Mat Zo Digs Into "Disco Boy" and Drum & Bass

After dropping “Disco Boy” on mau5trap, Mat Zo stopped by to discuss the tune’s creation, his recent drum and bass release, mental health, and more.

When looking at artists who have significantly impacted the electronic music scene over the past decade, there’s no doubt that Mat Zo is part of the conversation. During his run, he’s trotted across various genres and dropped tunes on some of the community’s most esteemed labels while also heading up his Mad Zoo imprint and finding new ways to connect with fans. In 2024, Mat Zo shifted a focus back to releasing music and has been flying with stunning tunes that captivated fans.

Mat Zo’s latest tune, “Disco Boy,” is a bit of a departure from the sounds he’s been releasing lately, with a heavy dose of nostalgic electro elements at the forefront. It found a fitting home on mau5trap, but according to him, the track’s creation began “as a little silly idea” at the end of a long production session that “wasn’t going well at all.”

I was wracking my brain all day so I took a break by starting the bare bones of that idea. I wasn’t really thinking about a specific era or any specific label when I made it, but when it was more fleshed out it did occur to me it sounded a bit like electro from 10 years ago. I don’t think I’m doing it consciously, and if you listen to any of my music, you can tell my music taste hasn’t really evolved that much since 2010.
Mat Zo

While this track is firmly dance-ready, another side of Mat Zo re-emerged earlier this summer. In August, he dropped the Sine of the Times EP on Vision Recordings. This release saw him dive back into the realm of drum and bass, yet in typical Mat Zo fashion; there was more to it than driving basslines found in its runtime. One of the tunes, “Splain,” flipped the script as he teamed up with Rohaan and looked to jazz for inspiration.

Mat Zo told us that the creation of “Splain” started when he met Rohaan in person for the first time. “I wanted to make something like “Jazz Club” by Leaf, which I hadn’t heard in a long time, so the idea formed out of the distorted, hazy memory of that,” he shared. “A good sign is when you’re laughing your ass off in the studio.” While it initially existed as a 16-bar loop, things changed once the two artists shared it with others who “went nuts for it,” leading to them finishing the arrangement and adding the samples from Bernard Purdie.

Diving a bit deeper into the drum and bass realm, Mat Zo dished on his old MRSA alias, saying that he stopped using the name “because it’s a terrible infectious disease.” His latest releases in all genres have been centered on his main moniker, “for the lack of a better idea,” but it’s clear that fans are hungry for his DnB tunes regardless of the alias they’re released under. This is especially true in the US, where the genre is resurging in popularity.

I’m just glad that after years of pushing drum and bass in the States, people finally started to catch on.
Mat Zo

Beyond his music, Mat Zo has been known to speak his mind online. One of the latest topics he touched on surrounded sample clearance, and we asked him why he feels it’s become increasingly difficult.

“There’s simply less money in releasing music,” Mat Zo said. “That has the effect of making labels less likely to dish out for a sample clearance, and the copyright holders charging more for sample clearances to make up for the lack of royalties.” Because of this feedback, sample clearance has become “prohibitively expensive,” which has become “a bit of a problem” for him, as he told us that sampling is a big part of his musical identity.

Those who have followed Mat Zo for years will certainly be familiar with his Mad Zoo imprint, and we asked him about its status as releases have seemingly been put on pause. He said he plans to breathe life back into it “when [he] can afford it.” “The problem is there was never a plan on how to make it profitable,” he continued. “We only set out to help some producers launch their careers, and in that, we were a success – but it wasn’t a business. I do want to start putting some of my own music on Mad Zoo in the future when the time is right.”

Another topic we dug into was mental health and whether Mat Zo feels as if there have been positive changes compared to the past. “I see a general trend towards more understanding about mental health in society as a whole, and that has the biggest effect,” he shared. “It’s hard to improve support for mental health for artists specifically because the nature of the job is psychologically taxing, but the more people are open about it, the less stigma there is about it. That has a huge effect.”

Mat Zo also reflected on the success of tunes like “Pyramid Scheme” with Chuck D, “Easy” with Porter Robinson, and “Rebound” with ARTY, all of which have since become classics. “I think about how lucky I was to be a part of that first wave of EDM,” he said.

As the conversation ended, we had to ask about the best dish he’s cooked up after he posted a Tweet saying that culinary skills are linked to those in the arts. “I make a bangin’ bolognese,” he told us, leaving us hungry for that dish and more boundary-pushing music from one of the scene’s most revered producers.

Mat Zo’s “Disco Boy” is available on all streaming platforms. Follow him on social media to stay informed about his upcoming releases and shows.