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Full-circle moment for The Muffinz as they return to UJ where it all began
To mark 12 years since meeting at UJ, The Muffinz will host a series of events at the university's Art Centre on Wednesday and Friday.
To celebrate their dozen years in the music industry, which began at UJ, The Muffinz will host a series of special events at the UJ Art Centre. Picture: Instagram/themuffinzmusic
It will be a full circle moment for The Muffinz band as they return to the University of Johannesburg (UJ) for a performance and a documentary screening.
The Muffinz band members are the institution’s alumni who met at the university as part of the UJ Choir.
The band was initially formed in 2010 when Sfiso ‘Atomza’ Buthelezi, Mthabisi Sibanda and Simz Kulla, met while singing together in the choir.
The group was later joined by Gregory Mabusela on drums as well as another UJ former student, Geoffery Chitima on bass.
ALSO READ: The Muffinz still doing what they love
UJ alumni
“UJ was the genesis of our organisation and band. We received our first audience, our first paid performance at the university,” Atomza told The Citizen.
To celebrate their dozen years in the music industry, the band will host a series of special events at the UJ Art Centre on Wednesday, 27 September.
“The show is also a tribute to the university and the work it does to support the arts even though it doesn’t offer music as part of its curriculum, The university, its people, and support are a large part of our existence.”
Wednesday night will see the screening of Living Life Live, a doccie produced by Atomza reflecting on the live music scene in Johannesburg and will be followed by a special ‘One Night Only’ performance on Friday, 27 September.
Atomza applied for funding to pursue the doccie project to shine the spotlight on the live scene in Joburg.
“The University had an alumni meeting at which we performed and reconnected with the new administration, and it was obvious we had to do something together. We settled on a screening and live performance,” averred the singer and guitarist.
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Lasting relationships
Head of UJ Arts & Culture, Pieter Jacobs said the university takes great pride in celebrating and welcoming back The Muffinz.
The appreciation of this seemingly tight bond between the university and The Muffinz is not lost on the band.
“There is a value in cooperation that we sometimes disregard but the only way to do great things is to cooperate, collaborate in everyone’s interest,” said Atomza, who is seen as the band’s frontman.
“Having established institutions support the arts and live music is a step towards the self-sustenance of these industries to eventually not need support. We’re grateful for these relationships but mostly having cultivated them in our youth and worked enough to rekindle the relationship.”
The Muffinz haven’t released an album in nearly a decade.
The group’s last offering was 2015’s Do What You Love but they’ve released some singles including Okabani featuring Moonchild Sanelly in 2016 and Where You Are in 2018.
“There is music we’re always working on, individually and together… We’ve just finished Simz Kulla’s, our guitarist’s second album due for release soon,” said Atomza.
“Each of us has new projects that you may have not heard. Do check those out. When the music is ready… the whole world will know.”
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Exploring Amapiano sound
Atomza recently released a solo project in which he explored the Amapiano sound. The nine-track album is titled Gozonko: Eavesdropping on Magida Sbhekane.
“I’ve had some of the music for a long time, some of the songs since 2016…when this whole Amapiano thing was making waves underground. It was the air, it was hard to ignore. But I was preoccupied with writing at the time and never pursued the dance songs,” he said.
Atomza tapped into Credo Mutwa’s teachings to better understand why the genre has been universally hard to resist.
Atomza was partly inspired by what Credo Mutwa wrote about; which connected the log drum and the African instrument, the Marimba, as a gift from the immortal and servant of the gods Marimba.
“I was liberated by what Credo Mutwa writes about the original log drum and it being created as a solution by an immortal. The manipulation of the digital log drum was one of the cornerstones of Amapiano…I wanted to explore what the implication of that interpretation was in the 21st century,” said Atomza.
Atomza was awarded a grant to produce a new musical piece – a live recorded performance, an album, or an EP – that will be archived by the Southern African Music Rights Organisation (Samro).
“As a member of Samro, I was awarded a grant along with other creators… I decided to explore the dance music culture in South Africa, a space for young people,” shared the singer.
NOW READ: A sign of genre’s growth as Amapiano takes over London’s Southwark Park
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