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Matt Fax
Birth nameDavid Ciekanski
Born (1996-12-14) 14 December 1996 (age 27)
GenresHouse, techno, progressive house, trance
Occupation(s)Musician, producer, disc jockey
Years active2012–present
LabelsAnjunabeats, Armada Music, Black Hole Recordings, Enhanced Music, mau5trap, Zerothree
Websitewww.mattfaxmusic.com

David Ciekanski (born 14 December 1996), better known by his stage name Matt Fax, is a French electronic music DJ and record producer.

Having started his career in 2009, Fax encountered early success with support from renowned DJs and artists around the world, such as Depeche Mode, Armin van Buuren, Above & Beyond and Gareth Emery. Throughout his career, he has produced numerous tracks and remixes. His music is a blend of progressive house, trance music and techno.

As David R. and Mike Duz (2009–2012)

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David was introduced to music at an early age, mostly to rock music bands like Queen, Scorpions, AC/DC and French artists. His passion for electronic music came later by discovering Tiësto, which led to him wanting to be a DJ, and Joachim Garraud, which introduced him to music production. He also been introduced to hardcore music by his brother.[1] He started producing and releasing his first tracks at the age of 13 under the alias David R.,[2] and had initial support from Laurent Garnier, playing his track "Technocolor" in a couple of his sets. He changed his name to Mike Duz a few years later, where he shifted from techno to electro house and progressive house. He had numerous releases on smaller independent record labels, until he was able to release a remix for Moguai on deadmau5's label mau5trap on 7 November 2011.[3] He then changed his name to his current pseudonym, Matt Fax.[citation needed]

As Matt Fax (2012–present)

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The beginnings (2012–2013)

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The first release under his Matt Fax alias was on 9 May 2012 on Balkan Connection. Throughout the year, he released most of his music on various small labels, until Jaytech and Above & Beyond, among others, started playing his music regularly. He signed with Silk Music later the year, where he released a couple of EPs and remixes through the multiples division for two years.[citation needed]

In early 2013, at the age of 16, he signed with Enhanced Music and released his first EP Late Night/Broadway under the Colorize sub-label, where Matt is still one of the most active artists today.[4] Later in the year, he was asked to remix Jaytech on Anjunabeats,[5] and was invited as a guest mixer on Group Therapy, Above & Beyond's radio show. The trio stated that Matt was "the youngest guestmixer to be invited on the show" and became "a regular fixture on Group Therapy".[6] He also hosted a couple of episodes of Anjunabeats Worldwide, the trio's secondary show principally hosted by Anjunabeats artists. The same year, he remixed The Blizzard's classic "Piercing the Fog" on Armada Music, as well as Johan Vilborg & Adam Szabo's hit "Two to One" on Enhanced Music.[citation needed]

Hiatus (2014)

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The next year, Matt released a couple of EPs on Colorize, as well as the single "Shift" on 4 August 2014,[7] which remained one of his highest selling track for a few years. The track was revisited as a chill-out version in 2015.[citation needed]

In August, he announced he was considering quitting music.[8] In a couple of interviews two years later, he admitted posting similar posts every year, as he had never been sure of his own choices.[9]

On 29 December 2014, a retrospective compilation of Matt's works on Silk Music was released, marking his departure of the label.[10] On a Q&A session on his Facebook page, someone asked if new material would be released on Silk Music, where Matt stated he had departed from the label and was not engaged in any projects for the moment.[11]

Comeback and breakthrough (2015–2016)

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"To be honest, I never stopped working when I said I quit. The problem is that a couple of months before the announcement, I started losing faith in what I did. Something wasn't right, my music was going nowhere, lost in the mass. So I eventually tried other styles to improve my production quality during then."

— Matt Fax, speaking about his hiatus with EDMprod.com[12]

While a possible come-back was teased with his appearance DJ set at Above & Beyond's afterparty in Paris in January,[13] he released the "Going Down/Hyperspace" EP on Colorize on 13 April 2015.[14] Both tracks were supported by DJs around the world, including Armin van Buuren which played "Going Down" in Mumbai for the A State of Trance Festival warm-up.[15] Throughout the year, he released the singles "Supertaper", "Tumble", "Moonlight", "Alpenglow" and "Aeris" (in collaboration with Jaytech), as well as the Belong/Mirth and CNFS/Stuck EPs, which were all supported on numerous radio shows and podcast from recognized DJs around the world, as well as being regularly played on radio stations such as Sirius XM.

On 5 February Matt released his new single "Warmrider", which he defined as "a tribute to the Progressive sound he used to love",[12] as well as a contribution for ZeroThree's compilation #REALPROG V.2 called "Vina" and the Wrath EP on the same label.[citation needed]

On 11 March he released a new remix on Anjunabeats for Boom Jinx and Aruna's single "Light as a Feather", which was critically acclaimed. The release led to a second guest mix on Group Therapy, where he played a couple of his upcoming projects.[16] He also played his first gig at Ministry of Sound in London on 18 March,[17] playing at the same time as Andy Moor in another room.[18]

His next EP, Careless/Huntdown, was released on 6 May on Colorize, and marked the 4th anniversary of Matt Fax.[19] The track "Careless" has been played more than 500,000 times on Spotify, as well as being supported by DJs like Ferry Corsten, Cosmic Gate and Sam Feldt. A few weeks after the release, Matt unveiled a bonus track called "Backdraft" and was exclusively distributed on Bandcamp, on a pay-what-you-want payment basis.[20]

Almost two months after the unveiling of the last EP, Armin van Buuren and Above & Beyond premiered the Horizon/Blimp EP in their respective radio shows.[21] The EP was released on 8 July on Colorize, and showed a less deeper and more Balearic, soulful and almost clubbier sound than the "Careless / Huntdown" EP.[citation needed]

On 21 June, he was invited on Gareth Emery radio show Electric for Life and debuted his remix of his track "Hands", which was then released on 15 July. Gareth admitted being "such a big fan of this guy". He also remixed Tritonal single "Getaway" on Enhanced Music.[citation needed]

In the meantime, he released numerous singles, including "Progressia" on Gareth Emery's label Garuda, "Upward" on Avanti, a division of Black Hole Recordings, two EPs on Statement! and Colorize, as well as two remixes for Solarstone and Alex Klingle. All of these releases have generally been well received by the critics.[citation needed]

Debut album and further releases (2017–present)

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2017 saw Matt releasing less music than the past years. He released the EP Circles/Aura Lusia on 3 February and it was heavily supported by Pete Tong on BBC Radio 1, and Avicii on his radio show LE7ELS. His following release, "Phantom", was supported by Armin van Buuren in his radio how A State of Trance. During the year, he played alongside Madeon, Aazar and Kristian Nairn at the Bypass club in Geneva.

During the summer, Matt teased about forthcoming releases. In late July, he announced "Amnesiac", the first single from his debut album Contrast. The single was released on 4 August. The following single "Close 2 U" was released on 1 September and was reviewed as 8.0/10 by DJ Mag. The full album was released on 6 October on Colorize and was streamed over 1 million time within a month on Spotify. Following the release, he was invited to Amsterdam to play a 20-minute guest mix and take part in an interview with Armin van Buuren on his radio show A State of Trance, making him the youngest guest on the show.[22]

2018 saw him remixing high profile artists, such as Armin van Buuren, Andy Moor and tyDi. On 6 April, he played at the Ministry of Sound in London for the 10 Years of Enhanced Music. He also launched his Progressive House alias Matters, to focus on trance music under Matt Fax. His first EP Moves has been supported by Above & Beyond, Aly & Fila, Ruben de Ronde and Will Atkinson and accumulated over 300,000 streams on Spotify. The later Roof Park EP, has been reviewed as 8.0/10 by DJ Mag.[23]

In October, Matt announced a collaboration with Grammy Award-nominated producer BT called "The Noetic". The single has been released on Armin van Buuren's label A State of Trance.

In 2019, he played at the A State of Trance 900 festival on 23 February and other shows around the world, including Japan. His single "To the Ground" was rated 9.0/10 by DJ Mag,[24] and has been included in the rotation playlist on Sirius XM Diplo's Revolution and Radio FG. DJ supports for the track includes Tiesto, Lane 8, Diplo, Gareth Emery and Simon Patterson, among others.[25] The track has also been used in various advertising commercials, such as Jaguar[26] or John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.[27]

On 24 April 2020, Matt released his second studio album, Progressions.

[28] On 21 July 2023, Matt played his track "The Abyss" on A State Of Trance 1130

Influences

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Matt has been compared to Eric Prydz and deadmau5,[29] who is one of his main inspirations. He also cites Jon Hopkins, Boards of Canada and Radiohead as inspirations.

Discography

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Albums

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Title Album details
Contrast
  • Release date: 14 October 2017
  • Label: Colorize (Enhanced Music)
  • Format: Digital download
Progressions[30]
  • Release date: 24 April 2020
  • Label: Colorize (Enhanced Music)
  • Format: Digital download

Extended plays

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Title Year Album
Invisible / Deadline 2012 Non-album singles
Every Beginning Has Its End
Sju / Léa
Voyager
Time / Watch
Magenta / Fly
Solaris / Center Kill
Late Night / Broadway 2013
Anima / Beyond / Wickham
Point 9 / Evening Paris Highway Arrival pres. Matt Fax 01
Orion / Hidden Feelings
Within / Cloudbreak 2014 Non-album single
Avalon / Over the Edge Arrival pres. Matt Fax 01
Going Down / Hyperspace 2015 Non-album singles
Belong / Mirth
CNFS / Stuck
Wrath 2016
Careless / Huntdown
Horizon / Blimp
Swench / Last Touch / Halv
Circles / Aura Lusia 2017 Contrast
Moves / Epoch / Oblivion 2018 Non-album singles
Dark Woods / Echo / Ghost Stories[31]
Roof Park[32]
Collide / The Gate[33] 2020
1AM in Paris / The War (with BT)[34] The Lost Art of Longing
Atlas / Lyra / Shuffle[35] 2021 Non-album singles
Torn / Wonder[36]
Run Away[37]
Nova / Found (with Estiva)[38]

Singles

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Title Year Album
"Plane"
(with Mindset) 		2012 Non-album singles
"Morevenin"
"Barr" 2013
"Departure"
(with Blood Groove and Kikis) 		Wonderland
"Shift" 2014 Non-album single
"Dunton Green"
(with Cramp) 		That's How We Roll
"Supertaper" 2015 Unified Vol. 2
"Moonlight" Non-album singles
"Aeris"
(with Jaytech)
"Astral Ride"
"Warmrider" 2016
"Vina" #Realprog Vol. 2
"Backdraft" Non-album singles
"Orbital"
"Progressia"
"Upward"
"Dogwander" Realprog Vol. 3
"Phantom" 2017 Non-album single
"Amnesiac" Contrast
"Close 2 U"
(featuring Mike Schmid)
"Storm" 2018 Non-album singles
"Arylide"
"Epoch"
(as Matt Fax presents Matters)
"Sweet Dream"[39]
(with Dezza)
"The Noetic"[40]
(with BT)
"Ignition"[41]
"To the Ground" 2019
"Universal"
"Eukarya"
(with Rodg) 		Fate
"It's Always Now"[42]
(with TyDi) 		Non-album singles
"Kaleidoscope"[43]
(with Praana and Haliene)
"Abenaki"[44]
"The Longest Road to the Ground"[45]
(with Morgan Page featuring Lissie)
"Nightride"[46]
"Animal"[47] 2020
"Light On"[48]
"Set Your Sails"[49]
(featuring Rbbts) 		Progressions
"1AM in Paris"[50]
(with BT and Iraina Mancini) 		The Lost Art of Longing
"Greatest Thing"[51]
(with Richard Bedford) 		Progressions
"Walk into the Water"[52]
(with BT and Nation of One) 		The Lost Art of Longing
"Here with Me"[53]
(with Richard Walters) 		2021 Non-album single

Remixes

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Year Title Artist Label
2013 "For Life" Inkfish PHW
"Lilt" Weepee Colorize (Enhanced)
"Piercing the Fog" The Blizzard Armada Music
"Labour of Love" Jaytech
(featuring Nathan Grainger) 		Anjunabeats
"Fly Me Home" Ltn and Apsara Silk Music
"Two to One" Adam Szabo and Johan Vilborg Enhanced Music
2014 "It's a Funky Record" Proff and Vadim Soloviev Intricate Records
"City Lights" Justin Oh
(featuring Jonny Rose) 		Arrival (Silk Music)
2015 "This is Us" Nigel Good Silk Music
2016 "Aphonia" Funkagenda Ultraviolet
"Golden" Thomas Hayes
(featuring Kyler England) 		Enhanced Music
"Light as a Feather" Boom Jinx and Aruna Anjunabeats
"Getaway" Tritonal
(featuring Angel Taylor) 		Enhanced Music
"Hands" Gareth Emery and Alastor
(featuring London Thor) 		Garuda
"Release" Solarstone Armada Music
"Kiss and Tell" Joshi and Nina Carr Colorize (Enhanced)
"Colors Back" Alex Klingle Enhanced Music
2017 "Collateral Damage" Levv
2018 "What If" Armin van Buuren
(featuring Vera Ostrova) 		Armada Music
"Decade" The Blizzard Future Sound of Egypt
"My Name" Maxim Schunk and Raven & Kreyn
(featuring BISHØP) 		Enhanced Music
"There Is Light"[54] Andy Moor, Somna and Diana Leah AVA Recordings
"Did You Know"[55] TyDi and Christopher Tin
(featuring London Thor) 		Global Soundsystem
"Call To Arms"[56] Gareth Emery
(featuring Evan Henzi) 		Garuda
"The Last Goodbye"[57] Orjan Nilsen
(featuring Matluck) 		In My Opinion (Armada)
2019 "Little Planet"[58] Estiva Armada Music
"Games"[59] Ruben de Ronde and Louise Rademakers
"Midnight Blue"[60] Ruben de Ronde and Rodg
"All You Need to Know"[61] Gryffin and Slander
(featuring Calle Lehmann) 		Darkroom / Geffen Records
"Worlds Collide"[62] Nervo Thrive Music
2020 "1000 Faces"[63] Jason Ross and Dia Frampton Ophelia
"Shooting Arrows"[64] Lane 8 featuring Poliça This Never Happened
"Another Youth"[65] Steve Brian and Matt Fax Enhanced Music
2021 "Before You Go"[66] Shingo Nakamura Monstercat Silk
2022 "Synthetic Blues"[67] Kasablanca Armada Music

References

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  1. ^ "Matt Fax opens up for us in exclusive interview - We Rave You". 22 April 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  2. ^ "David R. (2)". Discogs. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  3. ^ "SoundCloud - Hear the world's sounds".
  4. ^ "Coloirze on BP Top Tracker". BPTopTracker.com.
  5. ^ "Jaytech feat Nathan Grainger - Labour of Love". Discogs.com. 2013.
  6. ^ "Group Therapy 038 with Matt Fax". Above & Beyond's Website.
  7. ^ "Matt Fax - Shift". Discogs.com. 2014.
  8. ^ "Matt Fax quits music". Matt Fax's Facebook Page.
  9. ^ WeRaveYou. "Matt Fax opens up for us in exclusive interview". WeRaveYou.
  10. ^ "Arrival pres. Matt Fax 01". Discogs.com. 29 December 2014.
  11. ^ "Matt Fax Q&A Session". Matt Fax's Facebook Page.
  12. ^ a b "An Interview with Matt Fax: Progressive House, Favorite Plugins, and More". EDMProd.com. 9 February 2016.
  13. ^ "Wackii Time Afterparty". Trancendances.net.
  14. ^ "Matt Fax - Going Down/Hyperspace". Discogs.com. 2015.
  15. ^ "Armin Van Buuren - A State of Trance Festival Warm Up Sets". Armada Music Website.
  16. ^ "Group Therapy 172 with Matt Fax". Above & Beyond's Website.
  17. ^ "Ministry of Sound event Back2Back at The Gallery on March 18". Ministry of Sound Website.
  18. ^ "Matt Fax opens up for us in exclusive interview". WeRaveYou.
  19. ^ "Matt Fax tweets about upcoming Colorize EP". Twitter.
  20. ^ "Backdraft on Bandcamp". Matt Fax Bandcamp Page.
  21. ^ "Armin van Buuren - A State of Trance 769". A State Of Trance.com.
  22. ^ "Armin van Buuren - ASOT 836 (ADE Special)". YouTube.
  23. ^ "Matters - Roof Park (DJ Mag Review)". DJ Mag. 7 September 2018.
  24. ^ "Matt Fax - To The Ground(DJ Mag Review)". DJ Mag. 12 February 2019.
  25. ^ "DJ supports for To The Ground". 1001tracklists.
  26. ^ "Jaguar E-PACE commercial featuring 'To the Ground'". YouTube.
  27. ^ "REACH Festival Commercial featuring 'To the Ground'". Facebook.
  28. ^ Mao, Jessica (24 August 2020). "Matt Fax ventures into dark progressive with refined sophomore album, 'Progressions'". Dancing Astronaut.
  29. ^ "Interview for WhenWeDip". WhenWeDip.com. 4 February 2014.
  30. ^ Mao, Jessica (24 April 2020). "Matt Fax ventures into dark progressive with refined sophomore album, 'Progressions'". Dancing Astronaut. Archived from the original on 7 May 2020. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  31. ^ "Dark Woods / Echo / Ghost Stories - EP by Matt Fax on Apple Music". iTunes Store. 24 August 2018. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  32. ^ "Roof Park EP (Matt Fax Presents) by Matters on Apple Music". iTunes Store. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
  33. ^ "Matt Fax drops 'Collide' & 'The Gate' in Anjunabeats debut". EDM Tunes. 20 February 2020. Archived from the original on 29 February 2020. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  34. ^ Gomez, Nancy (24 June 2020). "BT & Matt Fax – 1AM in Paris/ The War". EDM Tunes. Archived from the original on 19 February 2021. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  35. ^ Alzgheibi, Husam (9 February 2021). "Matt Fax delivers three track EP to kick off 2021". EDM Tunes. Archived from the original on 19 February 2021. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  36. ^ "Torn / Wonder - EP by Matt Fax on Apple Music". Apple Music. 5 March 2021. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  37. ^ "Run Away - EP by Matt Fax & Viiq on Apple Music". Apple Music. 16 April 2021. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  38. ^ "Nova / Found - EP by Matt Fax & Estiva on Apple Music". Apple Music. 20 August 2021. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  39. ^ Hymo, Josh (8 June 2018). "Premiere: Matt Fax x Dezza – Sweet Dream". Dancing Astronaut. Archived from the original on 10 June 2018. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  40. ^ "The Noetic - Single by BT & Matt Fax on Apple Music". iTunes Store. 12 October 2018. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
  41. ^ "Ignition - Single by Matt Fax on Apple Music". iTunes Store. 14 December 2018. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
  42. ^ "It's Always Now - Single by tyDi & Matt Fax on Apple Music". iTunes Store. 7 June 2019. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
  43. ^ "Abenaki - Single by Matt Fax on Apple Music". iTunes Store. 6 September 2019. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
  44. ^ "Kaleidoscope (with HALIENE) by Praana & Matt Fax on Apple Music". iTunes Store. 14 June 2019. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
  45. ^ Sweeney, Farrell (14 October 2019). "Matt Fax mashes up old and new 'The Longest Road To The Ground'". Dancing Astronaut. Archived from the original on 16 October 2019. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  46. ^ "Nightride - Single by Matt Fax on Apple Music". iTunes Store. 29 November 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  47. ^ "Animal (feat. Trove) - Single by Matt Fax on Apple Music". iTunes Store. 17 January 2020. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  48. ^ Mao, Jessica (6 March 2020). "First Listen: Matt Fax awakens progressive energy on 'Light On'". Dancing Astronaut. Archived from the original on 11 March 2020. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  49. ^ "Set Your Sails (feat. RBBTS) - Single by Matt Fax on Apple Music". Apple Music. 10 April 2020. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  50. ^ "1am in Paris / The War - EP by BT on Apple Music". iTunes Store. 19 June 2020. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  51. ^ "Greatest Thing (Tommy Baynen Remix) - Single by Matt Fax & Richard Bedford on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  52. ^ "Walk into the Water - Single by BT, Matt Fax & Nation Of One on Apple Music". Apple Music. 4 December 2020. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  53. ^ "Here With Me - Single by Matt Fax & Richard Walters on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  54. ^ "There Is Light (Matt Fax Remix) - Single by Andy Moor, Somna & Diana Leah on Apple Music". iTunes Store. 11 June 2018. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  55. ^ "Did You Know (feat. London Thor) [Matt Fax Remix] - Single by tyDi & Christopher Tin on Apple Music". iTunes Store. 15 June 2018. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  56. ^ "Call to Arms (feat. Evan Henzi) [The Remixes] - EP by Gareth Emery on Apple Music". iTunes Store. 14 September 2018. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  57. ^ "Prism (Remixed EP 1) by Ørjan Nilsen on Apple Music". iTunes Store. 30 November 2018. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
  58. ^ "Little Planet (Matt Fax Remix) - Single by Estiva on Apple Music". iTunes Store. February 2019. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
  59. ^ "Games (Remixed) - Single by Ruben de Ronde & Louise Rademakers on Apple Music". iTunes Store. 3 May 2019. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  60. ^ "Togetherr (Remixed, Pt. 2) - Single by Ruben de Ronde on Apple Music". iTunes Store. 24 May 2019. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  61. ^ "All You Need To Know (The Remixes) [feat. Calle Lehmann] - EP by Gryffin & Slander on Apple Music". iTunes Store. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  62. ^ "Worlds Collide (Matt Fax Remix) - Single by NERVO on Apple Music". iTunes Store. November 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  63. ^ "1000 Faces (Remixes) - EP by Jason Ross on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  64. ^ Rose, Mitchell (24 September 2020). "Lane 8's 'Brightest Lights' receives enormous remix pack". Dancing Astronaut. Archived from the original on 17 October 2020. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  65. ^ "Another Youth - EP by Steve Brian & Matt Fax on Apple Music". Apple Music. 11 December 2020. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  66. ^ "Glow (The Remixes) - EP by Shingo Nakamura on Apple Music". Apple Music. 30 July 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  67. ^ "Synthetic Blues (Matt Fax Remix) - Single by Kasablanca on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
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