Today we’d like to introduce you to Matias and Nicolas Penaloza
Hi Matias and Nicolas, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Our names are Matias and Nicolas Penaloza, two brothers who embarked on an incredible journey that started in Santiago, Chile. Growing up in a Catholic school, we both discovered our passion for DJing early on. Matias was born in 1999, and Nicolas followed in 2000. After Matias graduated high school in 2017, he studied at a university for two years, while I, Nicolas, graduated in 2018 and moved to the United States with our mom. Matias and I reunited in 2021, and that’s when our shared passion for DJing really took off in the U.S. Back in high school, we used to DJ house music at birthday parties and small gigs. When we moved to the States, Matias spotted a post for an open decks night at The Purple Buffalo, which led to our first gig in the U.S. After living here for about a year, we started missing our Hispanic roots and began attending parties with Latin music. That’s when we realized how different DJs in Chile approach Latin music compared to others. We saw a unique opportunity in this music scene, especially since we loved Latin music and grew up listening to it. Not long after, we met DJ AZ, one of the top local DJs, who came to an event we hosted at The Purple Buffalo. Up until then, Matias and I had been DJing separately, but DJ AZ invited us to perform as a duo at Mynt, a now-closed club. After some successful events at Mynt, we began reaching out to other venues, trying to get our name out there. Eventually, we landed our first big booking at Charleston’s iconic Music Farm. We were hired by an event producer for a Bad Bunny-themed party, “Un Verano Sin Ti,” and it was a huge success. We sold out 670 tickets, and that night really helped us believe in our potential. People loved our chemistry as brothers and our music selection, which fueled our drive even more. After the Music Farm event, more opportunities followed, and we’ve been fortunate to perform at major venues like House of Blues in Myrtle Beach, The Masquerade in Atlanta, and Élan Savannah, to name a few. It’s been two years since we first performed as a duo, and we’re constantly working on growing our social media presence, creating original content, and building our brand. We’re also learning to produce music because we want to eventually reach millions of people globally.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It hasn’t always been a smooth road. We’ve faced our share of challenges and learned a lot along the way. One of the biggest lessons was realizing the importance of having a clear contract in place. In the beginning, we didn’t always have agreements that set clear boundaries and responsibilities between us, as DJs, and the promoters or event producers we worked with. In this line of work, which isn’t always seen as a typical job, it can be easy for misunderstandings to happen about who’s responsible for what. Unfortunately, there were some events where we didn’t get paid, but each setback has been a learning experience. Another challenge has been navigating social media. We’re not experts in marketing, so learning how to design flyers, create marketing material, and edit videos has definitely been a process. It’s been a learning curve but a valuable one, as we know how important it is to build a strong online presence in this industry. Each obstacle has pushed us to grow and get better at what we do.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Our goal is to create an atmosphere where people can escape their stress and just enjoy themselves with their friends. We do this by mixing live, playing quality music, and engaging with the crowd. It’s not just about the songs—we want to give people a memorable experience and introduce them to music they might not have heard before but will hopefully enjoy. In a way, we see ourselves as music curators, carefully selecting tracks to create a unique vibe for each event. We’re incredibly proud of the hard work that’s brought us to where we are today and of the meaningful connections we’ve made with people from different cultures, united through music. We believe what sets us apart is the chemistry we have as brothers on stage and our passion, preparation, and dedication to constantly studying the craft of DJing. We’re not just focused on the performance—we’re always looking at how we can elevate the entire experience for the audience.
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
People can reach out on any social media to collaborate with us if they want to promote an event or even have us perform. They can support us by going to the events we are performing at, posting stories, and tagging us on them
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/duomacky/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100084183049187
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@duomacky
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/matias-pe-aloza-541192419
Image Credits
Atharva Temkar
Benjamin Cohen
