Marlon Roudette is a British singer, songwriter and producer. He is the former front man for the duo

Mattafix Mattafix were an English electronic 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 ...

, who had their first number 1, "

Big City Life "Big City Life" is a song by English electronic music duo Mattafix. With a chorus is 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 sing ...

", in 2006. After the group split, Roudette embarked on a solo career with two number one singles in Europe, "

New Age New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars conside ...

" and "

When the Beat Drops Out "When the Beat Drops Out" is a song by British/Vincentian musician Marlon Roudette from his second studio album, '' Electric Soul'' (2014). The song was written by Marlon Roudette Marlon Roudette is a British singer, songwriter and producer. ...

"; the latter made it to number 7 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

and is certified platinum. In recent years, he is also known for his co-writing work for artists, including

Sinéad Harnett Sinéad Monica Harnett (born 12 October 1990) is an English singer/songwriter. Career Born to a Thai mother and an Irish father, Harnett grew up in Finchley, north London. She attended Arts University College Bournemouth, where she studied for ...

and his half-sister, Mabel. He co-wrote Mabel's hit singles "

Finders Keepers Finders, keepers, sometimes extended as the children's rhyme finders, keepers; losers, weepers, is an English language, English adage with the premise that when something is unowned or abandoned, whoever finds it first can claim it for themself pe ...

" and " Fine Line", as well as the

Not3s Lukman Olanrewaju Odunaike (born 17 April 1998), better known by his stage name Not3s (pronounced Notes), is a British singer-songwriter, rapper and actor from Hackney, London. His songs include "My Lover" and "Fine Line", both of which are colla ...

single "My Lover" and

Jax Jones Timucin Lam (born Timucin Fabian Kwong Wah Aluo; 25 July 1987), known professionally as Jax Jones, is an English DJ, songwriter, record producer and remixer. He rose to fame in 2014 by featuring on Duke Dumont's number-one single "I Got U". He ...

' hit " Ring Ring". He has also co-written tracks featuring

Wiley Wiley may refer to: Locations * Wiley, Colorado, a U.S. town * Wiley, Pleasants County, West Virginia, U.S. * Wiley-Kaserne, a district of the city of Neu-Ulm, Germany People * Wiley (musician), British grime MC, rapper, and producer * Wiley Mil ...

Tory Lanez Daystar Shemuel Shua Peterson (born July 27, 1992), known professionally as Tory Lanez, is a Canadian rapper, singer, songwriter, and convicted felon. He received initial recognition from the mixtape ''Conflicts of My Soul: The 416 Story'', rel ...

Kranium Kemar Donaldson popularly known as Kranium, is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall singer known for his 2013 hit single "Nobody Has To Know" which gave him an international recognition and led him to the Atlantic Records record label. Personal li ...

Bad Gyal Alba Farelo i Solé (born 7 March 1997), known professionally as Bad Gyal, is a Spanish singer, songwriter, DJ and model. Known for her distinctive overall use of Auto-Tune, Bad Gyal has developed a strong cult following ever since her musica ...

and

Busy Signal Reanno Devon Gordon (born 24 January 1979), better known by his stage name Busy Signal, is a Jamaican dancehall reggae artist. Biography Reanno Devon Gordon p/k/a Busy Signal was born in Saint Ann Parish,Johnson, Carolyn (2006)A Very Busy Chil ...

Biography

Marlon Roudette was born in London 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 Ma ...

, a British music producer of Scottish and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

extraction, and Vonnie Roudette, a designer and artist of Dominican/Trinidadian descent residing in

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 wh ...

. As a young child he moved with his mother and sister to Trinidad, then to St. Vincent in 1992, where he began his music career, and returned to London when he was 17. Roudette is the stepson of

Neneh Cherry Neneh Mariann Karlsson (born 10 March 1964), better known as Neneh Cherry, is a Swedish singer-songwriter, rapper, occasional DJ and broadcaster. Her musical career started in London in the early 1980s, where she performed in a number of punk roc ...

and paternal half-brother of Mabel.

Style

Roudette's music is inspired by musicians such as

Gregory Isaacs Gregory Anthony Isaacs OD (15 July 1951 – 25 October 2010)Thompson, p. 127. was a Jamaican reggae musician. Milo Miles, writing in ''The New York Times'', described Isaacs as "the most exquisite vocalist in reggae".Miles, Milo (1992),RECORDI ...

and

Massive Attack Massive Attack are an English trip hop collective formed in 1988 in Bristol by Robert "3D" Del Naja, Adrian "Tricky" Thaws, Andrew "Mushroom" Vowles and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall. The debut Massive Attack album ''Blue Lines'' was release ...

. He is also inspired by

Sam Cooke Samuel Cook (January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964), known professionally as Sam Cooke, was an American singer and songwriter. Considered to be a pioneer and one of the most influential soul artists of all time, Cooke is commonly referred ...

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...

and

Sade Sade may refer to: People * Marquis de Sade (1740–1814), French aristocrat, writer, and libertine * Sade (singer) (born 1959, Helen Folasade Adu), British Nigerian musician and lead singer of the eponymous band * Sade Baderinwa (born 1969), WAB ...

. He describes his music as a mix of hip hop, R&B and

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 ...

Music career

Mattafix (2005–2009)

After his return to London, Marlon formed the electronic music duo

with producer and keyboardist Preetesh Hirji. Hirji was born in London of Indian parentage and grew up in the heart of West London, where he started at Eastcote Studios on Kensal Road. Their sound was a fusion of hip hop, R&B,

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 Rou ...

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

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 major ...

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 ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

and world. Mattafix 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.

''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 201 ...

on 8 August 2005. It was a hit, managing a number 15 in the United Kingdom and a number 1 in Germany, Poland, Austria, Italy, Switzerland and New Zealand. It also had success in other European countries where it reached the top 20. It can also be heard on the soundtrack to the hit video game FIFA World Cup Germany 2006, designed by EA Sports, and was included in the '' NOW! 62'' UK compilation, the duo's first and only song to date, to be included in the series. '' 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 (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian Radio in Australia, radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greate ...

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 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-eart ...

, in

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

, 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 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 continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

''Rhythm & Hymns'' (2007–2009)

On 7 September 2007, Mattafix released the first single, "

Living Darfur "Living Darfur" (also known as "Living") is the first single from Mattafix's album ''Rhythm and Hymns'', released in 2007. The beginning of the song sounds similar to a part of Madonna (entertainer), Madonna's song "Mother and Father (Madonna son ...

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

in the intro and was promoted by numerous celebrities, including

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...

. 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 the award-winning

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 and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

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

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, 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)". Their remix appears on her iTunes Remix EP, however, not in the UK version.

Separation and Roudette solo career (2010–2011)

In April 2010, 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".

''Matter Fixed'' (2011–2012)

On 17 July 2011, Roudette released "Brotherhood of the Broken" for free download as a promotional single from his debut album. On 20 July Marlon released "

" as the first single from the album in Germany for the airplay. On 16 August 2011, "New Age" was available on

iTunes Store The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...

. The single has reached number 1 in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. His debut album '' Matter Fixed'' was released on 2 September 2011, in Austria, Belgium, Slovakia, Denmark, Czech Republic, Germany, Russia, Sweden and Switzerland. On 23 January 2012, it was available in France and in the rest of Europe. On 20 January 2012 Marlon released "

Anti Hero (Brave New World) Anti Hero is a song by British recording artist Marlon Roudette from his debut studio album '' Matter Fixed''. It was released as the second single from the album on 20 January 2012. The song has charted in Austria, Germany and Switzerland. The ...

" on

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

in Germany. His song "The Loss" was featured on ''

Private Practice Private practice may refer to: *Private sector practice **Practice of law In its most general sense, the practice of law involves giving legal advice to clients, drafting legal documents for clients, and representing clients in legal negotiati ...

'' episode " The Time Has Come", which aired on 2 February 2012.

''Electric Soul'' and further singles (2014–present)

On 18 July 2014 Roudette released "

" as the lead single from his second studio album ''

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. The album entered the charts in Austria, Germany and Switzerland. It includes the ...

'', the song charted in the top 5 in Austria, Germany, Latvia and Switzerland and n°8 in Italy. He released ''Electric Soul'' on 8 August 2014. In June 2017 Roudette released the audio of his song "Ultra Love" on YouTube, which was followed by an official music video in October 2017.

Discography

Albums

Extended plays

Singles

Notes

Songwriting credits

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roudette, Marlon Musicians from London 1983 births Living people 21st-century Black British male singers Saint Vincent and the Grenadines musicians English people of Trinidad and Tobago descent English people of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines descent Warner Music Group artists