As the sun began its final descent over the Manhattan skyline, and Ferhplay finished his set at the Hilltop stage, another figure emerged to take his place. Wearing a Superman t-shirt, a flatbrimmed hat, and brandishing an ear-to-ear smile, Mat Zo took command of the decks. What happened next was nothing short of a masterful blending of tunes which set the Electric Zoo Hilltop tent alight.

After beginning brilliantly with Pryda‘s “Layers,” and using the classic vocal from Dajaé‘s “Everyday My Life,” Mat Zo continued onwards by creating a smorgasbord of increasingly delicious track combinations. The fusion of Above & Beyond‘s “Sun & Moon” vocal and “Strobe” by Deadmau5 made the perfect early sing-along, which Zo promptly dropped into the increasingly popular “Boneless” by Steve Aoki, Chris Lake, & Tujamo. By this time, it was all eyes on Matan, and the Hilltop crowd was really ready to rock the funky beat.

Mat Zo combined “Pyramid Scheme” with Above & Beyond’s “Walter White” for a massive roar of approval from the crowd. More of Mat Zo’s original creations and remixes followed, including “Rebound” with Arty, which drew cries of pure joy from the assembled army of fans. Matan also fluidly snuck in one of his own unreleased creations, “Caller ID,” to change up the tempo, which worked to great effect. His also unreleased remix of “Recurring Dream” by MRSA & Parallax brought a refreshing break from the onslaught of massive electro house tracks that followed, all of which capitalized on the crowd’s energy in the later afternoon.

One such mashup that made the crowd jump so much they shook the floor was his combination of Hardwell‘s “Spaceman” and The Prodigy‘s “Breathe.” Elements of trance scattered throughout, including the melodic breakdown from Tangle & Mateusz’ “Basilisk,” gave the set a mystical and otherworldly atmosphere at times, which Matan would promptly smash with an earth-shattering track, such as Knife Party‘s “EDM Death Machine.”

As the end to his set came about, it was only appropriate for Mat Zo to finish with a combination of his and Porter Robinson‘s “Easy,” the Botnek remix of “Easy,” and Firebeatz & Schella‘s “Dear New York.” Every single person in the Hilltop tent had their hands up, which was an awesome sight to behold. The crowd (and myself) were certainly sad to see Matan go, but his live sets are genuinely something special, and this one was no exception. Everyone who chose to embark upon Mat Zo’s musical journey that day left the tent with that same smile Matan brought with him.

Listen to Mat Zo’s entire Electric Zoo set here:

Photos by Jake Lifschultz

Tags: electric zoo, mat zo

Categories: Music