenham using the Atari ST and the Akai MPC3000XL sampler with the vocals of singers Jay Dee and Nova Caspar, lifted from a sample CD. He then headed to the studio in Dalston where he engineered for SOUR to complete the track.

“I remember going in, I took my Atari disc and Akai discs in, then used the studio at night to mix it down,” he says. “I added a couple of sounds on it, the Rhodes keyboards parts and did a dub mix the same night.”

“It used to be a thing for me, I would prepare music at home, get it to a reasonable state, go into a big studio, get it on a big SSL board, get the main mix done, then I would always start my dub mixes at 4am and do them in three hours. I remember with Sincere, I completed the main mix, then rinsed out the dub and was finished by 8am.”

Sincere's potential for breakout success was not immediately obvious: the track sat on a DAT tape alongside three or four others, and was taken to a distributor who was less than enthused.

MJ Cole - Sincere - Original (UK Garage) - YouTube

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“I remember playing them Sincere, they weren’t mad on it and I remember getting turned away at the beginning,” Matt says. “But we found this guy Arthur who ran Vinyl Distribution in Reading and he decided to put it out. They would sell to all the shops, a white label was sent to Pete Tong and he played it on his Essential Selection show. At the time, I had no idea who Pete Tong was, or what the show was about.”

The initial release on Metrix Recordings came in 1998 and it went into the top 40. Then Matt secured a deal after a bidding war and a re-released version went into the top 20 two years later. Decades later, it’s been given a new lease of life by PinkPantheress and Still Sincere.

“There’s something magic about that record, it was made in pure innocence,” Matt says. “I didn’t know anything about the music industry or scenes, I remember hearing these vocals and just piece it together. I didn’t really think it was a great record, it was just another track on a DAT tape.”

“But now I listen back to it, there’s a lot of honesty in it, because it wasn’t trying to be anything. I’m proud of it and it’s really nice that PinkPantheress has refreshed it – it’s a great match, as she started her whole thing with mash-ups. It suits her and is great for me as I think she’s amazing.”

Matt’s musical career has significantly evolved since those early days as has his relationship with music technology. A self-confessed “tech geek”, he remembers his early forays into production as being hindered by his lack of budget.

“I had a thirst for gear and had to suffer on this really small set up,” he states. “I remember having this terrible mixer in our student house, which is why I wanted to be in a big studio, I relished getting the chance to work on an SSL desk. I did a lot of sessions around London, riding around on my moped and just working as an SSL engineer and using tape.”

It was after he’d enjoyed his success that Matt’s financial resources were able to cater for an expanded studio, in the form of various samplers and synths.

“It can be attractive, and inspirational but it can also be a bit of a distraction too if you’re not careful,” he says. “I’ve likely got less now than before but the stuff I do have is essential for me - a Fender Rhodes, some Neve compressors, microphones and microphone presets. It’s a bit smaller, as I’ve started working in the box more and have a huge amount of plugins including some from Teenage Engineering, but I’m always buying and selling tech.”

For aspiring producers, his words of wisdom include striving to finish music. Even from the early days of his career, most of the music he worked on was finished, then subsequently released.

“I get asked if I have music that never came out or if I’m sitting on some secret tracks but I don’t,” Matt states. “Pretty much everything I worked on came out, which was partly due to finishing my tracks outside the bedroom and in a big studio. I didn’t have the luxury of being at home or dipping into my productions - those limitations in terms of time meant I completed everything.”

“As a producer or artist you need to try to finish, then move on,” he adds for tips. “You will make some bad music too, but it’s all about keeping momentum and avoiding getting stuck on anything - you have to keep the river flowing rather than getting stagnant.”

With Sincere’s 25th anniversary now marked, Matt is continuing to work on new projects. He recently crafted the original score for The Disciple, which is showing at the Sundance Film Festival and is creating new music. Based out of Platoon Studios at Tileyard behind King’s Cross, he’s been busy writing and recording with a number of artists including rapper Hak Baker, John Glacier and AK Paul, Jai Paul’s brother. Matt is now excited to be exploring new musical pastures and keeps his eyes firmly on the future.

“I’ve been making music for long enough to know it goes in undulations,” he says. “When you feel vibed up, you have to go for it and really follow that feeling, get as much done as you can. When I have a lull, I’m cool with it - if you have a week, you’re sitting there, you have no vibes, that’s where tech comes into to try a new synth or compressor. But I’m still as vibed up as I ever was, and love to ride those waves…”