Review: Peter Matson - Hotel PM (Bastard Jazz Recordings)

We knew this album would be good, but it gets a full 5 star Hotel rating for PM, AM and all the bits inbetween!

Fans of Hotel Inspector, 4-In-A-Bed and all those other shows know that after you've booked in, you've got to go digging for the dirt, stains and long hairs.  Well, there ain't no bad bits on this 10 track debut solo album of  the Brooklyn based musician/producer/DJ and co-leader of the band Underground System

We were pretty excited a couple of months ago when we heard Peter Matson's 'White Noise' together with his collaboration with Toribio on 'S.Y.G' (see review HERE) so he's more than delivered with thit bastardized jazz with groove and funk and boogie and disco and Balearics and even synth-pop.

'Alien' is typical of the bright disco vibe the underpins the album with with lots of electronic twiddling big strings whilst for a 'solo' album, he ropes in his mates Pahua (on 'Melancolía', she also check out the new JKriv EP, 'Intuition' - see review HERE), Kendra Morris ('White Noise'), members of The Rapture and Poolside [lovetempo is so hot right now] plus Ibibio Sound Machine which gives it a 'live' sound. 

Phenomenal Handclap Band (another JKriv favourite) feature on 'Never Know' whilst 'Shaky Escalator' (featuring Underground System) ain't going to get much in the way of many radio plays in this form as a clean edit/instrumental/dub might be a good idea.

Talking of instrumentals and no ideas, where's 'Lew Beach'? (Ed. or is it a person?) Even so, you'll want to spend you're summer there and it's one of three instrumental tracks that stand-out like the dubby jazz horn on 'Lobby Call'.

'Alien' is one of the hit tracks with super lush strings and it's summer ready beach appeal and I'll challenge you to not have it as a bed fellow to lovetempo this year (check out 'But I Do' remixes HERE)

'Hotel PM' is a bit like a chain in that is was recorded across cities like London, New York, and Mexico and has different room themes but all are variants of dancefloor, from the opener 'Lobby Call' or the closer, '18th Floor'.

Can't say enough good stuff about this album that'll definitely feature in the 'Best Of' 2025 list!

BUY LINK: https://ffm.to/hotelpm.GC

Artist: Peter Matson

Title: Hotel PM

Release date: 4th April, 2025

Label : Bastard Jazz Recordings

Catalog Number :  TBC

Format: Vinyl (pre-order) / Digital / Bandcamp  

Review: Peter Matson - White Noise ft. Kendra Morris (Bastard Jazz Recordings)

Peter Matson's 'White Noise' is the first single from Brooklyn-based musician/producer Peter Matson (co-leader of Underground System) with debut solo LP, 'Hotel PM'

It's been nearly a year since F.I.D.E.L's 'Out Of Sight' (see review HERE) and Buscrates' 'Control Centre' (see review HERE), Simon Mavin's 'Good Hair Day / Only You & Me' (see review HERE) and Casa Bonita (see review HERE) so, even as fans of the label, is it any wonder that a new release is quality?

If you're in the Razor-N-Tape, lovetempo, Star Creature post-disco envelope this is a monster for you!  No surprise that Peter knows all the local big heads having worked with JKriv and Ibibio Sound Machine in the past whilst Kendra Morris has connections with Cinema/TV and the hip-hop scene including MF DOOM (Ed. she'll be a fan of the MF Teen 'tribute' - see review HERE).

Not only that, fans of 'Daylight' (see review HERE) and friends of Toribio joined together with Peter on 'S.Y.G' - check it out below.

This 'White Noise' is nothing like BBC's Radiophonic Workshop's experimental 'White Noise'  but I hope we get an instrumental/disco-dub remix to go along with this as it's far too short (4:21) with all those lucious strings.

 

Artist: Peter Matson

Title: White Noise

Release date: 7th Februaty, 2025

Label : Bastard Jazz Recordings

Catalog Number :  TBC

Format: Vinyl (pre-order) / Digital / Bandcamp