Matt Fax

French producer and DJ Matt Fax has achieved success with his smooth, melodic mixture of trance, progressive house, and techno. Highly prolific since he began releasing music at a young age, he has received support from major DJs like Armin van Buuren, Above & Beyond, and Ferry Corsten, in addition to collaborating with the likes of BT and Dezza. His output includes dozens of club-friendly singles and remixes on labels like Enhanced Music, Anjunabeats, and Armada, as well as ambitious full-lengths like 2020′s Progressions, which take influence from big room house and synthwave.
David Ciekanski was born in 1996, and grew up listening to classic rock bands like Queen and AC/DC before getting into electronic music when he became aware of Tiësto and Joachim Garraud, who inspired him to become a DJ and producer. He began releasing tracks under the name David R. when he was 13, and Laurent Garnier played his early production “Technocolor.” Switching his moniker to Mike Duz in 2011, his sound shifted from techno to progressive and electro-house. In 2012, he phased out the Mike Duz moniker and concentrated on his work as Matt Fax, issuing tracks on labels like Balkan Connection and Neuroscience Deep. He began releasing tracks on Enhanced Music sublabel Colorize in early 2013, and became a frequent guest on Above & Beyond’s Group Therapy radio show. The 2014 release Arrival Pres. Matt Fax 01 compiled his tracks for Silk Music imprint Arrival, as he was leaving the label. In 2015, Fax performed at London’s legendary Ministry of Sound for the first time, and he released tracks on labels like Gareth Emery’s Garuda, Statement!, and Avanti throughout the next couple years.
After issuing singles such as “Circles” and “Phantom,” which gained airplay from Pete Tong and Avicii, Matt Fax released his debut album, Contrast, on Colorize in 2017. The following year, he began using the name Matters for his progressive house work, reserving the Matt Fax moniker for his trance productions. He collaborated with BT on a single titled “The Noetic,” which was issued by Armin van Buuren’s A State of Trance. Coloscapes Volume One, a split mix with labelmate Dezza, appeared on Colorize in 2019. Fax’s second album, Progressions, was released in 2020. Darker and more introspective than his previous work, the record included collaborations with BT, LEVV, and vocalist Richard Bedford. ~ Paul Simpson