Flying Away Jon Muq

• 1Runaway03:41
• 2One You Love03:16
• 3Shake Shake03:40
• 4Lucky Love02:18
• 5Bend04:06
• 6Love, Love, Love02:45
• 7Crying, Laughing, Loving, Lying02:44
• 8Butterflies03:33
• 9Hello Sunshine02:56
• 10Dark Door02:42
• 11Flying Away From Home03:27
• 12Riding03:05
• Total Runtime38:13

Info zu Flying Away

Der ugandische Singer-Songwriter Jon Muq kündigt sein von Dan Auerbach produziertes Debütalbum „Flying Away“ an, das am 31. Mai auf Easy Eye Sound erscheinen wird. Seine neue Single „Shake Shake“ ist ein fröhlicher, vom Afropop inspirierter Tanzsong, der von einem Musikvideo des bekannten Regisseurs Robert „RoboShobo“ Schober (The Killers, Green Day, Hermanos Gutiérrez) begleitet wird.

„Shake Shake“ ist ein perfekter Einstieg in den überschwänglichen Jon Muq, der von der Zielstrebigkeit seines Songwritings und seiner Auftritte getragen wird und von seinem Aufwachsen in einem Dorf in der Umgebung von Kampala, Uganda, inspiriert ist. Der Song vereint beschwingte Beats, rhythmisches Fingerpicking und Muqs warmherzige, verletzliche und melodiöse Stimme… sowie Muqs einfache Aufforderung zum Tanzen.

Jon Muq sagt: „Ich bin in der Nähe von über 50 Stämmen aufgewachsen, die unterschiedliche Tänze hatten, und jeder Stamm konzentrierte sich beim Tanzen auf einen bestimmten Körperteil, und die Freude war endlos. Dieser Moment der Freude und des Glücks wird immer dein sein, solange du „Shake Shake“ kannst, was du hast.“

Die Ankündigung von Muqs Debütalbum folgt auf eine bereits erzählte, fast odysseische Reise von Kampala, Uganda, nach Austin, TX – und er hat bereits für legendäre Künstler wie Billy Joel, Mavis Staples, Norah Jones und Corinne Bailey Rae eröffnet und bei Dan Auerbachs (The Black Keys) prominentem Label Easy Eye Sound unterzeichnet.

Als Muq ein Kind in Uganda war, das mit Problemen wie Nahrungsmittelknappheit zu kämpfen hatte, fand er die CD seines Cousins mit „We Are The World“. Er hörte sich den Titel jeden Tag an, lernte jede Note, imitierte alle Sänger des Titels wie Stevie, Michael und Lionel und lernte, auf Englisch zu singen und sogar auf Englisch zu schreiben (einer seiner Songs ist inspiriert von einem Cyrano-De-Bergerac-Moment, in dem Muqs englischer Brief das Herz seiner Freunde zurückbrachte).

Er sang in den Straßen von Mutungo – einem Dorf in der Nähe von Kampala – westliche Lieder und versteckte sich nachts im Schatten, zu schüchtern, um sich als der geheimnisvolle Sänger zu erkennen zu geben, aber er übte die ganze Zeit. Eines Tages traf er zufällig auf zwei Musiker mit einer Gitarre, die für die Kirche probten. Diese Gitarre veränderte sein Leben und führte ihn zu einem Auftritt in einem örtlichen Hotel sowie zu Auftritten vor obdachlosen Kindern in den Straßen von Mutungo – alles Proben für seine Zukunft.

Ein Video von ihm, in dem er auf der Straße auftritt, gelangte zu Norwegian Cruise Lines, die in seiner Heimatstadt nach Bewerbern suchten. „Sie sahen das Video und fragten mich, ob ich auf einem Schiff singen wolle“. Muq sagte: „Das war wie eine Stadt auf dem Wasser. Ich konnte nicht glauben, dass sie schwimmen würde. Meine Freunde dachten, die Bilder, die ich ihnen zeigte, seien mit Photoshop bearbeitet worden.“

Dies führte ihn zu vielen weiteren Abenteuern, die ihn schließlich nach Austin, TX, führten, wo er sich in der lokalen Musikszene festsetzte.

Bald erregte Muq die Aufmerksamkeit von Dan Auerbach, der ihn unter Vertrag nahm und mit ihm zusammen sein Debütprojekt zu entwickeln begann.

Sie waren im Studio, und das Debütalbum wird mit Sicherheit ein bedeutendes Statement eines jungen Künstlers sein, der seine diasporischen Einflüsse, sein rohes Talent und seinen optimistischen Ausblick mit dem Publikum teilt.

„Ich hätte nie erwartet, dass es so funktionieren würde. Ich habe nie gesagt, dass ich einen Job in einem Hotel bekommen werde. Ich werde einen Job bei einer Kreuzfahrtgesellschaft bekommen. Ich werde mit Dan Auerbach arbeiten. Alles ist passiert, weil ich dem Sound gefolgt bin. Ich bin ihm nachgejagt. Ich habe nur gesungen.“

Jon Muq

Jon Muq
Vocalist, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jon Muq makes soul-filled pop music that celebrates the magic of human connection, love and the world’s many wonders.

Rooted in the vibrant simplicity of guitar, piano and his lush, cavernous voice, each tune overflows with memorable melodies and deep grooves. His personal lyrics demonstrate his talent as poet and invite audiences into captivating stories of his experiences and his vivid inner world. Jon’s honest, fresh recordings and captivating live performances magnify the expansive and emotional range of his acrobatic voice that soars amidst inventive, playful arrangements. His joyful work mingles traditional instruments with a spectrum of sounds and rhythms from around the globe and reinforces the power of a song to transform the spirit.

Jon’s music carries listeners on an artful journey through his remarkable life, which began in a small suburban slum in Kampala, Uganda. He first felt the gravitational pull of the creative life as a small boy. Sitting in his leaky-roofted two-room house in Mutungo with no running water or electricity, he began to dream up stories and songs as he listened to conversations between his parents and sisters late at night, staring at the simple beauty of the moonlight through cracks in the roof. When he started school, he found himself getting in trouble often for returning home late in the evening because he stayed behind to listen to the school band play. He fell in love with the co-mingling of trumpets, drums and trombones. When he was invited by the bandmaster to join, he almost immediately picked up trumpet by ear and quickly became one of the group’s best players without learning to read music.

Though Jon transferred to a boarding school without a band at age 11, he felt inspired by the sweet, mysterious sounds of the school choir and their drum accompanists practicing in a nearby building each night. After sneaking into one of their rehearsals, he was invited to play an African shaker on some of their songs for the inter-high-school choir competition, an experience that ignited his passion for voice and eventually led him to join the choir as a singer. He began to discover new music from around the world, and he felt especially moved by pop songs like “We Are The World” because of the way they combined many different voices.

At the same time, Jon moved schools again to finish high school in another town and began to live on his own, picking up odd jobs to support himself and also pay for college, eventually moving in with his uncle and twin sister. As he walked alone on the streets between school and work, he would sing to himself, fine-tuning his sound and making up his own songs. One evening he passed someone playing a guitar, which he had never heard, and he felt instantly drawn to it. For several weeks, he walked five miles every day just to hear this guitarist and eventually borrowed a guitar and began to teach himself while he was at work. Since he could not afford a guitar capo, Jon fashioned one out of a pencil and a rubber band to transpose the sounds of the instrument as he continued to evolve his playing, singing, songwriting and live performance technique.

During this period of self-study, Jon committed to becoming a professional musician. He eventually auditioned for a job singing for guests in an upscale hotel, earning a regular four-hour slot. Without a microphone or an amplifier, he sang at the same hotel two nights per week for a year during dinner service. He moved out on his own for the first time, practicing music in his room, and after college graduation, he songs in English for the homeless — mostly children. His friend recorded videos of him singing on the streets of Kampala and shared them to Facebook. It was through these videos that he was discovered by Norwegian Cruise Line in the US and hired as a featured performer.

Jon left Uganda for the first time in his life in 2017 and began to sing six days per week on a cruise ship that traveled between Florida, the Bahamas and South America, earning awards from the company for his outstanding artistry and establishing himself as a leader on board. Excited by the promise of a rejuvenated life in the US, he looked for ways to stay in the country beyond his contract to continue to build his music career. He found connections with old friends in Austin, Texas when he came to play a benefit performance for Casa Marianella, a community organization that provides shelter and legal assistance to immigrants granted asylum.

Now based in Austin, Jon has found a strong creative community to nurture his powerful talent. An all-around artist whose talent reaches beyond the world of music, Jon has a degree in Industrial Art and Design and is well versed in African design, jewelry making and mosaics, which add a visual dimension to his songs. He has also continued to devote time to charitable organizations in both Uganda and the US, working with non-profits and community programs that provide education, food, clothing and support to those in need.

Aside from guitar, Jon also plays ukulele, piano and a colorful range of African instruments. His proficiency on multiple instruments, love of experimenting with different musical textures and incomparable ear help him create one-of-a-kind songs offering contagious melodies and stunning surprises. Fascinated by life’s small but extraordinary moments and the compelling human stories that inspire his own songs, Jon is driven by his mission to bring happiness to the world and support others who are looking to find a nurturing and inclusive place to express themselves within their communities and the larger world.

Jon is currently in the studio writing and recording new music and will release his debut EP in 2019.

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