It was evident by the third time I had seen The Muffinz live that they were destined for bigger things. It was at The Loft in Melville where one Sunday afternoon this little bakkie rocked up and five young musicians clambered out and began off-loading a barrage of musical instruments. Two of them struggled with a big bass amp, then there was guitar after guitar after guitar. They are The Muffinz.
There was no stage for them, or even a sound engineer. They did their own sound check and used a jazzed-up version of a Metallica hit. I was intrigued, even more so because they were young black men who know Metallica, and instead of assuming the DJ position – one hand on the headphones and the other twiddling silly knobs for no effect except to look good – they were actually playing musical instruments.
It was enough to prolong my stay on the streets of Melville. That night I discovered The Muffinz world, and what an enchanting world it is.
Lead singer Atomza opened his mouth and the tiny audience was immediately captivated. His voice is perhaps best described as a young Michael Jackson meets Usher, with a twist of rock. And this is no exaggeration. Just his voice alone means he is destined for great things.
Then it was the turn of drummer Keke to take the mic. Think wistful Senegalese sounds meeting sexy rumba rhythms and you’re only just getting there.
Acoustic guitarist Mthae brings a deep R&B feel with his voice, while bassist Skabz and lead electric guitarist Simz end it off with jazz/a capella harmonies. And that’s just in the first four songs. That’s also excluding their strong knowledge of their instruments and their underlying rock feel. It’s also excluding the fact that they are way easy on the eye.
By week three of their residency they were packing out The Loft with varied audiences of young and old, black and white, hipsters and rockers, gay and straight. Celebrities like the YFM Twins and Eric Miyeni, musicians like Kabomo, Pebbles and RJ Benjamin were fans.
Their sets were stretching from 8pm until 2am every Sunday night.
Where they were clever was that they chose to do a residency, something that live bands haven’t done since the Nineties. However, residencies are a good way to build up a loyal following at the beginning of a young band’s career. Six months in and the word had spread.
Maverick indie label Just Music, owned by the visionary Karl Anderson, got wind of their following and decided to investigate the hype.
The Muffinz agreed to Anderson attending a practice in their rehearsal room deep in the bowels of the UJ (formerly RAU) campus.
In fact, that band has a musical affinity with UJ as three of the members met when they belonged to the UJ Choir.
Anderson was blown away. Next, The Muffinz were recording at the famous and highly respected Jazzworx studio in Randburg. The band say they were overwhelmed by the artists who had recorded there – everyone from Lira to HHP to members of Skwatta Kamp.
They did live pre-production with producers Robin Kohl, Tebogo Moloto and Leroy Croft. When that worked and Just Music and The Muffinz were happy with the way their relationship was evolving, the deal was signed and the five-piece band went into the studio to realise the dream of their first album.
Of the album and their attitude to performing live, Atomza had this to say: “The Muffinz are a band that have a message. We are not a band which has three words for five minutes.
“The way people see live South African music is going to change,” he continued. “The Muffinz is a movement, a cause. South Africa hasn’t been grooming young musos to play music, outside of jazz. Because if it’s not jazz it’s not acceptable. But there are a lot of us out there who play instruments outside of jazz. Having said that, we avoid the hype. Hype does not define you. We are not the cool kids. We want to play places where people listen to us.”
Added Mthae: “This has been a journey of discovery. It was only six months in that we realised we can change things. You can’t fight what you’re called for.”
Simz summed up the goal of The Muffinz: “Our main objective is to change the world one ear at a time.”
If there is one album to buy in 2012 it is The Muffinz – Have You Heard? And you read it here first – one day this band is going to be the biggest thing to come out of SA.