Matt Fax, a French producer and DJ, has earned recognition for his refined, melodic fusion of trance, progressive house, and techno. Active and highly productive from an early age, he has earned endorsements from prominent figures such as Armin van Buuren, Above & Beyond, and Ferry Corsten while partnering on projects with BT and Dezza. His catalog features numerous dancefloor-oriented singles and remixes issued through imprints including Enhanced Music, Anjunabeats, and Armada, alongside expansive albums such as the 2020 release Progressions, which draws from big room house and synthwave.
Born David Ciekanski in 1996, he first absorbed sounds from classic rock acts including Queen and AC/DC before discovering electronic music through Tiësto and Joachim Garraud, prompting him to pursue DJing and production. At age 13 he issued his initial tracks as David R., one of which, “Technocolor,” received play from Laurent Garnier. He adopted the Mike Duz alias in 2011 and redirected his style toward progressive and electro-house. By 2012 he had discontinued the Mike Duz name to focus exclusively on Matt Fax, placing material with Balkan Connection and Neuroscience Deep. Early in 2013 he began issuing tracks on Colorize, an Enhanced Music sublabel, and became a recurring presence on Above & Beyond’s Group Therapy broadcast. The 2014 compilation Arrival Pres. Matt Fax 01 gathered his contributions to Silk Music’s Arrival imprint just as he departed the label. In 2015 he made his debut appearance at London’s Ministry of Sound, followed over the next two years by releases on Garuda, Statement!, and Avanti.
After the singles “Circles” and “Phantom” secured airplay from Pete Tong and Avicii, Matt Fax delivered his first full-length album, Contrast, via Colorize in 2017. The next year he introduced the Matters alias for progressive house material while retaining Matt Fax for his trance output. A collaboration with BT yielded the single “The Noetic,” which appeared on Armin van Buuren’s A State of Trance. In 2019 Colorize issued Coloscapes Volume One, a split mix shared with labelmate Dezza. Fax’s second album, Progressions, arrived in 2020; darker and more introspective than its predecessor, it featured contributions from BT, LEVV, and vocalist Richard Bedford.
