Maurice Machi

At the age of 9, Methenjwa Maurice Machi started playing the Trumpet and the Piano, which started brewing the musician in him. He grew up playing Jazz and Classical music, and when he finished high school to further his education at Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa, he joined a Latin Band called Los Habaneros. This was where his inspiration to produce music came from.

After also hearing productions by South African super-producer Kentphonik for the first time, he knew what he had to do. "If they can do it, I most certainly can do it too, and I'll do it with all my soul!" He studied a Bachelor of Music, majoring in Musicology and Instrumental Music Studies at Rhodes University, and moved on to study further at the University of Pretoria. Starting off as a freelance DJ, he has performed at Grahamstown functions, Matric dances and Society parties, on top of playing at Equilibrium, the Grahamstown night club.

"If there's one thing that I enjoy the most, it has to be making remixes. I absolutely love the idea of incorporating my own ideas onto a track already made by someone else. There's already a few that I've done, and I love them to bits. I hope this sparks interest to any artist that wants their track to have that South African flavour added to their track. My own production skills are also taking shape and I'm not intending to stop here. I'm going to continue producing more and more so that recognition can take effect. I want people to hear my tracks and say "wow... This guy's really really good at what he does!" Until then, I keep doing what I'm doing, and hope for the best!"

On top of producing music, he found a love for Hip Hop and RnB through meeting DJ PeeWee in 2005 at Rhodes University, and had produced the alter-ego Hip Hop Producer/DJ DJ MaTcH. Since then, he has grown from strength to strength, collaborating with DJ Willy D in incorporating the 4 decks, 2 DJs concept (The MixMeisters). He had also started producing many Hip Hop tracks, featuring in Pronounsir's album called P.R.O where DJ MaTcH produced "Pistol In Your Pocket" and has since been working with young and talented singers, rappers, MCs and producers alike, recording songs for their demo CDs. The inclusion of Dubstep and Trap music in his sets came into being when he enrolled as a student at the Academy of Sound Engineering, where he was exposed to the world of Electronic Music, which was fused with Hip Hop beats and Dubstep basslines. Since then, he has been both DJing and Producing the genre, which resulted in his single entitled Arabian Nightmare reaching the number 1 spot on YFM’s Hott99Dubstep chart.

Since basing himself as a Soulful House/Progressive Trance Producer/DJ, he had caught the eye of the dynamic group Jenerik Soulz, and in turn released his first remix under their debut album entitled “Room Service”. While signed under their label JS Muzik, he was given the role of Live Performance Manager, taking charge of Jenerik Soulz’ live acts on stage. He produces and remixes most of Jenerik Soulz’ tracks as a result, producing remixes for tracks such as “Joburg City”, “Ubuntu” and “Night Fever”.

He has completed his 3-year BA:Music degree at the University of Pretoria and has also completed a 2-year Diploma in Sound Engineering majoring in Broadcasting Technology at the Academy of Sound Engineering at the SABC in Auckland Park. He excelled in his Broadcasting Technology Elective by achieving the Top Student in both the Broadcasting Technology End-of-year Project and the Broadcasting Technology Elective as a whole.