Features : Mateo Angel Leans on Nostalgia for his Wistful Summer Hit ‘dreamin’

Singer, songwriter, and producer Mateo Angel just released his romantic new single, “dreamin.” Through smooth production and dreamy pop vocals, Mateo Angel welcomes listeners to dive into his unique blend of pop and indie, straight from his bedroom studio.

Born in New York and raised in San Antonio, Texas, Mateo Angel first fell in love with music in high school and, later, in college, where he sang acapella in a group. “Once that ended, I wanted to sing and make music,” shares the artist. “So, I started doing it myself.” Mateo Angel’s foray into creating music began with Garage Band, which he taught himself, and transitioned to Logic when he mastered the former. He first released music under his school’s record label and ventured on his own thereafter.

Pop music is the genre that brings Mateo Angel to life. He cites Lorde and Carli Rae Jepson among his greatest influences. “I gravitated toward bubble gum sweet pop music. It changed a lot for me,” shares Mateo Angel. He taught himself to produce pop and see each song through from beginning to end.

When it comes to writing music, Mateo Angel focuses first on the beat. “I find the synth I like and chord progression I’ve been into. I’ll keep that on loop for a while, as melodies pop up. It’s all gibberish until I fill in the blanks with lyrics as time goes on.”

“Dreamin” is a song that took this road to completion. “I wanted to make a sweet summer song. I kept it simple with the instruments. I wanted it to be a nostalgic, organic beat. It came together super quickly.” The song was driven by the hopeful feeling that a relationship would materialize with Mateo Angel’s love interest at the time.

“I was hoping for a summer love or fling or something like that. In an overdramatic fashion, I didn’t get a text for a week from this person, so I started catastrophizing. There were no memories to mourn, just fantasies and the idea of them. It was the hope of a summer love I was mourning,” he adds.

“I was trying to get over that as quickly as I could, reminiscing on what I would’ve liked it to be.” Jumping to every conclusion possible, Mateo Angel laughs about how delusional the entire situation became. “When you’re in the thick of it, you don’t realize it.”

Leaning on the nostalgic elements of the song, Mateo Angel takes listeners through a journey of emotion and memory—and as far as experiences that they never had. “It’s a dream sound,” explains Mateo Angel. “The lyrics make it personal to anyone. People would love the idea of a summer romance with long road trips/vacations and getting to know another person. Whether or not they relate to it, it’s something they want as well.”

Instead of designing “dreamin” as a summer song, Mateo Angel worked through the original elements to extend it farther than one season. The upcoming visuals for the single will further open the listener to the song’s timeless appeal.

Listeners can look forward to new music from Mateo Angel leading up to an album next year. “My plan is to get outside my comfort zone,” shares Mateo Angel. “As an artist, I always want to tell stories with my music. I want to create worlds people can put themselves in. I want to continue to challenge myself and morph my writing, diversify my sound and unique voice.”

Make sure to stay connected to Mateo Angel on all platforms for new music, videos, and social posts.

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