Dallas, TX · techno · melodic-house

Maceo Plex

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Ellum boss whose sets swing from deep melodic house into hard, driving techno without warning — two decades of shape-shifting authority.

Maceo Plex is the main alias of Eric Estornel, a Cuban-American producer and DJ raised between Dallas and Miami who came up through the American underground before becoming a fixture in European club culture. He also records as Maetrik and Mariel Ito, and his profile widened considerably after the album Life Index appeared on Crosstown Rebels in 2011.

He runs the Ellum label, founded to release his own material alongside other producers working between deep house and techno; his 2019 album Mutant Series appeared on its Ellum Audio imprint. His productions and DJ sets favour long, patient builds, heavy low end and cinematic synth lines.

He has spent much of his career playing extended sets in European clubs, including long stints at Ibiza's Space and Amnesia before both closed. Since 2016 he has hosted his own night, Mosaic by Maceo, at Pacha through the summer season.

In 2017 he released Solar, his third studio album, named after his son, through his own electronica-focused label Lone Romantic; it combined ambient textures, breakbeats, dub and techno with guest vocalists. That year he also returned to the Maetrik alias with the Return EP, his first release under that name since 2012.

In 2018 he compiled fabric98, a mix drawing on two decades of work across his aliases, and in 2021 he remixed Faithless' 1995 track "Insomnia." He now lives in Barcelona with his wife and children.

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technomelodic-house