Mat Zo - Left To Right

Mat Zo's got his own record label now, dontcha know. It's called Mad Zoo (I see what he did there), and it launched last week with a mini EP from the man himself called The Up Down Left Right EP, which contains two tracks - his previously heard collaboration with The Knocks, Get Down 2 Get Up, and a brand new track, Left To Right.

So he might now have all of the different directions covered, but is his new track a step in the right one? Find out below (I'm here all week, by the way).

When Mat latches on to a vocal sample, he rarely lets it go for the duration of the track in which he chooses to use it. It was the case with a few of his recent releases, Old Skool Trip and Real Life, and it's also the case from his newest effort. It can be an irritating technique, but Mat cleverly manipulates his chosen sample/s to keep things interesting, and to create a sense of real progression and contrast throughout, and this is especially true of Left To Right.

In fact, this technique forms the backbone for the first half of the track, which also sees excellent percussion work and an incredibly slick rising bassline, that makes you want to do just that. The second half, though, is where Left To Right really excels. Out of nowhere, we get a superb melody and chord progression, not too dissimilar to Pyramid Scheme (which, as a side note, is one of my absolute favourite tracks of his). This, combined with the aforementioned other elements, suddenly turns what was a track that was simply a display of Mat's production prowess, into an all out belter of a club track.

With this release, Mat seems to want to show what we can expect from his new label. If it's more tunes like Left To Right, either from other artists or from Mat himself, then I for one will be keeping a very close eye on how it develops.

'Left To Right' was to be available as a free download for the first week of its release through Soundcloud, but as of now, some 12 days later, the download link is still available. It is also available to purchase through Beatport and iTunes, and still will be when the free download does eventually expire.

The Octopus' Rating: 6.5/8

Release Details:

Name: Left To Right

Artist: Mat Zo

Album: The Up Down Left Right EP

Label: Mad Zoo

Release Date: 11 August [OUT NOW]

Purchase: EITHER: Free Download (see SoundCloud player above), or iTunes, Beatport

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Alex Simpson

Writer, musician, and all-round top guy. I set up Excited Octopus. Currently, I'm on a one man team. It gets lonely sometimes. But I don't mind, because I love you all.

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