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MJ Cole, 27, found his groove a little later in life. Born Matthew Coleman, he grew up in London and studied piano, oboe and music theory at the Royal College of Music. But the nightlife beckoned. "With the clubs, suddenly there was all this rhythm, all this energy and a bit of naughtiness about it as well," says Cole, now concentrating on keyboards while employing others to sing on his songs. "I'd go to raves and clubs, but at the same time, I'd always get in my two hours of piano practice." Sincere echoes his background: there is brainy calculation in the song structures; there's also clubland abandon in the rhythms and vocals.
U.K. Garage has already won fans in the U.S. musical underground. In Minneapolis, Minn., half a dozen Garage lovers banded together last summer to form Steppers Alliance, a DJ collective that has a website, garageand2step.com and hosts parties at First Avenue, an area club. In New York City, the nightclub Centro-Fly recently held a 2-Step night featuring Artful Dodger. There were hundreds of twentysomethings waiting outside the club clamoring to get in. "It's about shut up and dance," says Tom Sisk, co-owner of Centro-Fly. U.K. Garage doesn't quite make up for the Brits' sending us Ginger Spice, but it's two steps in the right direction.