MMPI 2015. p: Aaron Blatt
It may be early August, but there’s still plenty of summer left before the snow flies. North America is gripped in a heat wave, pools are full, boats are fueled, and mountain trails are perfect for ripping pre-season if you’re pedaling. Since there’s still plenty of warm weather left, we want to help you make the most out of the summer days and nights and who better to provide a proper season’s soundtrack than snowboarding’s most celebrated musical tastemaker, DJ Matty Mo. This East Coast-born-turned-Salt Lake-local has logged more time appealing to the auditory impulses of the most dedicated snowboarders than arguably anyone else, from his golden residency playing Mount Hood’s hottest summer nights back in the day to providing the jams for contests and events all over, including Holy Bowly, Hot Dawgz and Hand Rails, and Bode Merrill’s MMPI, and many, many more. In order to maximize your August before cool air sets in, we tapped Matty to provide a summer 2016 playlist, perfect for mellow mornings, activity-filled afternoons, and nights spent getting down.
You are the de facto dance party king, from legendary Mt. Hood evenings, to tons of snowboarding events, to your SLC Wednesday nights, your playlists are infamous throughout snowboarding (and beyond). What goes into creating a set for a solid shindig? Is there a fair bit of spur of the moment decisions on what you’re playing as well, depending on the crowd and vibe?
I would say my dance party sets are about 30% planned, but for the most part I’m just feeding off the energy from the crowd/venue. I come up with some of my best ideas on the fly, so I try to not overthink things too much. That being said, I always try to prepare a little something special for each one of my gigs to keep things fresh.
HDHR 2015. r: Brandon Hobush. p: Mike Yoshida
While it goes without saying that we all miss making turns during the summer, there’s definitely plenty of warm weather activities with which to keep busy. What are your go-to summer pastimes? And big adventures planned this summer?
Mountain biking is my main summertime activity, but I also really enjoy hiking, swimming in local lakes and pools, gardening in the backyard, ripping around town on my scoot, and getting out on a boat for some wake surfing. As for big summer plans, I’m always hyped to make it up to Mt Hood to DJ Bode’s minipipe event and see all the homies, board/bike, and hit the coast. There has also been talk of a trip to Costa Rica at some point in late summer/early fall. That would be boss!!
Lick the Karaoke in Salt Lake. p: T. Bird
Musical inspirations? Bands, DJs, artists? Who are you listening to?
I get inspired by everything and everyone around me. I’m fortunate to know some badass individuals, so there is never a lack of inspiration.
Bands: SLC Locals, Hot Vodka and Max Pane and the Groovies.
DJs: DJ Jazzy Jeff, DJ AM, DJ Craze, DJ Ayres, Skratch Bastid. I’m also constantly inspired by my DJ homies who are out there grinding. You know who you are!
Artists: Cig Burna and Kyle Bent.
Who I’m listening to: In addition to all the genres mentioned above, I listen to a ton of golden era hip hop. Stuff like Nas, Mobb Deep, Wu, Tribe Called Quest, Big L, The Beatnuts, etc. As for newer rap, I fucks with Joey Badass, Action Bronson, J-Cole, Big KRIT, Smoke DZA and cats like that. I also enjoy some ignorant rap music like Jeezy, Waka, Rick Ross, Migos, 2 Chaniz, YG, etc. You know, retard rap….hahaha.
For my summertime playlist, I thought it could be cool to break it down as a day in the life.
Mornings: I like to start my mornings off with some funk, soul and good food.
– Bill Withers, “Lovely day”. One of my all time favorites, and it really gets me going in the morning.
– Darondo, “Luscious Lady”. Darondo has the best voice, and really I love this beat! Another perfect morning song!!
Holy Bowly 2016. r: Jeff Keenan. p: Mary Walsh
Kickin’ it: Whether its chillin’ at the pool, working in the garden, or whatever mellow summer activity I’m doing, I like to listen to some feel good hip hop/tropical house-type shit.
– Notorious BIG, “Mo Money, Mo Problems (Naxsy remix)”. Naxsy makes some really cool tropical remixes. Check him out!
– Post Malone, “Go Flex (Tuner remix)”. I fucks with Post Malone. This remix is pretty stoyach, too!
– G-Eazy, “Me, Myself, and I (Viceroy remix)”. I have mixed feelings about G-Eazy, but Viceroy is freakin’ amazing and really killed it on this remix.
MTB: When its time to go “melt my dick off” aka mountain bike, it’s gotta be some rock ‘n roll or metal.
– Metallica, “Battery”. That buildup is too good!
– Black Sabbath, “Under the Sun”. This song gets me super hyped when I’m mountain biking. Also, I used to watch Baker 3 on repeat and Braydon Szafranski’s part was always one of my favs.
Occupy Bone Zone. p: Scotty Arnold
Club/Turn up: When its time to get shit popping later in the evening, I listen to all types of shit, but when its time to turn up, I’m gonna be listening to rap, trap, and whatever dope EDM remixes are out at that time.
– DJ Shadow ft. Run The Jewls, “Nobody Speak”. I heavily fucks with everyone involved with this record. All of them are amazing artists!
– Pusha T and Future ft. Baauer, “Kung Fu”. Been a fan of Push since the early Clipse days. Future is aight, but Baauer really crushed it on the production. Club banger!!
– Drake, “Still Here (Lemi Vice and Action Jackson Remix)”. Sometimes you gotta listen to Drake….Turn Up!
Late night: At the end of the night I like to listen to some laid back shit. Typically its either afro/soul-type stuff, or some weird electronica/trip-hop shit.
– Menahan Street Band, “The Traitor”. I just love the strings and horns on this joint.
– Missy, “Sock it to me (Kaytranada remix)”. Kay’s putting out some really cool music these days. This will always be one of my favorite remixes from him.
You can keep up with Matty Mo’s schedule and make sure you’re in the mix when he’s playing on his Facebook page and Instagram, @matty_mo.
Read the full White Noise: Summer ’16 playlist with DJ Matty Mo article on Snowboarder Magazine.