Maceo Plex Reflects on ’90s Gear, Hip-Hop Influences, and the Return of Analog

2 hours ago 4

The Cuban-American artist discusses reviving the Akai MPC, J Dilla’s influence, and the resurgence of analog production at EDC Mexico.

Backstage before a highly anticipated back-to-back set with Brazilian phenom Beltran at EDC Mexico, Maceo Plex was relaxed, curious, and ready to learn. Despite decades behind the decks, the veteran producer still approaches moments like these with the mindset of a student. The two DJs hadn’t even met before the show, so Maceo Plex did what he’s always done best: study.

“I researched some of his sets,” he explains. “He plays some of my tracks, and apparently likes the stuff I did as Maetrik, so I get what his style is,” he continues, “and I’m known to adapt depending on the people and the energy of the crowd.” Adaptability has long been a defining trait for the artist born Eric Estornel. From the electro-leaning underground scenes of Miami to the house music-driven clubs of Dallas and eventually global festivals, he has spent decades evolving with dance music.

Lately, the producer is finding inspiration by looking backward, specifically to the hardware workflow that defined the 1990s. And ironically, it’s the younger generation that’s pushing him there.

For Maceo Plex, the resurgence of analog gear and vinyl among younger producers feels like a strange kind of time warp. “It would be my second time around,” he says with a laugh. “They’re producing the way I used to produce in the ’90s.”

That revival has prompted him to dust off an iconic piece of gear: the Akai MPC sampler. “I’m bringing back my old Akai MPC along with the new one,” he says. “I’ve been making beats that way again because the kids are doing it, and their beats are slapping in my car.”

The tactile workflow has unlocked something he felt was missing from purely digital production. “I remember I could get a certain slap out of that machine that you just can’t get other ways,” he explains. For Plex, the hardware return isn’t just nostalgia; it’s about rediscovering those sounds that started it all.

Those sounds trace back to another major influence: Detroit’s legendary hip-hop producer, J Dilla.

Maceo Plex credits Dilla with shaping how he programs rhythm. “I lag my beats,” he reveals. “I learned that from J Dilla. He would put the drums a little behind the sounds, so they have this laid-back feel.”

The technique intentionally avoids perfect digital timing. “I don’t quantize,” he says. “That’s the first thing people want to do, hit quantize, but it takes the soul away.” Instead, Maceo Plex shifts elements slightly off-grid, allowing the rhythm to breathe. The result is the subtle swing that defines much of his production style. One that blends the mechanical precision of dance music with the human feel of hip-hop. It’s a production philosophy rooted less in software and more in instinct.

Long before becoming a global headliner, Maceo Plex was simply a curious kid studying DJs.

While Maceo Plex’s sound often feels futuristic and robotic, his musical upbringing was anything but. Born to Cuban parents shortly after they immigrated to the United States, he grew up in Miami surrounded by Latin music. “I grew up with so much salsa,” he recalls. “So much Spanish music.” Funny enough, that environment pushed him toward completely different sounds.

“I went the other direction,” he says. “I got addicted to Detroit music, electro, and European electronic stuff.” Artists like Kraftwerk and the pioneering Detroit techno scene became formative influences, shaping the sleek, synth-heavy sound that would also later define his career.

Still, the rhythms of his upbringing haven’t disappeared entirely. “I play my beats with my fingers sometimes in a salsa-style pattern,” he says. “So it comes out of me naturally.”

I wasn’t really a raver. I was the guy staring at the DJ booth, writing down the records they were playing.

Maceo Plex

That obsession began in Miami’s electro scene before his family relocated to Dallas, where house music dominated local clubs. That move expanded his music palette.

“I loved electro, loved house, loved breaks,” he says. “I like stuff that isn’t just straight four-on-the-floor, but I try to make it four-four and trick you into forgetting it is.” That hybrid approach eventually evolved into the signature sound of Maceo Plex: sensual, melodic, and often darkly atmospheric.

“When I first started, I wanted it to be sexy house,” he says. “Electro house with a lot of synthesizers and melodies that had sex appeal.”

Maceo Plex often describes music production itself as a solitary experience, something that fuels the moodier tones in his work.

“When you produce, there’s a loneliness to it,” he says. “You’re by yourself making music.”

Rather than resisting that isolation, he embraces it. The idea became a solid foundation for one of his creative platforms, Lone Romantic. A label and artistic identity built around what he describes as the feeling of “unachievable romance,” a bittersweet sense of longing that seeps into melody and atmosphere.

I like tapping into that lonely feeling. Exploring melancholy melodies along with dance music.

Maceo Plex

Those emotions are reflected not only in his productions but also in the artists who inspire him. Maceo Plex points to influential bands like Chromatics and Cocteau Twins as key sonic inspirations, alongside darker new wave acts like Depeche Mode.

Their music, often lush, introspective, and emotionally heavy, continues to shape the mood of his work. “I’ve always loved that sad new wave kind of sound,” he says.

Now based in Barcelona, Maceo Plex continues to explore multiple creative outlets through his labels Lone Romantic—and inspired by his time in Dallas—Ellum Audio. He’s preparing new music, too, including a forthcoming album that he began assembling almost accidentally.

“I started making tracks that were all flowing together,” he says. “So I thought, maybe this should just be an album.”

One of those tracks, “Baby Monster,” featuring vocals from his wife, Christine Mooneyhan, may even lend its name to the project. While the exact release details remain undecided, one thing is clear: the process behind the record reflects his renewed love for hardware and hands-on production.

The return of analog tools, combined with inspiration from younger producers rediscovering them, has brought Maceo Plex full circle. For an artist who has navigated vinyl, digital DJ software, and the streaming era, the moment feels strangely familiar. “The kids are bringing it back,” he says with a grin.

And for Maceo Plex, that means doing what he’s always done best: observing the movement, adapting to the moment, and finding new life in the old machines where it all began.