Q & A with Majun Bu

With Caloundra Music Festival fast approaching, and boasting a line-up that has quite a few familiar names, along with a bunch of new ones, we thought we’d dig a little deeper with one of the acts making their debut at this year’s CMF.

Sydney’s Majun Bu will bring the surf’n’ska-tinged funk, with big ol’ dollops of hip hop into the mix, playing the Sand Stage on the Saturday night. They’re currently on tour in support of their latest release, ‘Karma Sutra’, so do make sure you catch all the funk when they play CMF.

We caught up with Majun Bu for a few Q’s.

Hello legends. Firstly, congrats on your new release, ‘Karma Sutra’ - a funky, slinky jam. How’d this one come about?

Hey! thank you. ‘Karma Sutra’ was actually an improv funk jam that we used to bust out live every now and then. It always had a somewhat rough structure but the lyrics and verses between Charlie and Jaspar were always free flowing and on the spot. Eventually it started to get a big response at our live shows so we decided to properly structure it and record it. Although we'll always leave room for a bit of OG improv in the live version ; )

Diggin’ the 90s references in the lyrics - there’s a sly nod to a Tribe Called Quest in there. If you were to blend in a track from TCQ into a medley with ‘Karma Sutra’, which one would it be, and why?

(Charlie) That's a tough one but I think it would have to be ‘Check The Rhyme’. I'm a huge fan of Tribe, they definitely have a big influence on how I go about rhyming and flow.

(As a side note - I’m a fan of NZ group, Supergroove, and there’s a bit in ‘Karma Sutra’ at the 2:24 mark, that, whether intentional cheeky reference or not, reminds me of 1:16 mark of Supergroove’s ‘Can’t Get Enough’ - if you haven’t heard that song, check it out… put a smile on my face when you did that bit).

We aren't familiar with Supergroove but they look like a bunch of legends.

You’re about to head off on a sweet little tour in support of this new single, including heading to our own Caloundra Music Festival. Correct me if I’m wrong, but this is your first time to CMF? What are you expecting, and what are you bringing to your set to stand out?

This will be our first time playing at Caloundra Music Festival, yes.

We’re pretty keen to be playing on the Sand Stage which is apparently right on the beach!

We’ll be bringing our usual ruckus to get everyone up and dancing in a sweaty/sandy mosh.

Your first album, ‘The Bu’ definitely has a more rootsy-vibe, along with some absolute dance bangers… but ‘Karma Sutra’ seems to move away a little from the surf skank, and leaning more to a polished big sound. Is this a hint of the direction Majun Bu are heading in for a future release?

‘Karma Sutra’ definitely adds a bit more Funk/Hip-hop to our concoction that's for sure. We are very free flowing with our approach to music and will definitely be experimenting with new sounds in the future whilst maintaining our roots also.

The dance bangers will always continue to surface ; )

And finally… I know Majun is ‘Nu Jam’ backwards, but being an old school Dragonball fan from way back… does at least one of you shoot steam out of the top of your head when you get angry?

No steam but things can get pretty Super Saiyan on stage.

Thanks guys! Have a fantastic tour, and we’ll see you at Caloundra Music Festival!

Pleasure! looking forward to it.

Catch Majun Bu at this year’s Caloundra Music Festival on the Sand Stage on Saturday evening.