| Mattafix | |
|---|---|
| Origin | United Kingdom |
| Genres | Hip hop/rap, R&B, reggae, dancehall, blues, jazz, soul, world |
| Years active | 2005–2010 |
| Labels | Virgin Records (EMI International), Angel Music, Beegood Limited, Buddhist Punk |
| Members | |
| Marlon Roudette Preetesh Hirji |
|
Mattafix are a UK duo, made up of Marlon Roudette and Preetesh Hirji. Their sound is a fusion of hip hop/rap, R&B, reggae, dancehall, blues, jazz, soul and world. They won the Sopot International Song Festival in 2006.
Contents |
Marlon Roudette was born in London and is the son of Cameron McVey, a British music producer,[1] and Vonnie Roudette, a designer and artist from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.[2] As a young child he moved with his mother and sister to St. Vincent, where he began his music career, and returned to London when he was 18.[3] Preetesh Hirji was born in London of dual-Indian parentage and grew up in the heart of West London, where he started at Eastcote Studios on Kensal Road.
Mattafix released their first single "11.30 (Dirtiest Trick in Town)" as a limited edition on Buddhist Punk Records on January 13, 2005. However, the song never charted.
Their second single, "Big City Life", was released by EMI on August 8, 2005. It was a considerable hit, managing a number 15 in the United Kingdom and a number 1 in Germany, Poland, Austria, Italy, Switzerland and New Zealand. It also had considerable success in other European countries where it reached the top 20. It can also be heard on the soundtrack to the hit video game FIFA World Cup Germany 2006, designed by EA Sports, and was included in the NOW! 62 UK compilation, the duo's first and only song to date, to be included in the series.
Signs of a Struggle received positive reviews and had success in Europe where the band toured extensively throughout 2006-2008. Signs of a Struggle was a Triple J feature album in April 2006.
The duo toured with the likes of Jem and Joss Stone on their UK tours to promote the album, and have also opened for Sting, in Milan, before a crowd of more than 100,000 people.
Their fourth single, "To & Fro", was released on March 13, 2006. The single was released as a download only in the United Kingdom.
On September 7, 2007, Mattafix released the first single, "Living Darfur", taken from their second album Rhythm & Hymns. It was available as a download only. The single was released physically on October 22, 2007. The video features Matt Damon in the intro. The track was featured as part of the Save Darfur Campaign. Working alongside humanitarian agencies operating in the region, the band filmed a video for the song in the refugee camps in the region. The video became extremely popular on YouTube and to date is the only music video by an international group to be filmed in a war zone.
Speaking in June 2008 to noted UK R&B writer Pete Lewis of the award-winning Blues & Soul, Roudette explained the musical background to 'Rhythms & Hymns': "With this album I wanted to bring through more aspects of the live show, which is something maybe the first album lacked. You know, we do go out with a seven or eight-piece band, and that has become a big part of the Mattafix sound. So, in addition to keeping the hardcore element and programmed beats from last time round, with 'Rhythms & Hymns' we've also used a lot of live drums. Also, we've added quite a lot of influences that we got from the road. Particularly in places like Johannesburg, where we played a couple of great shows."[4]
The album was released on November 23, 2007 in most European countries. In Australia, it was released on November 17, 2007.
Mattafix remixed Lady Gaga's song "Eh Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)". Their remix appears on her iTunes Remix EP,[5] however, not in the UK version.
Mattafix are currently working on a new album. In April 2010, Marlon Roudette made a video appearance where he spoke about recording and making the record in his home based studio.[6] However, via Facebook, it was announced that Roudette and Hirji had gone separate ways, due to their different new ideas for future projects. Marlon Roudette is now working on a solo project with the Universal label, apparently to be released in May 2011, which has brought abundant attention to fans. He is yet to come up with his new artist name; whether to stay with the name Mattafix, or choose a new stage name; perhaps his own. "Mattafix presents...Marlon..." was a quote from a late 2010 YouTube video, as an updated possibility for his album title and/or stage name. Marlon Roudette has confirmed that the new album is "not a radical shift but definitely different. More instrumentation and more in depth musical compositions." Marlon Roudette has stated that the album is pretty much completed, but the album is still being "fine tuned.". On July 9, 2011, Marlon Roudette confirmed that the name of the first single from the new album is "New Age", and the name of the album will be called "Matter Fixed".[7] In September 2011, "New Age" reached number one in Germany.[8]
On September 13 2011, Marlon announced that he signed to Warner Music Group for the UK.[9]
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUT | BEL | EU | FRA | GER | ITA | POL | SWI | UK | ||
| Signs of a Struggle |
|
10 | 60 | 62 | 75 | 35 | 12 | 64 | 15 | 159 |
| Rhythm & Hymns |
|
— | 69 | 92 | 48 | 73 | 17 | 87 | 22 | — |
| Year | Title | Chart positions | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUS [10] |
AUT [11] |
BEL [12] |
FRA [13] |
GER [14] |
ITA [15] |
NZ [16] |
NOR [17] |
SWI [18] |
UK [19] |
|||
| 2005 | "11.30 (Dirtiest Trick in Town)" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Signs of a Struggle |
| "Big City Life" | 19 | 1 | 12 | 17 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 15 | ||
| "Passer By" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006 | "To & Fro" | — | — | 56 | — | 73 | 56 | — | — | 56 | — | |
| "Cool Down the Pace" | — | 52 | — | — | 82 | 25 | — | — | 63 | — | ||
| 2007 | "Living Darfur" | — | 21 | 50 | 50 | 32 | 2 | — | — | 13 | — | Rhythm & Hymns |
| 2008 | "Things Have Changed" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Year | Title | Director(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | "Big City Life" | Scott Franklin |
| "Passer By" | John Rankin Waddell | |
| 2006 | "To & Fro" | Max & Dania |
| "Cool Down the Pace" | Max & Dania | |
| 2007 | "Living Darfur" | Mattafix |
| 2008 | "Things Have Changed" |