By Gabby Roscuata, March 24, 2026
While the world was still early in its recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic five years ago, musician Matthew Chasco and Cal Poly Pomona student musician Michael Chavez had only started to reconnect.
The duo spent the next two years hanging and jamming out. They wrote music together and bought studio gear, which allowed them to produce a few songs.
After those two years, Chasco and Chavez said they realized the music was becoming something bigger, so both agreed to give it 100% of their attention to make the best music they possibly could.
Now, their debut album released, just last month Feb. 21. Made of Velvet, a band including Chasco and Chavez, created “Junk Music,” a jazz and funk inspired album, citing their varied spectrum of influences including Prince and David Bowie, while also dipping in soul and French house references.
They coined the term used on the album title.
“It’s an inside joke between me and Matt,” Chavez said. “We take jazz chords and funk basslines and harmonies then we combine them, and that’s when we get that very signature new funk, R&B soul sound.”
The duo scattered many references throughout the album, from the production to song titles.
Chasco mentioned that they named the album’s opening track, “Haze,” after R&B singer Isaac Hayes’ last name.
The band aimed to pay homage to Hayes’ style of writing.
“It’s a very open rock ballad,” Chasco said. “It’s just slow and takes its time, like he would.”
The album art came after many failed attempts in figuring out what they wanted to represent the album. Chasco said it was weird to come up with a picture for 47 minutes of runtime.
They then commissioned Pomona artist Alex Nazaroff, who was a friend from their high school, to create the album cover. In contrast to the two who heard the songs many times, Nazaroff was only hearing it for the first time.
This was to have a fresh pair of ears that would hear the music and naturally produce the atmosphere he felt it exuded, according to Chasco.
“We had him paint that piece while listening to our album the whole time on a loop,” Chavez said.
Chasco noted fellow duo Daft Punk as influences as well, most notably on the closing track, “The Magic Door.” “Discovery,” which was an amalgamation of Daft Punk’s parents’ music tastes, was an inspiration for the album, according to Chasco.
Although they named many artists as inspirations, they said their love for music originated at home. After the duo realized they had similar backstories, as Chasco’s father was a bassist and Chavez’s was a percussionist, they decided to create a song that drew from their childhood.
“We wanted to pay homage to how we grew up and the Chicano music our families listened to,” Chasco said. “On (“I Choose You”), we had my dad on upright bass, myself on guitar, Mike on the piano and a friend (Andrew “SaxMan” Merrill) on horns.”
Junk Music also featured two other student artists, CPP music industry studies major Randell Milan and UCLA music major Moriah Contreras. This was experimental for the duo, as getting together in the studio at the same time was difficult and could only happen for a limited amount of time.
Milan is featured on three tracks, “Second Sun,” “Junk Music” and “Forbidden Fruit,” offering a performance through vocals, guitar and lyrics.
“‘Made of Velvet’ was truly refreshing,” Milan said. “There was an environment that fostered the pushing of the creative process. It was nice to collaborate because you’re getting your ideas and concepts you worked on developed in the sense of community.”
The album took five years of writing, recording and producing, which the two handled. They would schedule in days to go to the studio between going to classes and studying for exams.
According to Chavez, being a student during the process made it even more difficult.
“It’s the worst idea you could do,” Chavez said. “I’ve never been so busy in my life, but busy is good. Luckily for me, the MIS program here at Cal Poly really wants to support your journey. They teach you how to release your music, how to brand your music and how to protect yourself, like how to read and write up contracts.”
Regardless of how hard it was, Chavez said they sought to make music that gave listeners a good time. He felt music decorated time, filling the air with melodies and energy.
“Anybody can make any art and the best way to do it is just start,” Chavez said. “The hardest step is just starting. You learn by doing.”
