The Upside Down Project
The Upside Down Project is the first release in over 30 years for The Muatas; released in 2020, inspired by personal and global hardships, as their world (and soon after the whole world around them) began to shift to the point of no return! It is a body of work that allowed them the space necessary for moving through these difficult moments in time, and it was the catalyst to what would soon follow.
Bio
Ayanna and Cam Muata, started out well over three decades ago as a part of a Minneapolis based electronic dance music band along with two other band members, releasing a short album on vinyl in 1990 under the name “Cold Front”, but shortly afterwards disbanded in order to finish school and move into the workforce. Now, after an extended pause, Ayanna and Cam have come together musically again under a different name with a new vision, new energy and new purpose! The new band (The Muatas) is a duo that writes, produces, and performs their own music. Their style is a mix of post-punk, trip hop, dark wave, shoe gaze, and electronic. The Muatas have released 3 albums since 2020, with their third album (Battle Weary) released in the spring of 2022. Their strongest desire is to share a bit of their story through their music, and to connect with others through that experience, reaching out especially to listeners who appreciate and enjoy all kinds of music coming from all kinds of people including Black artists. Their sound is a mix of sampled and programmed beats, layered with synthesizer, guitar and bass guitar, ambient strings, and vocals that often range between the 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
