Mateus Asato is a guitarist’s guitar player.
For years, I’ve been following his work – first via the lick packages on JTC Guitar, and then later on via his work with various artists.
I am such a fan that years ago, I signed up not just for his first ever guitar camp, but also for his guitar clinic and for a private lesson with him in Singapore.
So, when I heard that his LP was finally coming out, I was genuinely excited.
According to Mateus himself, on his YouTube channel:
What it was initially just a simple “emotional riff” [IYKYK], ended up becoming a full song with no lyrics, but tears.
When it comes to instrumental music, I used to focus too much on the possible “down sides” of it. “What is the MESSAGE, if there is one?”. The power of a title of an instrumental song could be a perfect fit or a bunch of random nonsense words – which thankfully I’ve changed my mind about this, and now I think it’s of the coolest things about the type of music I make: it intrigues the subjectivity of the listeners.
And here’s my perspective of ‘Cryin’ – a song of multiple meanings. When I started the draft of this song back in Feb 2020, the world was facing a tough time, which got me tears of fear and uncertainty. When I finally finished this song [Feb 2024], a week before my wedding, the tears in my eyes were full of happiness and a “positive” excitement for the future. Crying could answer lots of things. It’s also the first “act of life” of an human being. It’s the sound that brings joy to mothers seeing their baby for the first time. But it is also usually “heard” in the end of it. Once we leave this life, our loved ones cry for us. It’s like the alpha & omega of the human feelings. And I named it “Cryin’” as a verb of continuous movement, symbolizing the present time of life.
In between all these explanations of what crying means to me, I decided to pick Cryin’ as my very first release as a way to express the start of my solo journey. Even though I’m in my 30’s, this song is an emotional celebration for all new beginnings of life, no matter how old you are or how much you’ve done it yet. Whether I’m alone or in front of people, crying is my own reminder of how life is: full of emotions, vulnerability, ups and downs. And here is Cryin’. Feel free to feel it as the way you want! ◡̈
And here we have it – the first single, Cryin’!
The tracks opens with a contemplative piano part before Mateus comes in with a lyrical melodic theme that sets the vibe of the piece. You can hear the Hendrix vibes immediately but not without those signature Mateus embellishments.
Coming back to the theme briefly, we then get to hear Mateus take a solo. This is what we’ve been waiting for. His tone is sublime and the lines are tasteful. The theme reappears in the background and now the solo becomes even more powerful as he shreds before disappearing as the theme returns.
The melody is hypnotic and singable and then just as you were hoping for more, the song ends. This is of course the perfect moment to loop this single again and again (which I’ve done many times since this track was released.
All in all, this is such an amazing track that highlights both Mateus Asato as a guitarist and composer. The production is superb and the music is sublime. I can’t wait for the other tracks to come!
Rating: 5/5
Stream the song here:
Spotify
Apple Music
YouTube Music
Tidal
About Mateus Asato
Mateus Asato is a Brazilian guitar player who has been considered to the media one of the “most influential guitar players” of this modern era. His name is included on Guitar World Magazine’s list of the TOP 10 Guitarists of the Decade (2020), #3 TOP Guitarist Right Now (via Total Guitar 2020), and his latest appearance was on Guitar World Magazine in 2022, being on number #14 of the list of ‘Hottest Guitar Players In The World’.
Asato has worked with some of the greatest names of the music industry nowadays, from all different styles, such as Bruno Mars, Silk Sonic, Jessie J, Tori Kelly, Selena Gomez, Carrie Underwood, Elevation Worship, Planetshakers, Israel Houghton, Oficina G3, Joe Satriani (G4), Extreme, Sandy, Resgate, DJ Snake, The Band Camino, LANY, Polyphia, Kiko Loureiro, The Technicolors, Fresno, Jesus Molina, Anomalie, Kinga Glyk, Tiago Iorc, Luan Santana & many others.
[Submissions for Review Consideration]
If you are an artist, record label or press outreach interested for me to feature your new release on this site, please email me at azsamad3 at gmail dot com.
I prefer physical CD submissions whenever possible alongside streaming/download links. Do not attach any files to the email but include Dropbox/Google Drive links.
I cannot guarantee a review for every submission & if I’m not too into it, I may opt not to review it. I mean, it’s better to get a good review that for me to write a bad review just because it’s not a match for the kind of stuff I dig right? :p
NOTE: All reviews reflect my honest personal opinion so be aware that I will point out both cool Pros and Cons that I see in the work. Thanks!