Why does the crowd love Mat Zo? Sure, his music pushes against the boundaries of genres and sometimes even breaks them, but there’s something more to it. It’s a connect, or rather, a feeling, that brings his music, his listeners and him all into a bubble where the music starts to transcend into something surreal. “This whole business of genres is like the Berlin Wall, and I’m there with a forklift and a wrecking ball.” Well, l’chaim to him, because his set that night spun and wove through genres with a precocious finesse that has come to define his style of deejaying.
On the 27th of September, Ludus Café opened its gates to a steady stream of fans eagerly waiting to be surprised. The category of ‘genre’ on his official Facebook page reads: you decide. And those who came to see him live did exactly that.
Versatility is at the centre of his music making process, and he seems to have found followers in every colour of the genre rainbow that he tries his hand at. A great person to hang out with and a true crowd-pleaser, Mat blurred the lines and brought all kinds of dance music lovers under the same roof.
His set started off at approximately 11pm with a personal favourite, his very own ‘Bipolar‘, a progressive melody with a hint of vocals, which got the audience off to an incredible start. He then went on to drop ‘Caller ID‘, which combines trap with a surprising amount of very Indian sounding tunes. He then weaved through a bit of Aoki, finally coming to his spanking brand new track, Pyramid Scheme. Pyramid Scheme is Mat’s newest foray into progressive house, and it’s a light, off – the – wall track which is so easy to dance to. It doesn’t have any hard drops but it does its job well, and that’s to get you to move it, much like the music video itself. The entire performance peaked with a thundering crescendo when he began to play the summertime favourite, Daft Punk’s ‘Get Lucky‘. To say the crowd went wild would be an understatement. The drum n’ bass remix reminded me of the songs he used to create under the pseudonym MRSA, and boy, did the crowd lap it up. You knew when the next amazing drop was going to hit you because of Zo’s smile, an acknowledgment of the fact that he knew the crowd was going to love what was going to come right after.
His mashup ‘Boneless Strobe in the Sun & Moon‘ combined electro – house, trance, progressive and a little bit of everything Mat Zo likes in a song. The harmony between the tracks was sinuous and yet the differences were distinguishable. The iconic song ‘Man With The Red Face‘, which was re-interpreted by Hardwell was next on the list. Its an absolutely monumental track in the history of dance music, and not at all surprising that it was part of Mat’s set. The saxophone was a gorgeous element in the song and complimented the night perfectly. Who doesn’t love a little bit of jazz?
He ‘burn’-ed up (sorry, couldn’t resist) the dance floor when he mixed the popular Ellie Goulding song, interpreting it in his own signature experimental style, but still retaining the originals’ smooth melody. It was a great song to dance to, and a lot of people were really getting into it. Cosmic Gate’s new song ‘So Get Up’, provided the deep trance relief that everyone was craving. After Hardwell’s hard drops, this one was another memorable song you just knew you had to ‘get up’ to. The lyrics of the song express a very essential part of dance music, going to a place you’ve never been to before through the beauty of dance.
When ‘Only For You‘ came on, the atmosphere became a little more chill, it was time for a little conventional house along with Rachel Collier‘s gorgeous vocals and it had a very 80s vibe to it. You see what I mean when I say Mat’s not afraid to push the boundaries? I know everyone must have been excited for the songs release on the ‘Damage Control‘ album on November 5th! La Tromba‘s (Chris Lake & Nom De Strip Remix) intense electro house track got the crowd going once again with a sick drop, and the audience’s excitable roar almost always threatened to drown out the incredible sounds from the speakers. The thrill that rippled through the crowd was near infectious and one couldn’t help but get swept up into it.
Andrew Bayer’s ‘England‘ was another personal favourite of the night. The electro – edged track has been picked up by major djs all over the world, and it seemed to fit into Zo’s love for slightly quirky chiming tunes. One of the more emotional songs of the evening, it some how captured the essence of something truly uplifting in Mat Zo’s entire set. It was a crowd pleaser for sure, for the heart and soul.
Despite playing completely different sounding tracks one after the other, Mat’s set was so superbly mixed that he effortlessly managed to blend his songs one into the other. I also loved how his track list was so perfectly suited to the Indian audience. There was a little bit of Aoki, a little bit of Hardwell – artists that have all resonated deeply with the Delhi audience.
Mat Zo‘s popularity grows steadily every day. Whether it’s his music or if he’s involved in a scandalous controversy with a famous singer? Rapper? (You know who I’m talking about) you just can’t deny, the boy’s a powerhouse of talent. Because he’s taking the proverbial wrecking ball to the wall of genres, he’s also simultaneously ensured that might just have created a whole new genre by himself called ‘Mat’ness. My dictionary defines it as dance music that just feels good and sounds right.
It’s only going to be a short time before the entire world knows and loves him; I know Delhi already does.
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Special Thanks to Cafe Ludus, Submerge and World Music Stage for putting this all together!
Gig Review: Vedika Berry
Edited By: Shule Puri