Mateus Asato teams up with LA singer-songwriter Annalé on her new single, Goodbye

One month after announcing a break from music and social media, Mateus Asato has lent his six-string chops to LA-based musician Annalé on her new track, Goodbye.

A reworking of her Korean-language single of the same name, Goodbye – alongside Asato – also features Filipino actor/singer-songwriter Iñigo Pascual and Malaysian music production group MFMF. Take a listen below:

In a statement, a far more upbeat-sounding Asato describes the track as “refreshment to the soul”.

“The happiness found through the melodic path makes a perfect marriage with the vocal harmonies,” he says. “Everything fits so well! Being part of this song is a big privilege to me – especially for having the opportunity of collaborating with such talented artists. I am beyond proud of this final result.”

In a new Instagram post, Annalé writes: “I am so grateful to have collaborated with such talented artists! Love the diversity of the artists involved in this project... bringing Korean-American, Filipino, Brazilian and Malaysian all together in one song.”

Asato – arguably social media's biggest breakout guitar star – shut down his Instagram account and announced a break from music last month, citing the “overwhelming” pressures of social media and loss of inspiration due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a statement posted to his account shortly before its termination, Asato admitted he hadn't “played guitar for three weeks”, writing: “I honestly don't remember staying away from my source of creation for so long. 

“This feels very weird because I don't even feel the excitement of grabbing my guitar to enjoy the goodness and blessings that music creates on us artistically.”

At the time of its shutdown, Asato's Instagram account had garnered over 1 million followers. His work also earned him spots playing with artists including Tori Kelly and Renforshort, and led Forbes to proclaim he was “changing the guitar forever”.