Mateus Asato – acclaimed guitarist and sideman to stars of the caliber of Bruno Mars and Tori Kelly – is finally stepping out on his own with the release of his debut album, ASATO, on February 27.
The album follows the Brazilian electric guitar virtuoso's first-ever solo release, Cryin’, which dropped in October, and ushers in a new era for the guitarist – one that sees him take center stage as a solo artist.
Hendrix, the first single from ASATO, is inspired by one of the very best to ever do it – Jimi Hendrix.
“Everything started after a late-night thought I had in my studio while trying to make another song for my debut album: ‘If Hendrix were alive today and we were friends… around the same age… how would he write an instrumental song?!’” Asato explains.
“After that, I had a song in 20 minutes. Everything simply just came out, and I felt like a vessel receiving melodies from above. A unique experience.”
Asato reveals that this only happened after “reading two books of his biography” and “being completely inspired by it.” Therefore, he felt like he “had no choice but [to] honor the greatest guitar hero in history.”
Spanning 10 years of creative growth, the debut album captures the breadth of Asato's evolution as both a guitarist and an artist, with a track list that includes some of his earliest compositions, like 2014's Changes, to tracks recorded in December 2024.
Ahead of his album release, Asato announced his departure from Suhr – the brand he's collaborated with for over a decade and released a string of signatures with – and also set the record straight on the rumor that he's joining Fender.
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