Brooklyn-based musician, producer, and DJ Peter Matson returns to Bastard Jazz with a dance-floor ready 12” and digital EP, “The Right Way.” The EP builds on Peter’s 2019 release for the label – “Short Trips” – as well as his work as the bandleader for Underground System, and a slew of other solo and collaborative projects over the last two years.

Working from the ground up to produce a batch of 3 original tracks, Matson takes his sensibility as a DJ and musician and blends them into an unique whole, crafting sprawling arrangements into club-ready productions. With overall recording quality and ear for detail taking centre stage, “The Right Way” boasts an impressive list of musical collaborators including a standout A-side feature from Ibibio Sound Machine’s vocalist Eno Williams on the Afro-Disco workout “Call and Answer.” Two beautifully conceived instrumentals on the flip-side dip into slow burning Italo (“The Right Way”) and Balearic (“PB (Ça Va)”) territories, while the UK duo Faze Action helm remix duty, pushing “Call and Answer” toward their signature Afro-meets-Proto House & Disco vibe.

The EP weaves Matson’s affinity for club music with the African influences for which he is known, culminating in a release that is both genre-bending and timelessly danceable. “The Right Way” is out digitally on Bastard Jazz Recordings February 25th, 2022, with the 12” to follow shortly after.

Released February 25, 2022 – via Bandcamp here or via player link above…

We had a chat with Peter just before this new release was about to drop…

Who is Peter Matson?

I’m a person. I spend a lot of time as a musician, producer, and DJ, also often under the name Peter Matson.

Where is it call home?

Brooklyn, NY

Would you say you a musician or a producer first and foremost?

Musician first, producer/DJ a very close 2nd.

Your new release shows you in solo mode, but you are also part of the live band Underground System. What do you enjoy most being in the band, and how does it compare for you in solo mode..

The feeling of playing on stage with a full live band is pretty irreplaceable. Bringing this collaborative and energetic mindset to a solo realm helps me both in process with creating unique sounding music, and in maintaining a raw performative energy as I approach producing or DJing alone.

‘The Right Way’ is your new EP dropping on Bastard Jazz. Talk us through the selection a little.

‘The Right Way’ is a unique batch of tunes to me, the production of which bridged the gap between the busiest year of my musical career (2019) and the stillest a lot of us have ever felt in our lives (lockdown 2020). A lot of the musical gestures and themes evoke a juxtaposition of high energy and motion with a dash of slow burning introspection that I can trace to exactly this moment in time.

Bits of inspiration and demo beats crafted while on tour around the EU with my band Underground System in 2019 made their way back home with me to Brooklyn, and a few grooves stuck out as complementary to each other; something worth fully fleshing out..

This EP is for lovers of ..

Ibibio Sound Machine and Faze Action since they’re proudly featured on it! After that, Byrne & Eno I bet.

Where is your studio? Paint us a picture of your creative space.

My studio location and process has slowly evolved over time. There are a couple of go to studios I have used for years now to finish music, #1 being Transmitter Park Studio in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

Where I most enjoy to begin the music making process is on small, makeshift setups of my own, in different environments that inspire me. Somewhere I’m living or staying for at least a few weeks. I’ll bring a handful of my favourite instruments, a couple important pieces of hardware, and some small monitors with a quality interface (UA apollo). I’ve done this successfully on tour in France, in Mexico City, at family places in New York, etc. It’s fun and inspiring to have both the limitations and feeling of possibility with new environments to develop a flow within. Most records you’ll hear of mine came out of some situation like this.

What is your most used piece of kit and why do you like it?

A defining piece of gear of recent years for me has been the Roland SH-101. Even if it is not out front always in my productions, using the onboard sequencer in tandem with a drum machine to help define the tempo and feeling of a tune brings an undeniable swagger and idiosyncratic feel to a performance, both live and studio. Long before the SH-101 or other synthesis, I’m a guitarist so I’ve spent years on it and will continue to always use that instrument.

Where’s the best place to listen to ‘ The Right Way’ and what should we be drinking?

Somewhere that has a bit of a directional feeling to it. A small panorama city or country view you haven’t been seeing all the time. Drink some great mezcal, wine, or a Carajillo if you’re in MX.

If someone wanted to get to know your taste, what album should they listen to?

For Dance Music: Metro Area – Metro Area (the compilation with all the 12”s)

Spectacular sunsets or meditative sunrises?

Tough choice….. Spectacular Sunsets.

Thank you for your time!

BASTARD JAZZ PRESENTS PETER MATSON ‘THE RIGHT WAY EP’ RELEASED FRIDAY 25^TH FEBRUARY