Matpat's guide to Philadelphia

Starting at the age of 13 with a crate of his big brothers records Matpat has taken the time to develop a sound of his own rooted in House Music, all the while acquiring a wide breadth of musical knowledge to underpin his ethos of "playing the right song for the right moment". As a producer he has released on a range of different labels including Derrick Carter’s Persnickety All Stars & Stretch Armstrong's Plant Music. Mat's productions have gained support from DJ’s such as Kerri Chandler (dropping "Everybody Rise" on the Essential Mix), Laurent Garnier, Blessed Madonna, Maya Jane Coles, Fred P, DJ Sprinkles, Jamie Jones, Skream, Lucy, Joris Voorn, & Busy P among others.

Following on from his second release of 2024 which DJ Matpat collaborates with fellow Philadelphian & soul singer Fawziyya Heart for the love drenched deep house summer jam ‘Hold Your Hand’, Matpat takes us on a journey through his favorite Philly spots from this musically rich city…

‘Philly is a great city with a lot to offer and being so close to NYC (1:20 min train ride) it's a great stop for a long weekend. Here's a few things to definitely check out.’

Great Circles is a record shop and an online radio station based in the Fishtown/Kensington area of the city. It's a great home base to see what is going on in the city and has a nice collection of alternative vinyl selections. They also throw a semi-regular live ambient event that is excellently curated and hits the spot for those that love purest ambient music. With regular dj shows including my monthly, it's a solid source to keep a finger on the pulse of the city.

https://www.facebook.com/GreatCircles/

Impressions is a second-hand record store that specialises in slectronic and dance records. It's run by the subsurface crew who have a stage at the Making Time Festival which I got to play last year. Grab some records and chat over a coffee, it's another good place to find some dance parties. Check out Impressions on Instagram

Club Congress... I gotta self promote my own house music party, it's about to hit 10 years and we are gonna throw a big one to celebrate! Though we move the party around a lot, Shang and I keep our regular residents night every 3rd Saturday at the Dolphin, a classic south philly dive bar turned dance club.

Vicarious Love is a quarterly Art Market, it moves venues/spaces but is always well curated with artists, records & music. It definitely feels like a gathering of minds at every event and is an awesome space to support local artists. Check out Vicarious Love on Instagram.

Philly is a huge food city with so many great restaurants and bars that it's hard to pick just one but the Reading Terminal has a bit of everything. It's a nice place to walk around and try different things from Dieners, which has the best smoked chicken wings, to Hershels a spot on Ruben. It's also right next to Chinatown and a short walk to downtown.

Here's a list of some of my other favs throughout the city...

Darnels Cakes 

Hymies Deli

Cosmi's Deli

Pho Ha

Angelinos 

Silk City

Terakawa Ramen

Ho Sai Gai

Max's

Buy/listen to 'Hold your Hand' here

www.clubbyboy.com