Altered Zones

When you ask a millennial musician what their influences are, you tend to anticipate the Kid A, Merriweather answer even without hearing their tunes. So when Los Angeles-based producer matthewdavid, born Matthew David McQueen, says with all sincerity that he takes his inspiration from "plants, wind, water and sun", expect soundscapes that remain faithful to lush and organic textures, often taken from his collection of self-made field recordings. On his forthcoming International EP, set to be released on Brainfeeder this March, matthewdavid meshes these influences with the hazy beats and glowing synth work that's come to characterize the work of fellow "L.A. beat scene" folks like Kutmah, Daedalus, and FlyLo. On the title track, below, vox by Atlanta's Dog Bite coo over a palette of fluttering drums and sax splashes, leaving the listener in a sun-glazed reverie. --Daniel Gottlieb

When you've finished mining for every matthewdavid track you can find, swing over to his Leaving Records imprint for other beacons of rhythmic wizadry like Sumsun (who recently gave Altered Zones a sampler of matthewdavid in his January mix) and dak. You can also read our interview with matthewdavid from back in November, which profiled the label.

MP3: matthewdavid [ft. Dogbite]: "International"

International EP is out March 8th via Brainfeeder