Introducing a fresh crunchy sound to the Canberra music scene: meet Muesli
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With a sound as smooth and funky as their name, this Canberra band packs a crunch—meet Muesli.
For Lily Begbie (vocals, songwriter), Harrison Whalan (bass), Luca Florez (vocals, guitar, songwriter), Martin Magill (keyboard and saxophone) and Kieran O’Leary (drums), in 2020 music class became more than an elective from the moment Harrison formed his own funk band.
But if you had asked them back then—even with Kieran, Luca and Lily (who were already class friends) quick to join in on the fun—none of the five artists would believe their small band would be performing gigs around Canberra, let alone releasing their own songs and finding them circulating on Spotify.
Luca – the bands in house lyricist – never thought he would be performing at all, despite writing his own music.
“Luca is a fantastic lyricist,” the band says. “He’s able to separate himself from what he’s writing really well, which just gives him so much material to write about.”
This is certainly no joke, with three singles already released on Spotify (and many more to come), but it’s not just their brand of pop/indie/funk (that packs some serious crunch) that makes this band so irresistible.
It’s blatantly obvious how close they are, their friendship supporting each other through the highs and lows and performing.
Currently exploring their unique fusion, the group prefers not to stick to a specific genre, choosing anything that is upbeat, bright and makes them smile. However, there is some speculation about taking a dive into bossa nova’s and reggae for future pieces.
According to the band, as long as it is upbeat, they’re sure to give it a crack.
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Busy writing and gigging; supporting local and national acts such as Ruben Styles (Peking Duck & Y.O.G.A), Between You and Me and local bands such as Archie, Kirkland and Koebi Faumui, you might have already heard some of their tasty music.
Making some healthy headway into the local music scene with their unapologetically positive tunes, Muesli’s first single ‘Hello Out There’ was recently chosen as a part of the 2022 Visit Canberra spring marketing campaign and the band has also been nominated for the 2022 independent debut of the year by the ACT music awards (you can vote for them here)—and with plenty of personality and a dash of sax, what’s not to love?
“Everyone was so lovely,” Lily says. “It was a really great experience for us.”
With their sights set on branching out from Canberra performances and widening their audience base, for the band there will always be a part of them that lives in the city that raised them, and the fans that supported them from day dot.
“It’s been very exciting for us, because we’ve been playing some shows – including our single launch – and we can see a lot of familiar faces.” Lily says.
But with a gig in Wollongong on November 18 (their first gig outside of Canberra), this fan base is sure to swell in size.
For more information about the band or their upcoming gigs, visit mueslitheband.com.au
Photo credits to Alberto Florez.
