Marlon Roudette

Club le Vernissage - Zermatt:
www.zermatt-unplugged.ch

Tickets:
1-Day-pass:
www.starticket.ch

2-Day-pass (Marlon Roudette & James Walsh Trio):
www.starticket.ch

Music doesn’t exist in a bubble. Every album is permeated with influences, some
obviously apparent while others emerge from deep within the self-conscious of its
creator. This is especially true for Marlon Roudette and his debut album ‘Matter
Fixed’ – the breadth of elements that have contributed to its positive, global
sound is staggering.

Named after Marlon Brando, Roudette grew up in a family in which creativity was a
routine part of life. Living in the Caribbean island of Saint Vincent with his
mother Vonnie, a designer and multi-media artist, he’d spend a fortnight per year
in London with his father, the producer Cameron McVey who’s renowned for his work
with Massive Attack, All Saints and Marlon’s stepmother Neneh Cherry. “I was taught
very early on that expressing yourself was a right, not a rebellion,” he says.

His time in London would often be accompanied by the influence of an array of
musical friends and family including Massive Attack, jazz musician Don Cherry
and the late producer Johnny Dollar. “They all in their own way taught me
something – how to hit a kick drum, how to do my first breakbeat or whatever,” he
recalls fondly. “It was quite bohemian at times.” In Saint Vincent, Roudette started
playing the steel drum at the age of twelve, an instrument he still uses today and
which allowed the youngster to make some extra pocket money when performing in
cruise ships and upmarket hotels.

During his time on the island, Roudette basked in the glorious sounds of local reggae
and dub, immersed himself in imported albums from artists as diverse as Snoop Dogg
and Smashing Pumpkins, and saw dancehall kings Beenie Man and Bounty Killer
rock the foundations of the national football stadium. Yet Saint Vincent is often at the
mercy of issues that won’t be mentioned in the tourist brochures.
Roudette’s o w n house, for example , was twice strike by lightning while the family was
home. “The reality of living in a developing country is very difficult, where inflation
is hard to deal with and wages are still low,” he admits. “It’s paradise, it’s one of the
most beautiful places on earth. As a British Saint Vincentian, I’m always flying the flag
for it but it’s not always easy living there.”

In his late teens, Roudette landed a job as a production assistant on the first Pirates
of the Caribbean movie, much of which was filmed on the island. After completing
nineteen hour days, hanging out with Keira Knightley and observing legendary
producer Jerry Bruckheimer in action, Roudette headed back to England where he
teamed up with Preetesh Hirji. His earnings from the movie were used to fund the
duo’s first demo as Mattafix.

Mattafix enjoyed huge success; their single ‘Big City Life’ went to #1 in several
European countries (and New Zealand); they played two world tours (including
the Middle-East and Africa) playing in front of up to 50,000 people a night; they
were named as ambassadors for the Save Darfur campaign; Rankin directed one
of their videos; they were commissioned to remix Lada Gaga’s ‘Eh Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)’
and they even played in front of 180,000 people as special guests to Sting.

After a decade of living in each other’s pockets, Mattafix came to a natural end. “Pritesh
and I weren’t getting along creatively,” states Roudette numbly. “That was quite difficult
as I always thought we’d make records together forever.” It was just one of a number of
factors that were darkening his life.

“It was a period of loss. I was engaged and managed to fuck that up quite royally – all the
trappings that come with being in your early twenties and on tour, having bit of money and
all the rest of it. It felt like it was he end of the world at the time. And my label at the
time lost faith in me too. So it was a lot of different types of loss that triggered an
emotional time, but it was a creative time too.”

After spending some time with his mother back in Saint Vincent, Roudette returned to the
UK freshly inspired in the face of adversity. The songs emerged at a dramatic rate – not
that their creator had any real plans for them. “It was therapeutic,” he summarises.
“I didn’t know what they would be written for. The decision to go solo came much later.
Eventually I listened to people around me and thought it’s time to put my name on it, even
though I’m quite a reluctant frontman.”

What emerged was a collection of poignant, reflective and deeply personal songs including
‘Riding Home’, an autobiographical tale of his dual past in London and Saint Vincent,
‘The Loss’ which was written in tribute to his late grandmother, an inspirational figure
despite losing her sight as a child, and ‘New Age’ which epitomised the album’s core theme
of overcoming life’s trials and tribulations.

The next challenge was a lack of finance. An enviable list of talent – including Guy
Chambers, Brian West, Paul O’Duffy and Kwamé Holland – showed enough faith in Roudette to
work for little more than an IOU. Even the BRIT and MOBO winner Finley Quaye assisted by
contributing vocals and guitar during an improvised session which created ‘Be True To
Yourself’.

With the album largely completed, Roudette still needed further finance to cover both
the mixing of the album and the creation of a video for its first single. “In this new
no-rulebook era of the music business, we decided to sign a deal for one territory to
get enough dough to finish the record,” he explains, reiterating the great reception
that Mattafix had always enjoyed in Germany. “We thought that with six to twelve months
of hard graft and touring, we’d get somewhere.”

That deal was concluded at the close of 2010. With the album and Roudette’s co-directed
video for ‘New Age’ completed, the single was taken to radio at the start of the summer.
Two weeks later it exploded and hit the top of the charts where it remained for six weeks.
Sure enough, he says proudly, all of the IOUs were soon paid back. The album’s artwork
even pays homage to his past, with a collection of photos of his past life accompanied
by lyrics that were handwritten by Johnny Dollar’s daughter.

The result is ‘Matter Fixed’, an album of universal music which comes straight from the
heart and embraces the soul. “The difference between this album and anything I’ve done
before is the personal vibe”, concludes Roudette with a beatific smile. “I’ve literally
just told my life as it is.”


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