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Mattafix
Marlon Roudette of Mattafix
Marlon Roudette of Mattafix
Background information
OriginLondon, England
Genres
Years active2005–2010
Labels
Past members
Websitemyspace.com/mattafix

Mattafix were an English electronic music duo, consisting of vocalist Marlon Roudette and producer and keyboardist Preetesh Hirji. Their sound was a fusion of hip hop, R&B, reggae, dancehall, blues, jazz, soul and world. Known for their 2005 hit single "Big City Life", they won the Sopot International Song Festival in 2006.

Biography

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Marlon Rosegold McVey-Roudette was born in London and is the son of Cameron McVey, a British music producer,[4] and Vonnie Roudette, a designer and artist from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.[5] 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.[6] 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.

Signs of a Struggle (2005–2006)

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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, "Big City Life", was released by EMI on 8 August 2005. It was a considerable hit, managing number 15 in their native United Kingdom and number 1 in Germany, Poland, Austria, Italy, Switzerland and New Zealand. It also had considerable success in other countries, including top-20 positions in France, Australia, and Belgium. It can also be heard on the soundtrack to the hit video game 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany, designed by EA Sports. "Big City Life" also received multiple popular remixes over the ensuing decades, including notable remixes by LEEX, Luude, and Sam Jonsson; the Luude remix, released in 2022, has amassed 15.8 million streams on Spotify alone (compared to 118.4 million Spotify streams for the original) as of August 2022.[7][8]

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 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 13 March 2006. The single was released as a download only in the United Kingdom.

Rhythm & Hymns (2007–2009)

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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 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, 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."[9]

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's song "Eh Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)". Their remix appears on her iTunes Remix EP;[10] however, it is not on the UK version.

Separation and Roudette solo career (2010–present)

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Main articles: Matter Fixed and Electric Soul

In April 2010, Marlon Roudette made a video appearance where he spoke about recording and making the record in his home-based studio.[11] 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 was released on 2 September 2011. His sophomore effort, Electric Soul, was released on 8 August 2014.

Awards and nominations

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Award Year Nominee(s) Category Result Ref.
Eska Music Awards 2006 "Big City Life" Best International Hit Won [12]
Hungarian Music Awards 2006 Signs of a Struggle Best Foreign Rap or Hip-Hop Album Nominated [13]
2007 Best Foreign Dance Album Nominated [14]

Discography

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Albums

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Title Album details Peak chart positions
UK AUS
[15] 		AUT
[16] 		BEL
[17] 		EU FRA
[18] 		GER
[19] 		ITA
[20] 		POL SWI
[21]
Signs of a Struggle 159 56 10 60 62 75 35 12 64 15
Rhythm & Hymns
  • Released: 19 November 2007
  • Label: EMI
  • Formats: CD, digital download
 — — — 69 92 48 73 17 87 22

Singles

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Year Title Chart positions Certifications Album
UK
[22] 		AUS
[23] 		AUT
[24] 		BEL
[25] 		FRA
[26] 		GER
[27] 		ITA
[28] 		NOR
[29] 		NZ
[30] 		SWI
[31]
2005 "11.30 (Dirtiest Trick in Town)" — — — — — — — — — — Signs of a Struggle
"Big City Life" 15 19 1 12 17 1 1 3 1 1
"Passer By" 79 — — — — — — — — —
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" — — — — — — — — — —
2022 "Big City Life"
(Remix with Luude) 		8 55 19 — — 67 — — 2 — Non-album single

Music videos

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Year Title Director(s)
2005 "Big City Life" Scott Franklin
"Passer By" Rankin
2006 "To & Fro" Max & Dania
"Cool Down the Pace"
2007 "Living Darfur" Toby MacDonald[36]
2008 "Things Have Changed" Justin Francis[37]

References

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  1. ^ a b Copsey, Robert; Corner, Lewis (28 December 2011). "Digital Spy's music ones to watch 2012". Digital Spy.
  2. ^ Orr, Tamra B. (15 August 2008). George Clooney and the Crisis in Darfur. The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc. ISBN 9781435848092 – via Google Books.
  3. ^ Copsey, Robert (2 December 2011). "Marlon Roudette: 'No shame in going pop'". Digital Spy.
  4. ^ "El Bosquejo: Arena Homme Plus: Buffalo Stance, part 1". Lbosquejo.blogspot.com. 22 May 2010. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
  5. ^ "Mattafix: Marlon Roudette". Islandmix.com. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
  6. ^ joshua osoro pickering. "Mattafix: Brit hip hop in Darfur". Cafebabel.co.uk. Archived from the original on 7 March 2012. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
  7. ^ Big City Life, 16 June 2022, retrieved 5 August 2022
  8. ^ Big City Life, 2005, retrieved 5 August 2022
  9. ^ Mattafix interview by Pete Lewis, Blues & Soul, July 2008.
  10. ^ "Lady Gaga - Eh, Eh Remix EP". iTunes. 13 March 2009. Retrieved 23 June 2009.
  11. ^ Hot97 SVG on 12 April 2010 at 3:46am View Blog (12 April 2010). "Mattafix's Marlon speaks about working on new album - Hot97 Live". Hot97svg.com. Archived from the original on 26 January 2013. Retrieved 15 November 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ "Eska Music Awards 2006 rozdane!".
  13. ^ "Jelöltek 2006". 12 August 2016.
  14. ^ "Jelöltek 2007". 12 August 2016.
  15. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 179.
  16. ^ "Discographie Mattafix". austriancharts.at (in German). Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  17. ^ "Mattafix – Signs of a Struggle" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  18. ^ "Discographie Mattafix". lescharts.com (in French). Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  19. ^ "Discographie Mattafix". offiziellecharts.de (in German). Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  20. ^ "Discography Mattafix". italiancharts.com. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  21. ^ "Mattafix – Signs of a Struggle". hitparade.ch (in German). Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  22. ^ "UK Charts > Mattafix". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 4 February 2013. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  23. ^ "Mattafix". Australian Charts. 26 February 2006. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
  24. ^ "Austrian Charts - Mattafix". Austriancharts.at. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
  25. ^ "ultratop.be - ULTRATOP BELGIAN CHARTS". ultratop.be.
  26. ^ "French Charts - Mattafix". Lescharts.com. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
  27. ^ "Discographie von Mattafix". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  28. ^ "Mattafix". Italian Charts. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
  29. ^ "Mattafix". Norwegian Charts. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
  30. ^ "New Zealand Charts - Mattafix". charts.nz. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
  31. ^ "Swiss Charts - Mattafix". Hitparade.ch. 23 October 2005. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
  32. ^ "New Zealand single certifications – Mattafix – Big City Life". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  33. ^ "British single certifications – Mattafix". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 21 June 2023. Select singles in the Format field. Type Mattafix in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  34. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2024 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  35. ^ "New Zealand single certifications – Luude and Mattafix – Big City Life". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  36. ^ Antonio Paladino
  37. ^ Ben Grossman - Digital Artists Agency
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