Matt Cooper

Bio

Matt Cooper, aka Outside, has been a creative powerhouse from the time he founded Outside in 1993, to now where he has been Musical Director of Jazz-Funk pioneers Incognito and collaborated on the STR4TA project with Incognito's Bluey and Gilles Peterson as co-writer/producer/performer on four tracks from the first album.
Matt Cooper was a key figure in the music revolution that rebooted jazz with digital beats in 1990s London. Recorded under the name Outside, his 1993 debut album 'Almost In' marked him out when it was released on experimental label Dorado - a contemporary of Talkin' Loud, Acid Jazz, Mo'Wax and Ninja Tune that was founded by Ollie Buckwell and celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. 'I wanted to make quality records that would stand the test of time,' says Buckwell. 'and I was blown away by Matt's talent.'
Mixmag pronounced second album 'The Rough & the Smooth' '"the best record of the last two years'", Outside released three further albums: 'Discoveries' (1997), 'Suspicious' (1998) and 'Out of the Dark' (2001). Cooper joined cult UK soul act Incognito as musical director and went onto work as MD and instrumentalist for legendary artists including: Chaka Khan; Jocelyn Brown; Whitney Houston; David Sylvian; Paul Weller; Terry Callier; Leon Ware; Marlene Shaw; Freddie Hubbard, and Ronnie Laws.