  We explore the connection between the process of relaxation in the BMN matrix
model and the physics of black holes in AdS/CFT. Focusing on Dyson-fluid
solutions of the matrix model, we perform numerical simulations of the real
time dynamics of the system. By quenching the equilibrium distribution we study
the quasi-normal oscillations of scalar single trace observables, we isolate
the lowest quasi-normal mode, and we determine its frequencies as function of
the energy. Considering the BMN matrix model as a truncation of $\mathcal{N}=4$
SYM, we also compute the frequencies of the quasi-normal modes of the dual
scalar fields in the AdS$_5$-Schwarzschild background. We compare the results,
and we find a surprising similarity.
