Mat Zo Releases “Self Assemble” Album [Mad Zoo Records]

Mat Zo brings us into his own world with his new album Self Assemble. Under his label Mad Zoo Records, his album is very unique. His first song, Order Out of Chaos, I took as his way of bringing listeners into his new environment. To start, it has a wild or untamed feel to it, the gradually builds into synths ringing like melodic sirens; a very nice sound. It cuts right into his second song, The Enemy, with Sinead Egan, which has a heavy beat and a great groove to it. Sinead sounds great and fits this song perfectly. The Enemy is a well made song, that you can dance or chill to, and Mat Zo has something unique for all parts of the song. Sinful, with I See Monstas, immediately has the nu disco feel, and a great melody. I See Monstas has a relaxed voice and nice, which combines to with the music to create a strong song. This song features very lovely synth solos that turn up the emotion and the energy of the song. Mat Zo brings the energy down a bit with Patterns Emerging, but in now way is this a bad thing. In fact, it almost makes the feel of the music stronger. With a slow start, this song builds up to a melody of airy vocals, along with chime like sounds. This song is purely pretty and calming, an interesting break in the album, but a great testament to Mat Zo‘s creativity and what he wants to show in his music. Killing Time, adds a somewhat futuristic feel with a fast paced beat, but steady sound. Mat Zo combines his music and vocals to give the songs depth and beauty. At the end, he brings it all together to solidify the song and end it with a boom. Smacked Up On Jack opens with fading in sound and a man speaking, then the music hits and you can tell this is a new turn in the album. Though different, I think this break only adds to the album with a new sound for the album. Next up is Ruffneck Bad Boy (VIP), which starts off slow and grows heavy. This song’s intro has march style drums and nice piano, but the build up and drop bring in the bass, making this song take you for a ride. Definitely a change in pace, but a great song nonetheless. Lights Out keeps the energy cranking with a heavy build up, strong drop, and bold beat. The vocals keep the energy up where the music may fade. Soul Food brings the groove back in, containing relaxed music but remaining a song you can’t help moving to. Again Mat Zo uses lovely vocals that make these songs great to listen to. Stereo No Aware is an interesting song, containing many different parts. It begins with fading out music, then you hear background sound added to it, which makes a very nice environment. Then all of a sudden, flickering sounds come in, changing the feel, and finally, the beat comes in. This song is different because the intro parts create such a different mood than the beginning of the beat, but at the end they all come together to make a beautiful song. Sinead Egan joins again in Too Late. This song starts with acoustic guitar and vocals, a very nice intro and great singing again from Sinead. The song steps up the intensity, and then the drums join. We lose the guitar, but gain very nice synth sound. A new string instrument is added as well, and the music is growing and growing. Then the drop comes in and we get pulled in. It’s a unique drop, combining beauty and bass. It sounds much like melodic dubstep. Quite a gift from Mat Zo to here a song like this. Ending the album is The Last Transmission. This is just a lovely piece, with nice piano and great feel to the song. The background noise is what really completes this song though, the airy environment is calming and is a perfect way to end this album peacefully. Mat Zo has made a truly wonderful album that combines so many aspects of music. What’s more is he shows so much as an artist in this album, making each song unique, but the album fit together so well.