The Birth of “The Muatas”
The Upside Down Project is the first release in over 30 years for The Muatas. Released in 2020, it was inspired by both personal and global hardships, as their world (and soon afterwards the whole world around them) began to shift to the point of no return!
It is a body of work that, when created, allowed them the space that was necessary for them to move through those difficult moments in time with a sense of purpose and agency… and unbeknownst to them at the time, it was also truly the catalyst to all of what would soon follow.
Bio
Chicago natives Ayanna and Cam moved to Minneapolis in the late 1980s to form an industrial dance band “Cold Front” with two others, releasing a short album on vinyl in 1990 entitled “Beyond The Beat”.
Cold Front performed locally for live audiences around the Twin Cities, and opened for bands like Meat Beat Manifesto and Nine Inch Nails at First Avenue in 1991. Looking for more consistent income, they disbanded one year later and moved into the mainstream workforce. In 2020, after an extended pause that lasted over three decades, Ayanna and Cam came together musically again under a different name, “The Muatas” with a brand new vision, new energy and new purpose! This new duo is one where they write, produce, and perform their own music.
The Muatas style is a mix of post-punk, trip hop, dark wave, shoe gaze, and electronic, and they have released three albums since 2020, and several singles including “Battle Weary”, “The Chase”, and “Everything Everything Everything”. The Muatas strongest desire is to connect with others through their music, reaching out especially to listeners who enjoy shattering genre stereotypes and who appreciate all kinds of music coming from all kinds of people. Moody and emotive, their music is multi-layered with programmed beats, live synths, guitar, and bass, and topped off with live vocals that often range between melodic and spoken.
“Seductive, charging trip hop”….
”Local fans may remember them from the 90s group Cold Front, but they’ve returned under a new name with a timeless, hypnotic sound. The seven-song EP is a scintillating mix of samples, programed beats, electronics and darkly shimmering melodies, a collection that is both understated and also feels like it could fill a stadium.”…”The whole record is worth your listen, but if you’re looking for an entry point, start with “Priorities,” which is a chilly, anthemic track that could stand toe-to-toe with the best trip-hop of the 90s and the 2000s. It’s that good and it is one of my favorite, most-listened-to songs of 2020.”
— Josh Keller, Reviler
“If you thought trip-hop only went down in Bristol and was over in the ‘90s, I highly recommend you give Minneapolis’ The Muatas a listen. The Upside Down Project is keeping that mercurial electronica sprint alive and well while the world burns around us.”
— Erik Thompson, City Pages
“You have to decide who you are and force the world to deal with you, not with it’s idea of you.”
-- James Baldwin
Cam Muata
Guitar
Vocals
Bass guitar
Keyboard and beats
Music/Lyrics/Arrangement/Production
Ayanna Muata
Keyboards/Synthesizer & Strings
Vocals
Bass guitar
Beats
Music/Lyrics/Arrangement/Production
