Cola Boyy

Cola Boyy, born Matthew Urango, shaped tracks that fused shimmering neo-disco with sophisticated R&B carrying clear traces of smooth soft rock. The resulting sound fit equally well for moving under a spinning disco ball or lounging on a sofa. Supported by the French imprint Record Makers, the Southern California native reached listeners abroad through his lively opening EP, Black Boogie Neon. On his luminous first album, Prosthetic Boombox, issued in 2021, he examined feelings of exclusion rooted in discrimination and spina bifida, aided by an array of notable collaborators.

Urango grew up in Oxnard, the same Southern California city that produced Madlib and Anderson .Paak. Congenital spina bifida created ongoing health difficulties and a sense of not belonging. That sense eased in his early teens when he encountered the local hardcore skate punk community. The discovery sparked an interest in music creation; after stints in several punk groups he became a member of the indie pop band the Sea Lions. Serving first on bass and later on lead guitar, he appeared on multiple singles and the 2011 album Everything You Always Wanted to Know About the Sea Lions But Were Afraid to Ask.

Launching solo work under the Cola Boyy name, chosen to reflect his affection for soda, he shifted toward funk and disco influences. After being noticed at a 2016 Los Angeles show, Record Makers—home to Sébastien Tellier and Kavinsky—signed him and arranged sessions in France. The initial outcome was the 2018 EP Black Boogie Neon, which included the neo-disco cut “Penny Girl” that gained club traction. That year he also opened for MGMT on tour and joined French producer Myd on the track “Muchas.” While building an international profile he remained active in Oxnard with the activist organizations Anarchist People of Colour (APOC) and Todo Poder al Pueblo.

He issued the single “All Power to the People” in 2019. In 2020 he contributed to Nicolas Godin of Air’s album Concrete and Glass and the Avalanches’ We Will Always Love You, sharing vocals with Mick Jones of Big Audio Dynamite and the Clash. During the same period he prepared his debut album, enlisting Andrew VanWyngarden of MGMT and keyboardist John Carroll Kirby as musicians and drawing on production from Corentin ‘nit’ Kerdraon, the Avalanches, infinite bisous, Godin, and Myd. Ahead of its release he cut the reggae protest track “To Be Rich Should Be a Crime” and appeared on Juan Wauters’ Real Life Situations. Cola Boyy’s first full-length, Prosthetic Boombox, assembled material touching on disco, soft rock, and R&B and was jointly issued in June 2021 by Record Makers and MGMT Records. Cola Boyy died on March 17, 2024, at the age of 34.