Mattafix were an English electronic music duo, consisting of vocalist

Marlon Roudette Marlon Roudette (born 5 January 1982) is an English singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is the former front man for the duo Mattafix who had their first number 1, "Big City Life", in 2006. After the group split, Roudette embarked on a s ...

and producer and keyboardist Preetesh Hirji. Their sound was a fusion of

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

, R&B,

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots reggae, roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2 ...

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

and

world The world is the totality of entities, the whole of reality, or everything that Existence, exists. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the world as unique, while others talk ...

. Known for their 2005 hit single "

Big City Life "Big City Life" is a song by English electronic music duo Mattafix. With a chorus sung in Jamaican Patois, "Big City Life" was released in August 2005 as the second single from Mattafix's debut album, '' Signs of a Struggle'' (2005). The single ...

", they won the

Sopot International Song Festival The Sopot International Song Festival or Sopot Festival (later called ''Sopot Music Festival Grand Prix'', ''Sopot Top of the Top Festival'' from 2012–13 and ''Polsat Sopot Festival'' in 2014) is an annual international song contest held in S ...

in 2006.

Biography

Marlon Rosegold McVey-Roudette was born in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and is the son of

Cameron McVey Cameron Andrew McVey (born 11 August 1957) is an English singer, songwriter and record producer. He has worked with the acts Massive Attack, Portishead (band), Portishead, All Saints (group), All Saints, Sugababes, and his wife Neneh Cherry. H ...

, a British music producer, and Vonnie Roudette, a designer and artist from

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, sometimes known simply as Saint Vincent or SVG, is an island country in the eastern Caribbean. It is located in the southeast Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, which lie in the West Indies, at the south ...

. As a young child, he moved with his mother and sister to St. Vincent, where he began his music career before returning to London when he was 18. Preetesh Hirji was born in London of dual-

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

n parentage and grew up in the heart of West London, where he started at Eastcote Studios on Kensal Road.

''Signs of a Struggle'' (2005–2006)

Mattafix released their first single, " 11.30 (Dirtiest Trick in Town)", as a limited edition on Buddhist Punk Records on 13 January 2005. However, the song never charted. Their second single, "

", was released by

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

on 8 August 2005. It was a considerable hit, managing number 15 in their native

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and number 1 in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. It also had considerable success in other countries, including top-20 positions in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, and

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. It can also be heard on the soundtrack to the hit video game '' 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany'', designed by

EA Sports EA Sports is a division of Electronic Arts that develops and publishes sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they imitated real-life sports networks by calling themselves the "EA Sports Network" (EASN) ...

. "Big City Life" also received multiple popular remixes over the ensuing decades, including notable remixes by LEEX,

Luude Christian Benson, known professionally as Luude, is an Australian electronic dance music producer. He is best known for his 2021 cover of " Down Under". He is also half of Australian electronic duo Choomba. Life and career Christian Benson wa ...

, and Sam Jonsson; the Luude remix, released in 2022, has amassed 15.8 million streams on

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...

alone (compared to 118.4 million Spotify streams for the original) as of August 2022. '' Signs of a Struggle'' received positive reviews and had success in Europe where the band toured extensively throughout 2006–08. ''Signs of a Struggle'' was a

Triple J Triple J is an Australian government-funded national radio station founded in 1975 as a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). It aims to appeal to young listeners of alternative music, and plays far more Australian conten ...

feature album in April 2006. The duo toured with the likes of Jem and

Joss Stone Joscelyn Eve Stoker (born 11 April 1987), known professionally as Joss Stone, is an English singer, songwriter and actress. She rose to prominence in late 2003 with her multi-platinum debut album, ''The Soul Sessions'', which made the 2004 Merc ...

on their UK tours to promote the album, and have also opened for

Sting Stimulator of interferon genes (STING), also known as transmembrane protein 173 (TMEM173) and MPYS/MITA/ERIS is a regulator protein that in humans is encoded by the STING1 gene. STING plays an important role in innate immunity. STING induces typ ...

, in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, before a crowd of more than 100,000 people. Their fourth single, " To & Fro", was released on 13 March 2006. The single was released as a download only in the

''Rhythm & Hymns'' (2007–2009)

On 7 September 2007, Mattafix released " Living Darfur", the first single taken from their second album '' Rhythm & Hymns''. It was available as a download only. The single was released physically on 22 October 2007. The video features

Matt Damon Matthew Paige Damon ( ; born October 8, 1970) is an American actor, film producer, and screenwriter. He was ranked among ''Forbes'' most bankable stars in 2007, and in 2010 was one of the highest-grossing actors of all time. He has received va ...

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 English R&B writer Pete Lewis of ''

Blues & Soul ''Blues & Soul'' is a British music magazine, established in 1967 by John Abbey. ''The Independent'' has noted ''Blues & Soul'' as being the equal of magazines such as ''NME'' and '' Q''. ''Billboard'' magazine has called ''Blues & Soul'' "a r ...

'', 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 Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

, where we played a couple of great shows." The album was released on 23 November 2007 in most European countries. In

, it was released on 17 November 2007. Mattafix remixed

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her image reinventions and versatility across the entertainment industry, she is an influ ...

's song " Eh Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)". Their remix appears on her iTunes Remix EP; however, it is not on the UK version.

Separation and Roudette solo career (2010–present)

In April 2010, Marlon Roudette made a video appearance where he spoke about recording and making the record in his home-based studio. However, via Facebook, it was announced that Roudette and Hirji had gone separate ways due to their different new ideas for future projects. Roudette's first solo album ''

Matter Fixed ''Matter Fixed'' is the first album by the English singer, Marlon Roudette, released on 2 September 2011. The name is a reference to the project he was involved with before starting solo, a duo with Preetesh Hirji called Mattafix. Singles On 1 ...

'' was released on 2 September 2011. His sophomore effort, ''

Electric Soul ''Electric Soul'' is the second studio album by the British/Vincentian musician Marlon Roudette. It was released in Germany on 8 August 2014 via Universal Music Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Univ ...

'', was released on 8 August 2014.

Awards and nominations

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Eska Music Awards Eska Music Awards (EMA) is a Polish awards ceremony for national and international music, launched in 2002 by Radio Eska. The awards were last presented in 2017. Amongst the award winners are Jamelia, Alexis Jordan, t.A.T.u., 3 Doors Down, The Ra ...

, 2006 , "

" , Best International Hit , , , - !scope="row" rowspan=2,

Hungarian Music Awards The Hungarian Music Awards have been given to artists in the field of Hungarian music since 1992. The award categories are similar to Grammy Awards in the United States and Brit Awards in the United Kingdom. The awards were known as the ''Golden ...

, 2006 , rowspan=2, '' Signs of a Struggle'' , Best Foreign Rap or Hip-Hop Album , , , - , 2007 , Best Foreign Dance Album , ,

Discography

Albums

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AUT AUT may refer to the following. Locations *Austria (ISO 3166-1 country code) *Agongointo-Zoungoudo Underground Town, Benin * Aktio–Preveza Undersea Tunnel, Greece *Airstrip on Atauro Island, East Timor (IATA airport code) Organizations *Arri ...

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;",

BEL Bel can mean: Mythology * Belenus or Bel, a Celtic deity * Bel (mythology), a title (meaning "lord" or "master") for various gods in Babylonian religion People * Bel (name) * Annabel Linquist, known as Bel, American artist, musician, and entrepr ...

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;", EU ! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;",

FRA Fra is a title of a friar. Fra or FRA may also refer to: Codes * fra, the ISO 639-2 code for the French language * FRA, the ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 code for France * FRA, the IOC country code for France at the Olympics * Framingham station, Amtra ...

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;", GER
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;", ITA
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;", POL ! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;",

SWI SWI may refer to: Places * Switzerland (this is not the ISO 3166-1 code, which is CHE) * Swindon railway station (National Rail code SWI), serving Swindon, Wiltshire, United Kingdom Science and technology * SWI-Prolog, a free implementation of th ...

, - ! scope="row", '' Signs of a Struggle'' , * Released: 31 October 2005 * Label:

* Formats: CD,

digital download Digital download may refer to: *Downloading, the processing of copying data to a computer from an external source *Digital distribution, a method of downloading software or audio-visual media as opposed to buying it at a traditional point of sale * ...

, 159 , , 56 , , 10 , , 60 , , 62 , , 75 , , 35 , , 12 , , 64 , , 15 , - ! scope="row", '' Rhythm & Hymns'' , * Released: 19 November 2007 * Label: EMI * Formats: CD, digital download , — , , — , , — , , 69 , , 92 , , 48 , , 73 , , 17 , , 87 , , 22

Singles

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, - , rowspan="3", 2005 ! scope="row", "11.30 (Dirtiest Trick in Town)" , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , rowspan="5", '' Signs of a Struggle'' , - ! scope="row", "

" , 15 , , 19 , , 1 , , 12 , , 17 , , 1 , , 1 , , 3 , , 1 , , 1 , *

RMNZ Recorded Music NZ (formerly the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ)) is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell recorded music in New Zealand. Membership of Recorded Mus ...

: Gold , - ! scope="row", " Passer By" , 79 , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , - , rowspan="2", 2006 ! scope="row", " To & Fro" , — , , — , , — , , 56 , , — , , 73 , , 56 , , — , , — , , 56 , , - ! scope="row", " Cool Down the Pace" , — , , — , , 52 , , — , , — , , 82 , , 25 , , — , , — , , 63 , , - , 2007 ! scope="row", " Living Darfur" , — , , — , , 21 , , 50 , , 50 , , 32 , , 2 , , — , , — , , 13 , , rowspan="2", '' Rhythm & Hymns'' , - , 2008 ! scope="row", "

Things Have Changed "Things Have Changed" is a song from the film '' Wonder Boys'', written and performed by Bob Dylan and released as a single on May 1, 2000, that won both the Academy Award for Best Original Song and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song. ...

" , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , - , 2022 ! scope="row", "

"
, 8 , , 55 , , 19 , , — , , — , , 67 , , — , , — , , 2 , , — , * BPI: Platinum *

ARIA In music, an aria (, ; : , ; ''arias'' in common usage; diminutive form: arietta, ; : ariette; in English simply air (music), air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrument (music), instrumental or orchestral accompan ...

: 2× Platinum * RMNZ: 2× Platinum ,

Music videos

{, class="wikitable plainrowheaders" , - ! Year ! Title ! Director(s) , - , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2", 2005 ! scope="row" align="left", "Big City Life" , align="left", Scott Franklin , - ! scope="row" align="left", "Passer By" , align="left", Rankin , - , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2", 2006 ! scope="row" align="left", "To & Fro" , rowspan="2" align="left", Max & Dania , - ! scope="row" align="left", "Cool Down the Pace" , - , align="left", 2007 ! scope="row" align="left", "Living Darfur" , align="left", Toby MacDonald , - , align="left", 2008 ! scope="row" align="left", "Things Have Changed" , align="left", Justin FrancisBen Grossman - Digital Artists Agency
/ref>

References

External links

http://www.mattafix.com/ Official website (archived)
{{Authority control Sopot International Song Festival winners English electronic music duos English hip-hop groups Hip-hop duos Musical groups established in 2005 Musical groups disestablished in 2010 Dancehall groups