Matoma is an artist with a storybook rise, and this week has hit a career milestone. The Norwegian producer and DJ notoriously came to fame when he made his version of a mashup so noteworthy, it was a viral hit at a time when originals were the way of the past. But "Old Thing Back" was received so well by the public – and later Ja Rule and the estate of The Notorious B.I.G. that Matoma was able to make the release official. Now after nearly four years of releasing his own original work, he's released his debut album with a title track that certainly describes his career so far, One In A Million.
Since his breakout track, Matoma has developed his career through consistent production with a strong point of view. House-influenced with a pop sensibility, he's achieved hit singles while having a settled presence in multiple avenues of music. One of these is a more recent venture as he joins producers like Dillon Francis and Afrojack in their collaboration with Latin artists. For Matoma, this means working with the cream of the crop – artists like Enrique Iglesias and Yashua. Though not all of One In A Million has Latin music as its inspiration – Matoma has collaborated with pop artists like Noah Kahan and Noah Cyrus among them – the look is a significant one from an artist exploring a relevant, new direction.
In celebration of One In A Million, Matoma has shared some of his favorite Latin pop tracks in his own words.
Enrique Iglesias – Bailando
Matoma & Enrique Iglesias – I Don't Dance (Withouy You) feat. Konshens
I won't lie, 'Hero' has to be one of my favourite all time songs from growing up. It's just so emotional and Enrique's voice is seriously like no one else's, it's just insane. But I think 'Bailando' was really the song that started my passion for latin music. I think like it did for a lot of people around the world when it came out, it just had this pure vibe and energy that transcended language – and so I had to remix it!! It was one of my first ever productions and it got such amazing reaction that in my heart I knew that Enrique with some Matoma flavour was a winning combination! So it was a bucket list goal to work with Enrique one day on a new single and I still have to pinch myself that this incredible song is now out. 'I Don't Dance (Without You)' is about not being able to do something you enjoy without the one you love. I think like all my favourite Latin songs it centers around a dance floor!
Yashua – Mamasita
Matoma – Don't Say What You Want To feat. Yashua
Yashua – Silencio
I was introduced to this new artist called Yashua from a writing camp in Miami, and this song 'Mamasita' was the only song he had online. His voice blew me away – so smooth! So we worked together and made this song that I just loved called 'Don't Say What You Want To' about not wanting your love to call it quits because you have too much passion to let her go without a fight. He was in LA when we premiered it live for the first time at the sold out Fonda who and it was insane…the kid can dance!!!! After that he released his new big single called 'Silencio' and topped the viral charts in all latin markets. I really hope he blows up, he's a great artist and I'm honoured to have made this song with him.
Sebastián Yatra – Por Perro feat. Luis Figueroa
Matoma – Telepatía feat. Luis Figueroa
This is one of these lightning moments where something great comes together so quickly! I first heard Luis Figueroa on this track called 'Por Perro' that he featured on and I loved his voice and flow, so tried to get in touch with his team to collaborate. Within a couple weeks I was in Miami with him and some other great writers and we literally made this new song 'Telepatía' in one day!! It's about this unspoken communication that you can have with your partner on the dance floor and I just loved that idea. Again, on a dance floor haha!
Overall I think that is what has inspired me to collaborate with some of these great latin artists – it's the passion and vibe and energy that I'm really drawn to. The same way when I was growing up and I heard Biggie and 2Pac that I was drawn to their stories without knowing enough English to understand what they were saying…but I just felt it. For me it's the same with a lot of amazing latin music that I'm being exposed to, and I think like many people you get seduced by the passion and the ingredients that transcend language. That's always the Matoma vibe and I'm excited to always collaborate with people that inspire me and evolve my sound every day.
