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Mattafix are a UK R&B/hip hop group made up of two members, Marlon Roudette and Preetesh Hirji. Their sound is a mix of hip hop, soul, reggae and dancehall.
The name comes from an expression you’ll hear all the time on the island of St Vincent: “Matter fixed” that particular country’s take on the ubiquitous Caribbean “No problem” And it’s probably the perfect name for this duo, who although unlikely in theory, are a vivid example of how songs should be working in the 21st Century. Marlon Roudette and Preetesh Hirji; a steel pan virtuoso and self-confessed computer geek; one brought up in the tropical idyll of St Vincent the other in the rough and tumble of London’s Harrow Road; An Anglo/West Indian background and an Indian heritage. Hell, they shouldn’t even like each other! But brought together by a chance meeting in a recording studio, a shared love of songs and the eventual discovery that they briefly went to the same Ladbroke Grove primary school (Marlon lived in London until he was nine), Mattafix show how such disparity is what makes something special rather than keeping it from coming together in the first place. Marlon and Preetesh start from opposite ends of the spectrum and with appropriately different influences, yet they turn this to their advantage by bringing all points in between into their songwriting. Blues, jazz, bangra, punk, roots reggae, hip hop, pop, calypso, heavy metal, classic soul, dancehall … all of it filtered through the UK’s multi-culti hurly burly way with music that acknowledges everything but allows very little to overwhelm. And thanks to their infectious love of life and all it involves, Mattafix have quite brilliantly nailed this miscellaneous vibe with a subtlety that draws on everything going around them then plays it back in a way that is at once representative and aspirational. They have created a unique, very British urban blues that reflects their – and our – diversity as it is lived by real people in real lives rather than as an undergraduate sociology lecture. Of course, being able to mess about with rock and reggae and hip hop and house and so on wouldn’t have counted for anything if they couldn’t translate it all into songs, and this is Mattafix’s strength. They write songs. Marlon and Preetesh don’t put together beats or assemble loops or voice riddims, . The studio, to them, is a recording environment rather than a creative end in itself, thus they prefer the comfort factor of acoustic instruments - guitars, pianos and the tenor pan – when it comes to composing. Only after each song’s musical ideas are firmly in place will they think about getting digital. 
As Preetesh learned, he engineered for a whole host of contemporary artists picking up new knowledge from everybody. Technology became a bit of an obsession, yet he still made a serious impression on Marlon - whose instrument of choice is the tenor steel pan derived from abandoned empty oil drums and hit with something as technologically advanced as a stick, is probably the diametric opposite to today’s recording studio. Together they realised the most effective way to get their quirky, uncompromising songs heard was to make sure they sounded as modern as possible. Within their own rules, of course.
While Mattafix use a lot of hip hop and modern music’s linear approach, occasionally they dip into old skool reggae’s bag of tricks to come up with a two chord “carousel” structure. The album they’re putting together will be exactly that: an album. Every song will be a different chapter of the same book – Each song as important to the whole as any other as Marlon and Preetesh tell their stories. This is where their lyrical content comes in. Their songs tell stories filled with light and dark and joy and fear and allow the listener to paint his own private picture of what it means. It’s a blues narrative notion that began with Marlon’s notebooks full of poetry that documented his life, his loves, his thoughts and his hopes, that made lyrical points and followed a storyline long before they were set to music. This allows Mattafix to spin real emotions rather than just offering up tailor made sensations or be corralled into throwing out sliced and diced lyrical phrases as one more rhythmic device. You might have to pay attention, because hip as it may be, this demands more from the listener than simply getting your groove on. And your involvement will be appreciated. Take Mattafix home, listen to them and get to know their world. It might not be so different to yours. 
AlbumsYear Album Chart Positions UK Albums Chart 2005 Signs Of A Struggle #159 Singles Year Title Chart Positions Album UK Singles Chart 2005 "11:30 (Dirtiest Trick In Town)" - Signs Of A Struggle 2005 "Big City Life" #15 Signs Of A Struggle 2005 "Passer By" #79 Signs Of A Struggle 2006 "To & Fro" Release Date: 13/3/2006 Signs Of A Struggle 
Mattafix a 21st century blues act Friday Mar 31, 2006 Like most musicians, members of new British line-up Mattafix don't like to describe their work. But if they had to put a label on their style, it would be 21st century blues. "Musicians don't like to box themselves in," says Marlon Roudette, one half of the Mattafix duo. "But 21st century blues is a term we have come to use quite often." Roudette and Preetesh Hirji, who are in Australia for a promotional tour, joined forces after meeting at a party in London eight years ago. Their music has been described as anything from hip-hop to trip-hop, reggae, soul, jazz and even rock. "That's cool `cause we are very rocking," jokes Hirji. The name Mattafix is a Caribbean slang term meaning "no worries" or directly translates to "matter fixed". That's a phrase Roudette picked up growing up in the West Indies. The group's first album, Signs of a Struggle, was released in Australia in February. "Making the album was a bit of a struggle," says 26-year-old Hirji. "We had things to say and it was important to get that across. The name comes from personal struggles we have been through as well as things that have been going on in the world." The duo expect to return to Australia for a full tour later this year. "From a live perspective, there is a big gig scene here and that is talked about quite a lot in the UK," says Roudette. "We are disappointed that we didn't get to play on this trip because a massive amount of what we do is live so we are hoping to come back in September." |
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