Bio
Maceo Plex has spent decades changing names to match different musical instincts. The Cuban-American artist born Eric Estornel first established himself through the darker Maetrik project, explored electro as Mariel Ito, and developed a warmer house-facing language under Maceo Plex. Estornel has traced that last alias to a Jane’s Addiction song introduced by his wife—a small private reference that became the banner for records such as the 2011 album Life Index and for his Ellum Audio label. His methods keep circling forward as well as back. Speaking before EDC Mexico in 2026, Estornel said a younger generation’s renewed interest in hardware had prompted him to bring an old Akai MPC back into use alongside a newer model. The tactile approach reconnects his current beat-making with the hip-hop swing and physical studio habits that shaped his 1990s productions, while the separate aliases still give each side of his catalogue its own room.
United States