MUNA’s popularity has sky-rocketed in the last three years, reaping immense success with their ‘dark-pop’ and 80s inspired sound.
Band members – Katie Gavin, Naomi McPherson and Josette Maskin first met in 2013 while in college at the University of Southern California. The three got together for an impromptu jam session, where they discovered an undeniable musical chemistry.
Josette and Naomi come from a background of ska and progressive rock so as the guitarists of the group they hoped to push their musical style in that direction, but lead singer Katie’s love for pop changed that.
The creative process was pretty simple as described by Maskin in her interview with BBC,
“We wrote three parts – a verse, chorus and bridge,” continues Maskin. “Katie took it away and the next day she came back with a melody and we were like, ‘Oh God, this is a pop song!’”
“But Katie just said, ‘I’m pop, deal with it,’ and walked away. It was very funny.”
Once the trio began to collaborate and fine tune their sound, they looked inward for inspiration. The band prides itself on producing and writing their own music so every song carries great meaning. Much of their music covers topics such as heartbreak, difficult relationships, sexuality, gender and shared experiences that have involved sexual harassment.
As an all-girl/queer band, the ladies of MUNA believe they are in a unique position to help inspire their fans and listeners to feel comfortable with who they are.
When asked about how they think being queer affects their music or the way they are perceived in an interview with Galore Mag, they responded with:
“We think it probably does in personal/intrinsic ways, just because we write from our own points of vice. We’d like to think that the only way it really affects the perception of our music is that maybe other queer or marginalized people might relate to it on a different level.”
It’s clear from listening to their songs that the band has a message for its audience and that is to never be afraid to be yourself, to be comfortable with your own identity and to always stay strong in the face of adversity. Their musical heroism has won the hearts of many.
In the summer of 2014, the band released their first debut EP called More Perfect, which gained traction through music platforms like Bandcamp and Soundcloud. Ultimately, the viral success of the new EP led to a record deal with RCA Records.
Flash forward to the year 2016, and the band has celebrated their second released EP called The Loudspeaker, played a highly-attended Spotify House SXSW set, played Lollapalooza in July and then turned around and toured with Grouplove in the fall.
To close out the year, they have released a single, ‘I Know A Place’, to their first ever debut album titled ‘about u‘ that is expected to drop in February 2017. Give it a listen.
Tiësto remixed the group’s already-popular ‘Winterbreak’ in June, and there are even rumors swirling that MUNA will play Coachella in 2017. Check out their upcoming tour dates for the next year here.
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