Mattafix were an English electronic duo, consisting of vocalist

Marlon Roudette Marlon Roudette is a British singer, songwriter and 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 solo career with two number o ...

and producer and keyboardist Preetesh Hirji. Their sound was a fusion of hip hop, R&B,

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

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 style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Ro ...

, blues,

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, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '':wikt:soul, soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The ea ...

and

world In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

. Known for their 2005 hit single "

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

", 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 So ...

in 2006.

Biography

Marlon Rosegold McVey-Roudette was born in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and is the son of

Cameron McVey Cameron Andrew McVey (born 11 March 1957) is an English singer, songwriter and music producer. He worked with the bands Massive Attack, Portishead, All Saints, Sugababes/Mutya Keisha Siobhan and his wife Neneh Cherry. He is the father of Mar ...

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

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Saint Vincent and the Grenadines () is an island country in the Caribbean. It is located in the southeast Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, which lie in the West Indies at the southern end of the eastern border of the Caribbean Sea ...

. 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 ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

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 (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 2012, ...

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 Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and number 1 in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, Switzerland and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

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

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

, Australia, and

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

. 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 tried to imitate real-life sports networks by calling themselves the "EA Sports Network ...

. "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 was ...

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

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...

alone (compared to 118.4 million Spotify streams for the original) as of August 2022. ''

Signs of a Struggle ''Signs of a Struggle'' is the debut album by English recording duo Mattafix, released on 31 October 2005 throughout Europe. The duo stated that the album is a reflection of the experiences and hardships they have gone through. Reception AllMus ...

'' 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 (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greater emphasis on broad ...

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 Mer ...

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

Sting Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-ear ...

, in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard language, Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the List of cities in Italy, second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 ...

, 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 ''Rhythm & Hymns'' is Mattafix's second and final album, released in November 2007. The album includes the charity single " Living Darfur", as well as "Shake Your Limbs", "Things Have Changed" and "Angel". Reception Allmusic writer Alexey Erem ...

''. 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. Ranked among '' Forbes'' most bankable stars, the films in which he has appeared have collectively earned over $3.88 billion at the North Amer ...

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 ...

'', 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 xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a Megacity#List of megacities, megacity, and is List of urban areas by p ...

, where we played a couple of great shows." The album was released on 23 November 2007 in most European countries. In Australia, 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. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

's song "

Eh Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say) "Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)" is a song by American singer Lady Gaga, from her debut album, '' The Fame'' (2008). It was released as the third single from the album in Australia, New Zealand and selected European countries, and the fourth sin ...

". 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, 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". His first solo album '' Matter Fixed'' was released on 2 September 2011. His sophomore effort, '' Electric Soul'', 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 , "

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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, ''

'' , 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 * Arr ...

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* Formats: CD, digital download , 159 , , 56 , , 10 , , 60 , , 62 , , 75 , , 35 , , 12 , , 64 , , 15 , - ! scope="row", ''

'' , * Released: 19 November 2007 * Label: EMI * Formats: CD, digital download , — , , — , , — , , 69 , , 92 , , 48 , , 73 , , 17 , , 87 , , 22

Singles

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" , 15 , , 19 , , 1 , , 12 , , 17 , , 1 , , 1 , , 3 , , 1 , , 1 , , - ! 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", ''

'' , - , 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. ...

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

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Music videos

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Rankin Rankin may refer to: Places Australia *Division of Rankin, an electoral district in the Australian Federal House of Representatives, in Queensland Canada *Rankin Inlet, Nunavut *Rankin Inlet Airport, Nunavut * Rankin River, Ontario * Rankin Locat ...

, - , 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