TRKZ

BIO

Ailton José Matavela, was born in 1994 in Mozambique Maputo, where he was raised.

He got his degree of degree in Social Psychology and Work and he is currently devoted entirely to his music as a recording artist (singer, composer, beatmaker and producer). He has a potential to express his music through different platforms and in many different ways. As a self producer he has started to create his own music by collecting instruments and explore the sound of each instrument, inserting it inside the soundscape aesthetic he has built to his overall sound.

Ailton features a diverse musical background which explains the miscellaneous vibes on vibes on his rhythm and melodies. Lyrically, his contents are more inclined towards human nature and intimate social and intrapersonal relationships, leaning on to science and mythology, and other forms of interpreting the Universe through his art.

In the 1st semester of 2016, Ailton was part of the "Xiquitsi" Choir and Orchestra, where he had singing lessons with the Opera singer and lyrical singing teacher, Maria Rodrigues, and was one of the lead singers in his choir, registered as baritone but his role was Bass.

On the second half of 2016, Ailton signed to Kongoloti Records, having officially launched "Filhos da Terra" EP on the 23rd of November, this project was produced by Kevin Marrengule, also known as
"$ORR¥" (Dollars or Yens) / "Kae - Em".
And also collaborated with the founder and leader of the "Estúdio 5" and the Maputo Cinema Festival, Wilford Machili on his artwork cover and picture.

In September 2017, he had his 1st international act in one of the biggest urban festivals in Portugal, being one of the opening acts on the main stage for Festival Iminente, where he present his EP alongside a band of local musicians. And in October he took his talents to USA, at the Artoberfest in Moreno Valley, Southern California, performing a group of songs he had recorded during his trips across Europe and Northern America.

In November 2017, Ailton, alongside Nandele Maguni and Edwin "Tushimitsu" Amargar, launched on original score for an audiovisual and photomontage project called “Bits of Maputo”, produced by Ricardo Pinto Jorge, a very well known Mozambican Visual Artist, Painter and Pilot.
On the same year he also was part of the original score for the "90's Project" documentary produced by the young mozambican photographer, Iria Marina Chichava.

In June 2018, Ailton attended a 3-week long artistic residency at the Franco-Mozambican Cultural Centre with the founder of "340ml" Tiago Correia-Paulo also known as "A Million Things" , a well known mozambican artist and producer. Which culminated in the project ”Continuadores".
Continuadores is a musical/audiovisual project that expresses itseft by paying a nostalgic homage to the early formative years of Mozambique as a young and recently independent nation. And it's inspired by the poetic responsibility continuously transmitted by Samora Machel, and aimed at the Children of the Revolution.

In July 2018, Ailton also created an independent artistic residency for two weeks, which made him the co-founder, producer and member of the "Cantinho das Cores" trio, alongside Nandele Maguni (Beatmaker, DJ and Producer) and Auro "May Mbira" Meireles (Builder, player, teacher and collector of mozambican traditional instruments; singer and also composer). It's an ode to the Mozambican traditional and electronic music, with a mix of "Marrabenta" and "Pandza" with a Contemporary/ Indie sound.
They had a regional tour in December 2018 through Akum Agency as a support band for Urban Village, a south african alternative band. They performed together in Maputo (MZ) Soweto (SA), Manzini (eSwatini) and Nelspruit (SA).

On the present day, Ailton's focusing on his new solo album entitled "Storytellers", which is marks the evolution of Trkz as a Multi-Instrumentalist and producer. This time using a new language (English) and a new sound aesthetic that pretty much describes what he believes to be his musical identity. Putting him one step closer to his long time goal to create his own genre and promote the alternative and experimental music scene in his homeland.

Ailton believes that through Music and Arts, it's possible to inspire youth to remain faithful to their beliefs and to follow their dreams.

For Ailton, Music has been a huge therapeutic tool from a day-to-day basis, he believes that he and others can achieve Inner Peace and develop intrapersonal connections that are a huge catalyser for stress and the war we all live inside of us.