Album Notes

Named after a rare TV comedy skit reference, King of Spain is Matt Slate, former guitarist for 90’s emo-darlings Pohgoh and The Maccabees (both out of Tampa, FL). Here’s how he feels about his first solo outing:

“…at 31, I started writing songs again. Now, it's enough time where I'm not just the guy from Pohgoh or the guy from The Maccabees… it’s quite different, a whole new resurgence.”

In 2006, after a 5 year hiatus from making, writing and/or performing music of any kind, Slate decided to take matters into his own hands, literally. He purchased a Zoom MRS-1680 self-contained studio and set up shop. What was originally intended as lo-fi handouts for friends and at performances slowly began to evolve into Entropy, Slate’s solo debut for New Granada Records.

Taking cues from the Brians (Wilson and Eno), The One AM Radio, Portastatic and many other (at one time or another) one-man acts, Slate recorded his inaugural venture in the leisure of his own home, creating a singer/songwriter album stretching convention normally associated with this genre.

Entropy, with it’s warm combination of layered vocals, guitar effects, loops, household items as percussion, and other subtle (and not so subtle) nuances, is a pensive yet eclectic collection of songs and sounds.

“King of Spain reigns with atmospheric majesty, space and subtlety”
– TBT/Tampa Bay Times