The Muffinz Interview
They describe their music as a mix up of light jazz, soul, afro-trip, funk and lil’ touch of genius to create a new type of band. Meet the The Muffinz, a five piece band with a whole crazy buzz behind them. They recently won a metro FM award (best group) and are definitely the freshest music band around. Check out our interview with The Muffinz below.
Youth Village: Who does The Muffinz consist of? And how did you meet?
The Muffinz : The Muffinz consist of five good looking guys namely:
Atomza – vocalist & effects guitar
Mtha – vocals & acoustic guitar
Skabz – vocalist & Bassist
Simz – vocalist & lead guitar
Keke – vocalist & drummer
Mtha, Atomza and Simz met at the UJ choir. Together with two other members they formed a band called Item 45. Simz and Skabz knew each other from church. Simz played bass for the band. He borrowed Skabz’s bass for one of their rehearsals. Later Skabz joined the band. Keke and Atomza played for another band. Keke was called in to play drums at a later stage.
Youth Village: How did the name The Muffinz come about?
The Muffinz : Lol the name Muffinz comes from a very dry online joke called the muffin joke. A trip to Cape Town with the UJ choir was the birth of our name. The word Muffinz is catchy and easy to remember. It also describes who we are both as individuals and the music. Different ingredients come together to create a muffin and it is God who bakes us and presents us to the world.
Youth Village: Who does what within the band?
The Muffinz : Well we are what we are at any given point. Each one of us is gifted with different talents. There are lyricists Atomza and Mtha and then we have the music arrangers Simz, Skabz and Keke. The king of vocal arranging is Simz and then we have Keke with his weird language. We also have specific roles to help manage the business side of our music.
Youth Village: What kind of music do you do?
The Muffinz : That’s a good question. Our music keeps on evolving. It’s very hard to box it in a box. But for the sake of boxes… we decided to call it Eclectic soul trip. Eclectic meaning a combination of various elements; we believe that the music is very soulful; and finally our music takes you on a journey.
Youth Village: What makes you different from other band out there?
The Muffinz : Two things stand out really. The first is that we are a guitar and drum driven band. We don’t have keyboards like traditional bands do. Second thing is that we can all sing and play at the same time. We all have quite a range.
Youth Village: What obstacles have you faced as a band? And how did you overcome them?
The Muffinz : It’s very hard to get into the music industry. It can be very hard to get people to take you seriously especially when you are starting out. But perseverance and keeping your eyes on the dream will be rewarding in the end.
Youth Village: What influences your sound?
The Muffinz : Our different musical interests have a huge impact on the sound of the band. We like experimenting a lot. Having four guitars and a drum creates a different sound all together.
Youth Village: Where do you draw inspiration from when you write songs?
The Muffinz : We right about our personal journeys; our dreams and the things we’d like to see happening in our country and in the world. We always make it a point that you travel with us on our journey.
Youth Village: Tell us briefly about your album?
The Muffinz : Our album comprises of 11 master pieces. We recorded it at Jazzworks. It was a beautiful time in our lives. Our album is our CV but the beauty is in experiencing the music on a live stage.
Youth Village: Did you have collaborations on this album?
The Muffinz : Nope, this is our first album. We wanted the world to hear who we are before working with other artists.
Youth Village: What or who inspired the song Sound Check?
The Muffinz : Funny story…, the song came about at a rock festival that we played at in 2011. We were dong sound check so we decided to jam to random chords. The jam grew into a song hence we call it soundcheck
Youth Village: Were you involved in creation process of this video (Sound Check)?
The Muffinz : Yes we were. We had to brainstorm a concept for the video. We discussed it and took it to the director only to find out that he had the same ideas as we did. He understands music and knows how to interpret it.
Youth Village: How has South Africa received you?
The Muffinz : It’s been great. We have all sorts of people loving what we do. People from different races; age groups; cultures and music preferences. We still hope to have a greater impact on South Africa in the future.
Youth Village: Do you guys prefer live performs or recording in studio? And why?
The Muffinz : Live performances for sure. There is just something about the emotions a performer gives from the stage. It electrifies you too. You feed off of it. You get to see the sincerity and honesty from the artist.
Youth Village: You’re nominated for 12 Metro Awards in the Best Newcomer and Best Group Album categories. How do you feel about this?
The Muffinz : We are humbled. We are excited that people recognise the hard work that we do. Win or lose we are truly grateful
Youth Village: When we come to your concert what can we expect?
The Muffinz : Expect to have a great time. You will be going through a lot of emotions.
Youth Village: How has the journey being like so far?
The Muffinz : It’s been remarkable. We have been through some low points and some highlights. Sometimes we don’t believe that this is really happening to us.
Youth Village: What do you think about the standard of music in this country?
The Muffinz : It has great potential to be better than ever. We have our legends that we really respect and thank them for paving the way for us. It is up to us to take it to the nest level. We need to pave the way for the next generation.
Youth Village: What is one thing you would like to change about the music industry?
The Muffinz : It would be great for musicians to share knowledge with each other. We need to support each other. Help each other grow. The spirit of completion is killing us softly.
