INTERVIEW: Jon Muq wants you to hear his voice
Photo: Jon Muq is currently touring around the United States. Photo courtesy of Morgan Wommack / Provided by Reybee with permission.
Jon Muq, the accomplished Ugandan singer who is now based in Austin, Texas, has a new single out that perfectly captures his presence as a live performer and recoding artist. It’s called “Hear My Voice,” produced by The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach, and the tune speaks to Muq’s unique ability to bring his journey, through sound and story, to his growing fan base in the United States and around the world.
Muq will bring the song “Hear My Voice,” plus his many other compositions, to audiences this spring and summer. He performs tonight, May 9, in Massachusetts, followed by dates in Texas, Tennessee, Kansas, Michigan and Illinois, among other places. “The tour has been good,” Muq said in a recent phone interview. “I did the first round, and then I’ve been home for like two weeks. … I’ll mostly be playing solo, so I’ll come with some good stories and good sound.”
Muq appears to be especially proud of the new single “Hear My Voice.” He said the tune is essentially about the theme of chaos and what happens when one can feel overwhelmed by life’s many unexpected turns. “Sometimes it’s about being in chaos, and you’re trying to really speak your voice if people can really hear you when a lot of stuff is going on at the same time,” he said. “It’s also about communication for someone who is far away … if they can hear your voice through everything that is going on.”
Muq, as a performer, is not someone who simply steps up to the microphone and plays a song. He likes to contextualize each composition with a story, letting the audience better understand his journey of growing up in Uganda and then moving to the United States a few years ago. “Most times I tell a story behind the songs because English is not my first language,” the singer-songwriter said. “Most people hear a song, and they take it differently. … So for each and every song, I always tell a story behind it and why I came up with the song.”
When growing up in Uganda, Muq picked up a guitar for the first time at the age of 15. He was immediately intrigued by the possibilities of the instrument, and then he started to become fascinated by what he calls English music. “I used to call it Western music, and since then I’ve been combining my past with what I’m learning right now in a new country to come up with different inspirational songs,” he said. “It’s my journey and what I’ve learned and sharing it with other people to see if it can also inspire them with their own journeys.”
Being based in Austin is a solid move for a songwriter. That southern city is one of the musical capitals of the United States, right up there with Nashville, New Orleans and New York City. Muq called Austin a beautiful place with lots of music on every corner. He always has numerous opportunities to collaborate with songwriters, so he’s enjoyed his time in Texas.
“I like to write a song depending on what melody comes to my head,” Muq offered about his writing process. “Like the song ‘Fall Asleep,’ the way it started, I was just listening to a South African song, and the way the rhythm was moving, I was like, oh, what if I just play guitar just following the rhythm of three notes? And I started writing the song around three notes, so every song comes with a different inspiration depending on the moment.”
Experimenting with the guitar and composing songs is where Muq feels most at home. At first, he wasn’t enamored of the entire touring experience, but he’s come around to appreciate the necessity of bringing his art around the world.
“Touring has been learning honestly,” he said. “At first I hated it a lot because I’m more of a person who gets into my everyday routines, and I hated breaking that. But I’ve just learned that it’s a blessing to be able to go tour. Of course, there are many musicians that would love that in a heartbeat, so I tend to just prepare for it, go do it, and then come back home and continue with my routines. … When I’m headlining, the stories are much longer. It’s just a conversation with the song, so it tends to be much longer and detailed than the opening sessions where you just have 30 minutes to play four songs.”
These stories that accompany each song are directly related to Muq’s upbringing in Uganda. He said he didn’t have much of a voice when he was younger, but he still had a lot to say. Now he realizes music is his preferred outlet to communicate with an audience.
“I just didn’t have the way to express what I wanted to say, and when I discovered music, it all started making sense,” Muq said. “Each song has to be a moment that existed, so I always tell a story. It’s important because when I moved here I could barely speak proper English, but I’ve been trying to keep practicing and making sure that you say the right words, the right timing. I’m still trying my best with that part, but doing the best I can when I’m performing.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Jon Muq is currently on tour and will continue with his concerts throughout the spring and summer. Click here for more information.
