If in the previous episodes we talked about America, Norway and the UK, this time we move to Croatia. This is in fact the place of origin of one of the most famous bass house artists of the EDM scene, who with his original and highly danceable sounds, has warmed up the stages of festivals and clubs around the world.
We are talking about Matija Rodic, aka Matroda, who claims to have taken his first musical influences from the likes of Led Zeppelin, Frank Sinatra and The Beatles; his classical training through violin, drums and keyboard has defined over time a well-rounded and, in its own way, versatile Matroda Sound.
9 years of recording successes
Matroda begins, like most artists still active today, back in the days when electronic music was at its peak. In fact, it is in 2013 that he debuted with the track Some Strange Voices, the only one of that year, and then start the following year with the EP I am Matroda among which, despite the poor results, the track Phunkshock with its 52 thousand streams is spotted.
A timid beginning that does not discourage the boy, indeed, pushes him to continue.
In fact, 2015 will be the year in which he will receive the real push: we are talking about the remix of California in collaboration with Chris Lake, one of the peaks of tech house and the strong and unique voice of Kaleena Zanders, who will appear other times in the tracks of the Croatian. Released on Rising – sublabel of Ultra Music – it received 20 million streams and the support of electronic masters such as Diplo, Cavin Harris and Major Lazer, which will be the key that opens the door to his success on a global scale.
2016 will also be a year of success for the young man; his track Chronic will be chosen by the prestigious Spinnin Records and despite the lesser success of the previous one – having received “only” 1 million and 170 thousand streams – it will also be supported by protagonists of the EDM scene such as Martin Garrix, Dillon Francis, Deorro, Hardwell; and it doesn’t end here either: Beatport places it at number two in the overall chart and number one in the house chart.
In the fourth year since his first release, Matroda has taken off; we see Dat Vibe pt.2 coming out with his original sound – and let’s admit it, also typical – of the Slovenian and one of his iconic EPs called Bo$$, where with only two tracks he shows his Matroda Sound with no exclusion of kicks but more than two and a half million streams.
2018 arrived and Matroda continued uninterruptedly experimenting, progressing and releasing track after track; he started with Shut It Down, conceived originally as a single track – which got 1 million and 200 thousand streams – but then it will become the title of an EP of his, signed Monstercat.
He continues with Jungle In Brazil totaling 1 million and 205 thousand streams on the main label of Spinnin, Caliente (Na Na Na) with Ricci, which is among the most listened to ever with almost 10 million and a half streams and finally, the union of forces with Dillon Nathaniel in No Doubt, released on the label of Tchami, Confession.
2019, aka the year of the definitive turning point. Not only the streams do increase – see Walk In The Spot on Musical Freedom and its 3 million 340 thousand, or Lose Control with Wax Motif – but we also see the first real album and his very personal label. First one is called The Red Tape and the cover – somehow hypnotic, as the negative of a photograph – suggests it to us: it’s a “cassette” full of unreleased tracks and collaborations with a power never heard before; the already mentioned Kaleena Zanders returns to the studio with the young artist, besides her also the vocalist Dances With White Girls, known for his very original and deep voice. Second one is Matroda’s personal label, Terminal Underground. In just three years it has seen meteoric growth, releasing artists such as OOTORO, Cave Studio, San Pacho, Honey&Badger and anyone who listens to bass house knows who they are.
The sum of these successes bring the boy to reach the 74th place in the 1001Tracklist ranking of the best producers in the world, as well as the over one million monthly listeners on streaming platforms.
Pandemic has put the whole world on pause… sort of. In fact, in 2020 we see a new EP, called Jack The House and released on his label, while for the first part of the year he also did a couple of live dates in America. Nice while it lasted, then he just did live streams, in which he revealed tracks – at those times unreleased – and showed off his skills at the console.
That year is also a bit special in terms of productions: the Matroda Sound extends, embraces new genres and new sounds and tracks Forget It and Rescue Me make it clear in a very obvious way, both have achieved excellent results but between the two, is the first one to have been better received by the audience: almost 9.5 million streams against 1.3 million of Rescue Me.
Despite this novelty in the style of the dj, in 2021 always remains some unmistakable element and that “something” is put in his remix of Good News by Apasche, which has not had too much visibility with its 680 thousand streams, but it should not be blamed on the quality.
Double publication later on, with Gomme Some Keys/When We Were Young which do not constitute a real EP, but have also collected a good result despite their respective genres are totally at odds: 3 million streams in all.
In the same year he joined forces with Bleu Clair and created Disco Tool, a highly danceable hit that was so successful that it got official remixes from artists such as San Pacho, Dot N Life, Taiki Nulight and OOTORO.
As the months go by, he experiments with a tech house track called High On You, but it doesn’t even reach one million streams; he then retraces his steps and with San Pacho “revela la Pasion” for bass house, reaching one and a half million streams. Finally, he concludes 2021 with another EP, a sequel: Jack The House 2. This time Matroda goes from the simple power of sounds to focusing on the pure groove, as evidenced by one of the tracks, Play The Music.
Finally, as the year closes, he is placed at the 29th place of the top DJs according to 1001Tracklist.
Finally, we come to 2022; it has barely started for three months but it must be said that so far he has added a track a month to his discography. From the collaboration with Rhiannon Rose called Come With Me we move on to Gotta Let You Go and concludes, for the moment, with Touchin’ Me, all three steadily growing in streams and listens.
Like any artist, Matroda can be considered a model to follow, for the perseverance and the effort he had to make to emerge; let this be an example to those who want to debut but are held back. Remember that everything is possible, you just have to really want it and commit.
I am 22 and graduating in Linguistic and Cultural Mediation at the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, I speak 4 languages and I am very passionate about music, concerts and festivals. After graduation, I’d like to aim for a profession in the music industry and I am a proud dreamer but down to earth.
