Joan Mael Peneau is not a name many would recognise immediately but his two aliases (Malestrom and Mr. Strom) have both grounded strong reputations in their respective scenes for pushing the boundaries of their genres.

As an electro and broken beat artist, Maelstrom, busted onto the scene in 2007, establishing his party sounds in amidst a competitive French market flooded by Nu Skool, Tear-Out and Hard Style artists. Incredibly, he was able to redefine the Funky and Party Broken Beats genre, with a unique sound that harmonizes with the ever-popular Electro genre pioneered and governed by his countrymen, Daft Punk, Justice and the many Ed Banger artists. The ensuing sounds have been heralded to have “bridge the void between French Electro and Party Breaks”; And Electro and Breakbeat artists, fans and enthusiasts around the world have taken note, supporting him to a nomination at the 2008 International Breakspoll Awards for “Best Breakthrough Producer”.
As a funk artist, Mr. Strom, has held his own in a very tight knit scene, with a steady flow of well received original and bootleg releases on a plethora of French and UK labels, including Jalepeno Records, Rotax Disques, Labrok, East Records and Innvision including the much famed bootleg, “Hollyboot Swinging”.

Joan Mael Peneau began his career playing and producing Electro in the mid 90’s, drawing influence from the works of Mo’Wax Recordings. It was in the period proceeding this, from 1998 through to 2005, that he struck somewhat of a mid-career identity crisis, dabbling in a variety of genres and releasing more than 20 EPs in various styles including Techno, Drum n Bass, Hardcore and Down Tempo Funk under several aliases.

In 2005, Joan realised his calling and finding new direction in a genre that was virtually unknown in his home country, France, at the time – Nu Skool Breaks. The open format of Breakbeat allowed him to synthesize all of the styles and sounds of which he has previously produced, played and loved throughout his career. This combined with the fact that he had found himself at the forefront of a new scene in France allowed his new alias, Maelstrom, the liberty to be creative and adventurous with his work and inspired him to create what is now unique recognised as the Maelstrom sound: “Funky rhythms sampled from Soul and R&B music archives, layered with loud, phat basslines, a tough electro styled groove with a straight-up Breakbeat swagger.”

In 2007, Maelstrom realised his two separate loves were best appreciated apart, with booking requests for one genre or the other and rarely together. For this reason, Maelstrom assigned his primary alias to the tougher Electro and Broken Beats genres and a second alias he had acquired by necessity in releasing unapproved bootlegs, Mr. Strom, to his funk projects.  
With this new structure and direction to his craft, Mael went to work and made 2007 and 2008 his busiest years to date:
On the Electro and Broken Beats front, Maelstrom had seven releases in 2007; among which were remixes for Boogie Army (“Dynamite”) and Rob Reng (“Dope Pope” and the dancefloor bomb, “Disto Funk”. The track was snapped up by Krafty Kuts for his Fabric Live compilation and gather the support of many leading DJs, namely the Aquasky, Slyde, Rico Tubbs, Jay Cunning, NAPT, Ollywood, Drumattic Twins, DJ Icey and General Midi.
He followed up this successful run in 2008 with “Makossa”, which was also remixed by industry superweights, the Drumattic Twins. This was backed up with the first two releases on his own Record Label, Katorza: a remix of Redux’s “Diskobreaks” and a collaboration with MC Youthstar, “Beat Police”. The latter recently scoring 4/5 in IDJ Magazine. And these three were just at the start of the year; Maelstrom has five more tracks including two tracks on infamous Canadian Label, Moneyshot Recordings. 

On the Funk front, Mr. Strom has established himself as a serious force in the scene with five massive releases in 2007 and two further releases in 2008. Notably, “Hollyboot Swinger”, the funky “Fight the Power”, “Mash the Peas” and his recent hit, “Fresh Kingz”; All regular occupants of Funk DJs’ record crates the world over.
With such a healthy back catalogue, Maelstrom/Mr. Strom toured most of the world in 2007 and 2008, performing before enthusiastic electro and funk fans in Austria, Germany, the United Kingdom, France and Switzerland many times over, as well as at London institution, Fabric.

With two successful DJ and production careers before him, Mael has quite simply exploded onto the scene in the past two and half years, drawing the support of artists across the globe, including the likes of Laurent Garnier, Crookers, Krafty Kuts, Aquasky, A.Skillz, Lady Waks, Cut La Roc, the Utah Saints, Ellis Dee, Rennie Pilgrem and the Plump DJs. You can be sure that you’ll be hearing a lot more of the names Maelstrom and Mr. Strom in 2009!

Discography




ORIGINAL WORK
Maelstrom "Orange Freaky Fingers"-"Party Biscuits" (Labrok FR) 

Maelstrom & Napz "Spell It" - "Blue Cat Session" (Jalapeno Uk)

Maelstrom "Diskological"-"Freedom Slammin" (Labrok FR) 
Maelstrom & Napz "Urban Curious" - "Soul School"(Rotax FR)

Maelstrom "Freak-Land" - "Blow Your Whistle" (Labrok) 

Maelstrom & Napz "Mash the Peas" (East Uk) 

Maelstrom "RockSteady" - "Disto Funk" (Menu Music Uk) 

Mr Strom & Prosper "Hollyboot Swinging" (East Uk) 

Maelstrom "Makossa"+ Drumattic twins rmx (West Uk)

Mr Strom & Napz "Fresh Kingz Ep" (Innvision At)

Maelstrom Ft. Mc Youthstar – The Beat Police (Katorza)
Maelstrom – Il Traffico (Expressillon)


REMIXES


Reboot System "Electric Coolbox" (Stop records)

Rob Reng + Thief "I’ll Be The Shh" (BRAP) 

Boogie Army "Dynamite" (IBreaks Uk) 

Stylus Rex "Serious Wobble" (Ground Level Uk) 

Rob Reng + Thief "Dope Pope" (West Uk)
Redux – DiskoBreaks - Maelstrom rmx (Katorza)
Ursula 1000 "Mystics" Maelstrom Techno Mix (ESL)
Ixindamix "What The Funk" Maelstrom rmx (Biobeats) 



FORTHCOMING


Groove Allegiance "Playin Dumb" Maelstrom Mix (Moneyshot)
Maelstrom "The Glue" + Myagi & Timewarp Mix (Moneyshot)
Shilas Bedroom Fashion "I like Skirts" Maelstrom Mix (KTZ)
Tambour Battant "Atomic Circus" Maelstrom Mix (Bigoodisc)
Fumuj "Play fuckin Shit" Maelstrom & Redux Mix
Maelstrom "Real Street Shit EP" (Expressillon)
Think Tank "Photosynth" Maelstrom Mix (Funk Weapons)