Moutaiz Al-Obaidi, known professionally as Motez, is an Australian record producer, musician and DJ. Motez was a refugee born in
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
and moved to
Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater A ...
in 2006. Motez's Song "The Future" featuring
Antony and Cleopatra
''Antony and Cleopatra'' ( First Folio title: ''The Tragedie of Anthonie, and Cleopatra'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The play was first performed, by the King's Men, at either the Blackfriars Theatre or the Globe Theatre in arou ...
was certified Platinum in Australia. He has won several South Australian Music Awards for Best Solo Artist (2021) and Most Popular Electronic Artist (2016, 2018, 2020 and 2021)
Touring
Motez has performed at many festivals including:
Splendour in the Grass,
Falls Festival
Falls Music & Arts Festival (commonly known as Falls) is a multi-day music festival held annually in Lorne ( Victoria), Marion Bay (Tasmania), Byron Bay (New South Wales) and Fremantle (Western Australia), Australia over the New Year's Eve ...
,
Warehouse Project and
Electric Forest Festival
Electric Forest is a multi-genre music festival produced by Madison House Presents and Insomniac Events with a focus on electronic music and jam band genres. Original named Rothbury Festival in 2008, it is held in Rothbury, Michigan at the ...
. He embarked on his own headline tour in 2017 with Tigerilla and
Mickey Kojak
Michael Dable (born 20 September 1994), known professionally as Mickey Kojak, is an Australian musician, singer, songwriter and producer from Sydney, New South Wales. Mickey supported Bag Raiders on their 2019 ''Horizons'' tour. Mickey received ...
as supports.
Soulitude
In the wake of lockdown restrictions and the cancelation of live events due to the Coronavirus pandemic, Motez released an introspective, ambient EP called Soulitude
which was conceived as a "response to the global mindset of isolation". The project was touted as a "raw, minimal and emotive ambient work, encompassing his own experiences and the natural human responses to seclusion." To commemorate the release of Soulitude, Motez played and recorded a live set of the entire EP in Fleurieu Peninsula, South Australia which was streamed online through United We Stream, the event was a set up to raise funds for Support Act. and garnered over 25,000 plays in the first day and won Best Video and Best Release at the 2020 SA Music Awards.
Live Show
Motez debuted his live show at
Womad
WOMAD ( ; World of Music, Arts and Dance) is an international arts festival. The central aim of WOMAD is to celebrate the world's many forms of music, arts and dance.
History
WOMAD was founded in 1980 by English rock musician Peter Gabriel, w ...
Festival on March 12, 2022. The show featured live instrumentation by string and brass sections, kids' choir as well as guest vocalists including
George Alice
Georgia Mannion (born 25 March 2003), known professionally as George Alice, is an Australian music artist, singer-songwriter.
In 2019, Mannion released her debut single "Circles", for which she won Triple J's Unearthed High competition.
Early ...
. The show was subsequently broadcast on
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 ...
as part of their 'Live at the Wireless' series which aired in May 2022. The show was dubbed as "a spectacular combination of powerful dance beats with a stunning light show" by the AU Review. In an interview with
Roland
Roland (; frk, *Hrōþiland; lat-med, Hruodlandus or ''Rotholandus''; it, Orlando or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the ...
, Motez said "I first attended Womadelaide soon after moving to Australia and I dreamt of playing there one day. I understood that the stakes were high, the calibre of musicianship and showmanship was incredible, so I thought if I ever put on a show there it must be more than just about music. It has to be an audio-visual experience matched with a lot of live instrumentation. I am a musician first and foremost, and so presenting my live show for the first time at Womadelaide I had go all out."
Discography
Singles
* Raves Are Dead (2010)
* A Trick Or Two / Makes Me Itch (2010)
* Hard Times (2011)
* Ride Roof Back / Take Off (2013)
* Promise Me / Bodyrock (2014)
* Own Up (2014)
* Down Like This feat.
Tkay Maidza (2016)
* Praise / Fire Burning (2017)
* The Future feat.
Antony & Cleopatra
''Antony and Cleopatra'' (First Folio title: ''The Tragedie of Anthonie, and Cleopatra'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The play was first performed, by the King's Men, at either the Blackfriars Theatre or the Globe Theatre in around ...
(2017)
* Roll Out (2018)
* Steady Motion feat.
KWAYE
Kwayedza Kureya, mononymously known by his stage name Kwaye, is a British-Zimbabwean singer and songwriter based in Los Angeles, California. He has released two EPs and his songs have been featured in Netflix's ''Topboy'' and ''On My Block''. He ...
(2019)
*Toggle (2019)
*Where Have You Been (2019)
* Patience (2020)
* Slow Down (2020)
* Give Your Heart Away (2020)
*Andes (2021)
*Give Me Space feat.
The Kite String Tangle (2021)
*ReSet (2021)
*Submission (2022)
*Get it Done feat.
Scrufizzer
Amary Lorenzo, better known as Scrufizzer, is an English musician, MC, singer-songwriter, and record producer from West London. He first gained recognition as a grime producer before building a reputation for his bashment-influenced flow and ...
(2022)
EPs
* Call My Name EP (2013)
* No Need To Panic (2014)
* Vancouver (2015)
* The Vibe EP (2016)
* Late Thoughts EP (2018)
* Soulitude (2020)
*ReSet (2021)
Remixes
*
Flume
A flume is a human-made channel for water, in the form of an open declined gravity chute whose walls are raised above the surrounding terrain, in contrast to a trench or ditch. Flumes are not to be confused with aqueducts, which are built to ...
feat.
Caroline Polachek
Caroline Elizabeth Polachek (born June 20, 1985) is an American singer, producer and songwriter. Raised in Connecticut, Polachek co-founded the indie pop band Chairlift while studying at the University of Colorado. The duo emerged from the late- ...
- Sirens (Motez Remix)
*
Client Liaison
Client Liaison are an Australian indie pop duo made up of vocalist Monte Morgan, and keyboardist and producer Harvey Miller. The pair first came to prominence in 2012 after the release of their first music video "End of the Earth", and went on ...
- Elevator Up (Motez Remix)
*
Icarus (band) – Sirens (Motez Remix)
*
Northeast Party House - Shelf Life (Motez Remix)
Tensnake - Rules (Motez Remix)The Kite String Tangle - North (Motez Remix)
* Karma Fields - Colorblind ft. Tove Lo
Ebba Tove Elsa Nilsson (born 29 October 1987), known professionally as Tove Lo (), is a Swedish singer and songwriter. She has been called "Sweden's darkest pop export" by ''Rolling Stone.'' She is known for her raw, grunge-influenced take ...
(Motez Remix)
* Peking Duk – Wasted (Motez Remix)
* Allen French – Nova Vida (Motez Remix)
* Flight Facilities
Flight Facilities is an Australian electronic producer duo that also performs as Hugo & Jimmy. In 2009, they began mixing songs by other artists before crafting their own original material. The duo consists of Hugo Gruzman and James Lyell. Thei ...
– Sunshine feat. Reggie Watts (Motez Remix)
* Sam Smith
Samuel Frederick Smith (born 19 May 1992) is an English singer and songwriter. After rising to prominence in October 2012 by featuring on Disclosure's breakthrough single "Latch", which peaked at number eleven on the UK Singles Chart, they ...
– Leave Your Lover (Motez Remix)
* Disclosure – Omen (Motez Remix) eat. Sam Smith
Eat (styled as EAT.) was a chain of sandwich shops that was founded in 1996 by Niall and Faith MacArthur and later owned by Pret a Manger. It had 95 branches in the United Kingdom, 75 of which were in London. It announced the closure of its UK ...
* Panama – Jungle (Motez Remix)
* Flight Facilities
Flight Facilities is an Australian electronic producer duo that also performs as Hugo & Jimmy. In 2009, they began mixing songs by other artists before crafting their own original material. The duo consists of Hugo Gruzman and James Lyell. Thei ...
– Clair de Lune (Motez Remix)
* Owl Eyes – Open Up (Motez Remix)
* Tyler Touché – Heart in Motion (Motez Remix)
* Madison Avenue
Madison Avenue is a north-south avenue in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, United States, that carries northbound one-way traffic. It runs from Madison Square (at 23rd Street) to meet the southbound Harlem River Drive at 142nd St ...
– Don't Call Me Baby (Motez Remix)
* Gary Richards – "All Nite" ft. E-40 & Too $hort (Motez Remix)
* Rufus Du Sol – Desert Night (Motez Remix)
* Ellie Goulding
Elena Jane Goulding ( ; born 30 December 1986) is an English singer and songwriter. Her career began when she met record producers Starsmith and Frankmusik, and she was later spotted by Jamie Lillywhite, who became her manager and A&R. After ...
– Beating Heart (Motez Remix)
Awards
South Australian Music Awards
The South Australian Music Awards
The South Australian Music Awards, also known as SA Music Awards, commonly SAM Awards, formerly Fowler's Live Music Awards (FLMA), are annual awards that exist to recognise, promote and celebrate excellence in the South Australian contemporary mu ...
(previously known as the Fowler's Live Music Awards) are annual awards that exist to recognise, promote and celebrate excellence in the South Australian contemporary music industry. They commenced in 2012.
References
External links
*
on SoundCloud
SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming s ...
* Motez on Instagram
Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...
{{authority control
Australian musicians
Living people
Australian electronic musicians
Australian house musicians
Australian DJs
Electronic dance music DJs
Year of birth missing (living people)