Melancolía by Peter Matson feat. Pahua

Melancolía is the second single taken from the upcoming album Hotel PM, the debut solo offering from Brooklyn-based musician/producer Peter Matson.

Art by Bastard Jazz Recordings

Straight to the point and to the dance floor, Melancolía is a funky, unrelenting workout of a massively layered afro disco instrumentation that, with the addition of Pahua’s beautiful vocals, seems to cry out "freestyle" classic immediately. No matter if you’re a bit more of a crate-digging afro-disco re-issue head or just a proper clubgoer who dreams of the heyday of Miami Sound Machine and imagines what it might’ve been like cruising South Beach when "Dr. Beat" first premiered on the radio; this beat's for you…

The lyrics of “Melancolía” explore themes of internal struggle, the search for freedom and confrontation with the past. As the protagonist, I go through difficult moments that contain emotional ties or restrictive circumstances in order to find strength in oneself, inviting us to open our eyes to understand the importance of personal liberation, empowerment, and resilience.
Pahua

This song might have a timeless quality about it, but it very much is owed to its time & place of creation. Jammed through the rose-colored glasses of pandemic-era Mexico City, this collaboration with longtime friends Peter & Pahua Sotomayor was, in many ways, a natural fit. Peter has been traveling from New York to Mexico City to make music and perform for years now, and vice-versa with Pahua.

Having shared many a bill and artistic hangout, it came time to properly hit the studio together - a simple demo beat with a whiny, circular SH-101 bassline constructed at home in the San Miguel Chapultepec neighborhood led over to Pahua’s studio in Narvarte and further abroad to collect Sly5thAve’s beautiful string flourishes and the airtight horn work of Ibibio Sound Machine’s Max Grunhard & Scotty Baylis in their London pad. The result of this layered disco journey is just that.

A groove you never really want to end, begging for eager dancers, remixers, and a ‘just for kicks’ music video Peter & Pahua shot one day wandering the city with Mexican director Diego Olguín.

Peter Matson feat. Pahua - Melancolía
Release Date 7th March 2025
Label Bastard Jazz Recordings

Tracklist
1. Peter Matson feat. Pahua - Melancolía