Yacht Funk marks the debut release and artist debut of Matsu Fox (Mats Voshol). Recording the EP on a boat harboured in ‘the middle of nowhere’ in The Netherlands, this studio setting provided a creative realm in which he was completely free to experiment. On the writing process Mats remarks: ‘Having experienced serious grief due to the loss of my brother, writing songs with lyrics felt like an effective way to transform my feelings into a message that is positive or at least hopeful in a way, and perhaps useful to others in a similar situation. It took a while for me to realise that it is relevant and acceptable to write lyrics in a clear fashion about my personal experience - that lyrics don't have to be a complex literary master piece to express myself or evoke feeling in the listener: simple and direct formulations of human experience have a certain power. That being said, I wanted to place my suffering in a groovy and positive environment - this is reflected in the dynamic between the lyrics the compositions. I believe that transforming pain into something positive requires placing those heavy emotions in a different, dynamic context. I found that context in upbeat music. That’s the spirit in which I want to navigate the trying elements of life: I refuse to feel embarrassed about my pain.’

Dance is another key word that comes to mind when describing Mats’ music. His tracks are self-described as ‘Yacht Funk’, jokingly referencing ‘Yacht Rock’, similar in the characteristic of catchy melodies and prominent vocals. Although the recording process was a solitary undertaking (with the exception of the performance of one bass line on ‘Cash Money’ by collaborator Nana Adjoa), the fruits of his labour are hard to sit still to. He mentions Shuggie Otis and Ruben Nielson as inspirations in creative approach, those recluse individuals who create a funky world of their own, a wish prior to that of being heard by the general public. With a nod to the mid-70’s funk/soul era (one of his favourites being Supertramp), his tracks are better characterised as lo-fi with a bit of hi-fi rather than the other way around, and modern in that sense of musical trends - although the synthesis of new and old is reflected again in the fact that the tracks were mixed through tape machine. Suffice to say, Mats establishes himself as a promising new pop artist on the Dutch musical scene with his first EP, unpretentious but skilled, lyrically serious but positive and upbeat.