Matrakk: from risk to revelation

Matrakk has built his reputation on risk. Long before trance regained its foothold in European clubs, he was dropping it into techno-heavy nights, daring the crowd to follow him into euphoric territory. Some called it heresy, others called it brave, but for Matrakk it was always the only way forward, pushing beyond the obvious and trusting the energy of the dancefloor to carry him through.

Now, with ADE around the corner and a new EP ready to land, he is stepping into his boldest chapter yet. This record is not a continuation, it’s a reset: trance-fueled, hard house driven, groovier and more joyful than anything he has put out before. It captures an artist who took time to realign with himself and came back sharper, freer, and more dangerous. It’s not just about BPMs, it’s about state of mind.

And with the launch of his label Saint-Germain, Matrakk is expanding that vision beyond his own sets and productions. More than an imprint, he sees it as a house of sharing, a community built around joy, risk, and reinvention. The message is clear: Matrakk isn’t here to play by the rules. He’s here to break codes and write his own.

This autumn, Matrakk is releasing more than just another record. For him, this new EP is a checkpoint, a reset, a way of realigning with his true artistic identity after a period of doubt.

“This EP is a way for me to mark a turning point in my artistic direction. For several months, I’ve been working hard on my artistic direction because I felt like I was no longer in tune with my music. So I decided to take the time to figure out what I really wanted to do next. I then decided to create this EP to showcase this new direction, which is much more representative of what I’m going to be offering now.”

The sound is noticeably different. Where earlier productions leaned into force and heaviness, this time Matrakk is chasing groove, joy, and festival-sized euphoria.

“This project is a mix of trance and hard house sounds, much more groovy and joyful than what I’ve offered before. I really want to return to a festive style and energy.”

When he imagines these tracks in the wild, it is not the darkness of a basement that comes to mind, but the glow of a sunrise.

“I think these tracks can be adapted to different contexts, but let’s be honest, I think they would be much better suited to a festival with a sunrise. When I made this EP, I really tried to do it in a happy state of mind every time to create intense energy with strong emotions. I think that from the beginning, the energy in my music has been a bit like my signature, and I really wanted to keep that but with a touch of freshness for this new direction.”

The move toward trance-infused atmospheres may feel new to some listeners, but for Matrakk, it has been part of his DNA since the beginning. The difference now is that the scene has caught up with him.

“To be honest, I’ve always loved and championed trance since I started out, even though it wasn’t easy on the very purist techno scene before Covid. Since then, our scene has evolved a lot and I can now afford to take more risks and offer 100% of my vision of my music.”

This shift is not a rejection of techno, but an embrace of the broader emotional spectrum he has always wanted to explore.

“I’m not saying that wasn’t the case before, because I’ve always loved techno, but little by little I wanted to move towards 100% trance and hard house sounds. Now that I have the opportunity to do so and feel this need, I think it’s the right time. I am aware that it is a risk, but since I started out, I have been taking risks, and I think that is how we move forward and how we will advance our music. When I started out in this industry as a DJ, offering trance DJ sets at the end of techno parties was considered heresy by many people. I’ve already received a lot of hate because of this risk-taking, but I’m happy to see that trance now has its place on the scene, and I’m proud to have defended it in my own way. So I have no problem taking risks today to offer my audience what I want to offer them now.”

Saint-Germain: The New Label

For Matrakk, launching Saint-Germain was more than a business move. It was a declaration. After realigning his sound, he wanted to create a platform that could hold not just his music, but an entire community around his vision.

“Yes, launching this label is also a way of marking a turning point. Now that I’ve found my path, I want to open it up to my audience. This label is a way for me to create a community. The goal behind this label is, of course, to release music and promote artists that I appreciate, but above all to create a space for sharing my vision of music. I can’t reveal everything right now, but I will be offering several concepts under this label. It should be seen as a large house of sharing and not just a record label.”

For now, Saint-Germain functions as a personal lab, a testing ground where he can experiment freely before opening the doors to others.

“As I said, it’s a place for sharing, so I’ll be opening it up to other artists soon. But first, I want to take the time to develop my vision and ideas, so for now, it’s a bit like my laboratory.”

Tracks like My Drums Hard and Mon Amour are still part of his DNA, even if his trajectory is pulling him toward new horizons.

“ From an artistic point of view, as I explained before, my direction is now different, but these tracks had an energy and emotion that I want to keep in this new direction. I’ve always liked having rich, powerful melodies and vocals, and that has become my trademark over time. I think these tracks will always be part of my classics.”

For Matrakk, reinvention is not a strategy, it is a necessity. His philosophy is to never stop moving forward, even if it means stepping into unknown territory.

“I like not to set too many limits for myself because I think that’s how you make the best music. Now I’ve found what I love, and I’m lucky that the trance scene has become one of the most important. So I’m going to try to continue developing my music in this style. After that, I’d like to open the door to collaborations with other styles of music to continue evolving my music. I think it’s always interesting to challenge yourself and try to create things that aren’t naturally logical compared to the industry standard.”

Matrakk is not chasing comfort. His career so far has been a series of challenges to the status quo, from sneaking trance into techno nights when no one wanted to hear it, to now reshaping his sound around joy, groove, and sunrise energy. The new EP is more than a release, it is a statement of intent: a way of saying that the risk is worth it, that reinvention is the only path forward.

Saint-Germain, his label, underlines that intent. Matrakk is not content with building his own trajectory, he wants to create a house of sharing, a platform where community and vision matter as much as releases. For now it is his laboratory, a space where he can test the edges of his creativity, but the plan is already bigger. He wants it to be a refuge for like-minded artists, a collective that dares to put energy and emotion before formula.

What makes Matrakk stand out is not just sound but philosophy. He does not measure his music in likes, labels, or industry logic. He measures it in risk, in the power of a dancefloor at sunrise, in the ability to remind people that music is a force for release and communion. Breaking codes is not just the title of this chapter, it is the constant rhythm of his career, and it is what makes him one of the artists shaping the future of electronic music right now.