Get To Know Liverpool House Duo Matrefakt

Matrefakt swung by to chat about their journey from Liverpool to the global dancefloor, their latest release “good times,” and what’s next.

Liverpool DJ duo Zac Fitzsimmons and Tony Burns, better known as Matrefakt, met through mutual friends and quickly discovered they had a shared passion for electronic music. The pair soon began putting in long hours in the studio, honing their sound and developing their craft. After two years of hard work, they officially released music as Matrefakt in 2018. Their sound centers on weighty drums and heavy basslines, balancing club-ready rhythms with a propulsive rhythmic sense.

Matrefakt has previously described their music as “feel good” and “honest.” That ethos has carried through the years as they have steadily gained momentum, releasing music across multiple labels including Abandon Silence, Shall Not Fade, 432, Unsound Mind, and Peggy Gou‘s Gudu. Their tracks have also been supported by artists such as Mella Dee, DJ Boring, Patrick Topping, Bicep, and Skream.

That same sense of optimism shines through in their recent summer single “good times,” which landed on FLÂNEUR Music. Bright and buoyant, the track pairs warm piano melodies with soulful vocals, offering a sun-soaked take on their club-ready sound. The release was followed by a remix package featuring reworks from fka.m4a, DJ Love, and PP, each bringing a distinct perspective while preserving its breezy and feel-good character.

Beyond their studio output, Matrefakt has appeared at some of the most sought-after clubs and festivals, including Watergate and Sisyphos in Berlin, Creamfields, Secret Garden Party, and Circus in Liverpool. As they continue to keep busy for the rest of the year, we caught up with them to reflect on their journey so far, their latest release, and what lies ahead. Read on to get to know Matrefakt.

Stream EDMID Guest Mix 506 || Matrefakt on SoundCloud:

Hey guys, thanks so much for chatting with us today! Let’s dive in. For those discovering Matrefakt for the first time, how would you describe the sound and energy you’re trying to bring to your music?

We always try to bring a raw, club-ready energy to our tracks; we want to make music we are happy to play in the club that resonates with us.

You’ve released music on labels including Abandon Silence, Shall Not Fade, 432, Unsound Mind, and Gudu. How has working with different labels shaped or influenced your sound as artists?

Every label is different from each other, so working with different ones will naturally influence you in different ways, but we only work with labels we like and want to release on, so that influence has already been there before we started working with them.

Your latest summer single, “Good Times,” feels like the perfect soundtrack for the season, with bright vocals, warm piano, and a reworked sample. What inspired the track, and what did you want to capture with that festival-ready, feel-good energy?

The inspiration for the track was the vocal sample we got from splitting the original stems. From there, we just tried to get things that worked with the vocal, capturing that good times feel-good energy in the right way.

The latest “Good Times” remix package features reworks from fka.m4a, DJ Love, and PP, each bringing their own distinct sound to the original. Were you surprised by any of the directions they took the track in?

Not really, no. We worked with the label to pick artists we thought would give a fresh take on the track in their own style without getting in each other’s way with the versions they did. For us, it worked out perfectly, and it is hard to pick a favourite from them because they are all belters!

How do you think the remixes shift or expand on the feeling of the original? Did you have a favorite interpretation when you first heard the finished versions?

It’s hard to pick a favourite, as they are all different interpretations of the original, and that is what we wanted for the release.

You’ve also been running your own independent label, Attitudes To Life (ATL), since 201U. How does releasing music through your own label compare with putting your music out through other labels?

It just gives us full control of the process. One of the main problems we have had with releases is scheduling; a lot of the time, things get moved around, and that has a knock-on effect on other releases we have. With our own label, we can literally put music out whenever we want, at any time.

You’ve played some of the world’s most respected clubs, festivals, and parties, from Watergate and Sisyphos in Berlin to Creamfields and Secret Garden Party. Is there a particular venue, festival, or set that has been especially memorable for you both, and what made it stand out?

One club that really stands out to us is Le Gare in Paris; it’s an old, disused train station with a live jazz venue upstairs and the club in the basement. We ended up playing most of the night, finishing up at seven in the morning, and we honestly could have carried on for a few more hours; the crowd and the venue were that good!

Looking ahead to the rest of 2026, what’s next for Matrefakt? Any new releases, projects, or performances you can share with us?

We are currently working on releases with a couple of labels for the rest of the year, trying to get as much music out as we can. If we can’t manage to get them out by the end of the year, then we have a lot of stuff we want to put on our own label as well, so it’s a case of working things out and going from there.