MUON is a band that bridges the disparate gap between the worlds of explosive rock and dark electronica without falling prey to the trappings of either. Made up of guitarist/producer Nick Chan and drummer Edwin Leong, plus the reclusive Leopold von Berlin, the menage trois has individually been members in other notable acts such as Astreal, The Death of Cinema, I Am David Sparkle, The Pagans and Starr.

 MUON originally started as a solo project of Nick that revolved around electronic experimentation, fusing together influences from diverse genres such as IDM, ambient triphop, drum n bass, all within a backdrop of jazzy cinematic soundscapes. This period saw MUON performing gigs at venues such as Liquid Room, The Enroute Festival, Zouk, BayBeats Festival, to name a few.

 Nick produced and recorded an EP and two full length MUON albums which were released on Wallwork Records. These works saw the progression from the largely electronic sound of ’The Death of Cinema LP’ to the organic, sometimes over-involved humanity of post-rock soundscapes in the ’In Flught LP’. The music received glowing reviews in the local press and the first album had a song that went to number 1 on Chris Ho’s popular show Earwax:Hip Parade on 98.7FM. This was followed by both MUON and Scotia(a MUON side project) being nominated for ‘Best Local Dance Act’ at the 99.5FM Singapore Jam Annual Awards in 2003. As a further icing on the cake, MUON was signed to London electronic music label LogicalNoise Records, and had tracks featured on the label’s ‘WATER’ compilation which saw distribution across various European countries. In November 2006, MUON had a featured track on Diesel’s U-Music website amongst other international entrants.

 2005 saw the regrouping of MUON, with the addition of Edwin as a permanent member and head of the beat militia. The current setup retains all the electronic sensibilities of the past, albeit with the immediacy of an organic band. Things picked up quickly with the new setup/lineup and many gigs followed.

These included the opening of the RedDot Design Awards, the opening of “72-13”, “Wardrobe”, the annual fashion week at Zouk, and a mad mad set at 3Some in Bangkok in early 2006. Recent gigs include the pioneer installment of ’Free the Musique’ at Raffles Place Park alongside Koop and THe Great Spy Experiment. As an exercise in excess and flamboyance, MUON added a new and final member, Leopold von Berlin, who shares synths and electronics duties with Nick. Leopold can be seen here looking rather constipated.

 The band are currently in the process of recording ’The New Mutants’, a new album to be released under Wallwork Records in 2007.

In January 2007, IS Magazine described MUON as a "Surefire Hit" and among the "Hottest Singapore Acts for 2007".

 Preferring the surgical efficiency and precision of working with robots rather than humans, the music of MUON is a cold and bleak trip into a landscape where the marriage between dehumanized emotion and callous machines is perfectly complete.

Links:

www.muonmagick.com

www.myspace.com/muonmagick

www.wallwork.tv

MUON at Logical-Noise

ROCK NEVER DEATH