The late '90s and early 2000s are super hot right now -- just look at Calvin Harris and Porter Robinson's latest releases -- but where a lot of producers echo sophisticated cheese, Mat Zo dug deep into hard-edged soul. His forthcoming three-track release This Is a Mad Zoo House EP shines with inspiration from '90s French touch and '70s classics. It's a bold collection of funk-fueled grooves that'll have you struttin' midnight streets. He also says it was a lot of fun to make.

We caught up with Mat Zo to hear more about the records and childhood memories that inspired his new retro sounds. Check out the exclusive EP breakdown below.

"Shake the Room"

This is the first track I made from the EP. When I started it, I was just having some fun, but I realized I wanted to make a collection of similar club tracks with a French-y vibe. It started with looking for old sound fonts. Most of the drums are taken from sound fonts that are decades old, spruced up to fit in a modern club setting.