Maffio

Maffio is a record producer, multi-instrumentalist, and recording artist, and the creator of the merengue electronico subgenre in Latin pop. He has production credits for tracks by Olga Tañón, Elvis Crespo, and Pitbull, and has been featured on singles with Henry Santos of Aventura and David Guetta. Maffio’s birth name is Carlos Ariel Peralta. He was born in 1986 in a poor neighborhood in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. His stage name is the result of a humorous nickname given to him by his father. His musical education began in early childhood and at age six he gave his first piano recital in a program of Beethoven and Bach. When his parents separated, he moved to East New York in Brooklyn and lived with his father. Though the U.S was his primary residence, he moved back and forth between his parents and soaked up as much music from both countries as he could, playing not only piano but also bass, guitar, and drums. He studied rhythms from bossa nova to cumbia, from merengue to duranguense, and was influenced by electronic music including techno, house, and reggaeton. No stranger to manual labor, while in high school he worked as an assistant mechanic, janitor, and warehouse stockperson, all the while saving his money. His first major investment was a computer. He began creating beats and melodies with his piano, bass, and various percussion instruments, multi-tracking them and posting them on MySpace, and later on Facebook. There, he gained enough recognition to get the attention of Manuel Alejandro “Boy Wonder” Ruiz. At 20 he got his first major break and produced “Mi Alma Se Muere” for Fuego, Pitbull, and Omega. The single reached the Top 20 on Billboard’s Latin Tropical Airplay chart. He was off to the races. He collaborated with and produced recordings by Arianna Puello, Reychesta, Coro, L.D.A., Maroon 5, Kinito Méndez, Papi Sanchez, Juliana, Dombi, Joa, and many others. He was hired by labels major and independent alike. Maffio has also produced shows for various stations including El Vacilón de la Mañana (Mega 97.9, New York City), The Luis Jimenez Show and El Show de Enrique y Joe (La Kalle 105.9, Univision Radio Nationwide), and La Juyilanga (Power 103, Santo Domingo). In 2011, he signed to Warner Music Latina and in January of 2012 issued his debut single as a recording artist, “No Tengo Dinero,” followed by his debut album, Mi Sonido, in May. That year he also won a Latin Grammy for his work with Fuego on La Music del Futuro. In 2013, Maffio composed, arranged, played on, and produced albums by Toby Love (Amor Total), Frankie J (Faith, Hope y Amor), Gabriel Coronel (Desnudo), and Henry Santos (My Way). ~ Thom Jurek