“I created this music because I wasn’t hearing my story or anything I found relatable, and this helped me through my darkest times.”—Danny Matos on his new album, Caged Are The Songs That Set Me Free
After releasing his great 2016 project, The Tarmac, Danny Matos was at a crossroads. The gifted New Yorker had already written much of what is now featured on his stellar new album, Caged Are The Songs That Set Me Free, but he wasn’t sure what to do with them. But it was through listening to those songs and embracing their beauty and pain that he was able to share them with the world—or, in his words, set them free. He also had the help of Rusty Mack, a multi-instrumentalist and fellow New Yorker who produced the entire album.
“It took my almost a year to create these songs and to arrange them in the way they are presented within the album,” Matos explains. “Ironically, due to my own self-sabotage and second guessing, the very songs that set me free become caged by own internal influences.”
Luckily for his fans, Matos was able to push through this personal hardships, which he chronicles on singles “Movin’ On” and “Oasis,” to bring this album to light. He is a talented songwriter—and rapper and vocalist—whose gripping lyricism can also capture the highs and lows of life within a catchy four-minute track. Just listen to how he eviscerates the modern media landscape on “Strobe Lights,” all while delivering one of his most upbeat and braggadocious tracks to date.
Musically, Matos says everything came together so naturally because of his shared kinship with producer Rusty Mack. The two have worked together for several years now, but Matos never consider what they do as “work.”
“A lot of these songs came together in a way that will always feel magical to me,” he says. “I think Rusty and I worked well together because although we are two different people, we share similar pain – and ain’t that the truth for so many people?”
It certainly is, and it’s why CATSTSMF is such an important and incredibly relevant project. It arrives at a time when we as a society are moving closer to better understanding how we handle mental illness, even if we’re not completely there yet. The 21 track effort has arrived through all digital retailers and streaming platforms!
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