A Quick Chat With Mat.Joe

Germany’s Mat.Joe is well situated to become one of the heavy hitters on the global house scene after a string of productions and remixes which have been tearing up dancefloors across the globe. Don’t bracket them in the generic tech house bracket though as the Mat.Joe sound is a unique amalgamation of contemporary house, classic hip hop and… erm… skateboard culture: Fat basslines, heavy grooves and a lot of fun. There is no doubt they are one of the current buzz acts on the global scene, and ahead of their Australian tour we got a quick 5 min with the duo to get the lowdown on what they are up to…

Originally you two got together to produce music under Twomanics, which was purely hip hop; is that project still existence?

We never stopped it, we just pressed pause. It was time to move ahead and explore new things but the last word has not been spoken.

You both grew up in the skate scene, listening to music like hip hop, R’n’B, funk, soul, punk and rock – when did tech house come into the picture?

House was always something we enjoyed listening to because one can always find parallels in all the genres above.

The techy side of things got in line over the years.What’s the best and worst part about producing as a duo?

There’s no worst part when you got similar taste and know the direction you wanna go. Besides, we’re best friends and don’t have to travel alone. There are a lot of pro’s actually!

You recently did an After Hours Mix for Pete Tong on BBC Radio 1, which was awesome! What is your favorite after hours music to listen too?
Ambient, alpha waves, grindcore.

Are there any tracks on the mix that really stand out as being one of your favourites? 
New Musik is super unique but we love every single track. This one is just a perfect mood booster.

“CrispyUrbanHouse” seems to be Mat.Joe’s motto when it comes to music. Can you describe what CrispyUrbanHouse is and what in your opinion which rack is the best example of that term?

CrispyUrbanHouse is everything you think of when you read organic elements, rusty drums, big city vibes. Something like that.

Obviously inspiration for new music can come from anywhere and everywhere but if you had to pinpoint three places that never cease to inspire, what would they be?

Berlin, New York, Melbourne!

What’s the last track that you listened to that absolutely knocked you of your feet?

Riva Starr – Dippin’ Side has a killah groove!

Mat.Joe haven’t toured Australia in two years! What have you got planned for your Australia fans? 

Smashing sets, dancing skills and Jägermeister shots hee hee hee…

What have you got planned for the rest of the year? Are you returning to a busy European summer?

Yeah, we’re playing some nice festivals this summer, working on our first ever Brazil tour and got lots of new tracks for you guys so watch out!

Tour Dates

Friday 20th May: Geisha Bar, Perth
Saturday 21st May: Sessions @ Home, Sydney
Sunday 22nd May: Revolver, Melbourne (Day)
Friday 27th May: Neck of the Woods, Auckland NZ