Presumably, most PopMatters readers know little about Uganda’s country and culture. The African nation rarely invades the Western consciousness except when something horrendous (the reign of Idi Amin) or momentous (the Israeli raid at Entebbe) happens there. The story of Ugandan singer-songwriter Jon Muq demonstrates what one might be missing by not paying attention to non-Western music.
Muq is a very talented and charismatic performer. He was not famous in his home country when he got his first significant opportunity. Agents for a Norwegian cruise line hired him as a performer after seeing a video of him entertaining a group of homeless children in the capital city of Kampala. He honed his skills on board and somehow parlayed that gig into a trip to America, where he was stranded in Austin, Texas—the self-proclaimed live music capital of the world. Muq was taken in by friendly locals when COVID-19 hit.
After several months, luck and chance provided Jon Muq with occasions to become part of the local music scene and opening for notables such as Mavis Staples, Billy Joel, and Norah Jones, as well as the ears of Dan Auerbach (Black Keys), who has produced Muq’s debut album, Flying Away.
Auerbach has a distinctive production style that can make artists as different as British chanteuse Yola (Walk Through Fire), redneck country star Hank Williams Jr. (Rich White Honky Blues), and Latin instrumental band Hermanos Gutiérrez (El Bueno y el Malo) seem like they were all made out of the same cloth in the best possible manner. Auerbach gives them the patina of authenticity as if one is hearing the unadulterated artist. The musicians sound as if they were performing in their living room to friends. While other recordings by these artists reveal they are complex artists who work in a variety of styles, the Auerbach-produced records are paradoxically seen as the most authentic and genuine. There is a sense of intimacy in the performances.
This is Jon Muq’s first album, so one has no other work by him to compare this to, but the Auerbach magic is present in the production. Songs such as “Bend”, “Butterflies”, and “Hello Sunshine” showcase the warmth in Muq’s voice and the tenderness in his guitar playing. The lyrical details seem less important than the overall atmospherics. These are love songs. The emotion expressed matters more than the particulars.
Other tracks, such as “Crying, Laughing, Loving, Lying”, “One You Love”, “Lucky Love”, and “Love, Love, Love”, show Muq’s obsession with the topic. “There’s really no way you can get too much of it, he proclaims, “beautiful, glorious love”. But thankfully, the musician keeps from being overly saccharine and addresses other themes. As one might guess from the situation of an artist in exile, he sings about being away (“Flying Away From Home”) and alienation (“Runaway”).
Sometimes, Muq is best when he’s singing about nothing in particular. As its name suggests, “Shake Shake” is a song about the pleasures of dance. “Riding” may invoke deeper questions about the purpose of life, but at heart, concerns moving on down the road. These songs allow the singer to voice his feelings without overdramatizing them. Love can be a heavy topic, even when it is joyous. Just existing offers its own satisfaction.
Auerbach captures the exoticism of Muq’s African rhythms by not drawing attention to them. The instrumentation remains in the background. One doesn’t notice how unusual the settings are unless one deliberately listens for that purpose. The same is true of the whole of Muq’s music. His voice and presence come off as natural and unaffected. One has to carefully listen to appreciate both the breadth and the subtlety of his talents. Jon Muq is from Uganda, a place as strange and unknown to most listeners as the surface of the moon or the floor of the ocean. His music is as warm and familiar as our hometowns.