Mashd N Kutcher Founder Matt James Reveals Cancer Diagnosis

Mashd N Kutcher founder Matt James has been diagnosed with cancer, an “unexpected” blow that will require extensive treatment in the months ahead.

The APRA Music Award-winning Australian dance music artist revealed his condition on Friday, Aug. 11, and has vowed to fight.

“I have been diagnosed with cancer – specifically Multiple Myeloma, which forms in blood cells inside the bone marrow,” he writes in a social post, accompanying a picture of the artist horizontal on a hospital bed.

“This was unexpected as I was otherwise healthy, however it has spread throughout my body causing multiple breaks in my arms ribs and more. Over the immediate months we will hit this from every angle with chemotherapy and extensive treatment ahead.”

Based in Brisbane, James created the MNK project back in 2012 with “the goal of making exciting music and showcasing talented bandmates through the live shows,” he explains, “thankfully this can continue.”

For the time being, he’ll step aside from social media and touring, but will continue to reserve “energy and focus” for writing and producing recordings, and curating and programming the music and visuals for MNK live shows, which its members will “perform as they always have.”

Weaving styles and generations of dance music with its collective of DJs and multi-instrumentalists, MNK has notched over 1,500 performances around the globe, and collected three ARIA gold-certifications in Australia.

The act signed with Universal Music Group in 2017, and landed a global publishing deal with BMG in the same year.

James last year penned Get on the Beers: A Christmas Story, a book that continued the theme of the lockdown anthem “Get on the Beers,” a goodtime number filled with positivity and hope.

“Get On The Beers,” which featured vocals from Victorian premier Dan Andrews, won the 2022 APRA Award for most performed dance/electronic work and landed at No. 12 on triple j’s Hottest 100 countdown.

“In summary,” James continues in his latest post, “the road ahead is challenging but I’m very fortunate to have an amazing support network of family, close friends and colleagues, right now I’m physically weak but mentally strong, and I’ll be giving this everything I’ve got. Love you all”.

In James’ absence, MNK will perform headline shows in Asia in the weeks ahead, before returning to Australia for dates in September. “Music wise I’m returning to the roots of of the project,” he continues. “If you enjoyed ‘Sunshine’ or ‘On My Mind’ you’ll love the next releases.”