Jagwar Ma is an Australian

psychedelic Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary mental states (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips") and a perceived "expansion of consciousness". Also referred to as classic halluci ...

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

band formed in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

in 2011. It consists of Gabriel Winterfield (lead vocalist, guitarist), Jono Ma (guitar, beats, synths, production), and bass guitarist Jack Freeman, who joined in 2012. The band name is derived from a satirical compound of the word "jaguar" and Jono's surname. In 2013, Jagwar Ma signed with record labels Mom+Pop (US), Marathon Artists (EU), and

Future Classic Future Classic is an Australian independent record label, artist management team, touring agency, and music publisher. Background Future Classic was founded in 2004 by Nathan McLay. McLay was appointed to the board of Music Australia, which ...

(Australia) and released its debut album ''Howlin''. It released its second album ''Every Now and Then'' on 14 October 2016.

Career

Ma and Winterfield met in 2007. At this time, both were playing in different groups,

Lost Valentinos Lost Valentinos are a band from Sydney, Australia. They released two EPs under the band name The Valentinos but changed their name in mid-2007 to Lost Valentinos due to the threat of legal action by soul artists from the 1950s, Bobby Womack & ...

and

Ghostwood ''Ghostwood'' is a 2006 supernatural thriller film directed by Justin O'Brien and produced by Ned Dowd. Executive Producers were Mairead Killian, Tom Higgins, John Slazenger and Noel Lourdes. Plot Driven to investigate the unexplained disappear ...

. It would be until mid-2010 at an FLRL performance that the two shared the stage. FLRL was a locally based

krautrock Krautrock (also called , German for ) is a broad genre of experimental rock that developed in Germany in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It originated among artists who blended elements of psychedelic rock, avant-garde composition, and electron ...

experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs whe ...

pop group - initially founded by Jono Ma,

Kirin J. Callinan Kieran John Callinan (born 21 January 1986), known by his stage name Kirin J. Callinan, is an Australian singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He is also a founding member of Mercy Arms and has played with the Night Game, Jack Ladder and the Dream ...

and Julian Sudek - local musicians would get together, curate an evening of new music, and perform it to an audience. One night, Winterfield took vocals and guitar and Ma generated sounds from the use of vintage drum machines, radio frequency manipulation, improvised percussion, and other esoteric methods of creating sound. By 2011, Ma and Winterfield began frequently getting together at a studio (often a living room) and recording sounds and melodies, whilst also swapping old demos from unfinished side projects, "Jaguar Paw" and "Flintstone". Subsequently, loose jams and recordings started as anything from

Motown Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that came to prominence in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mos ...

. It would be during these recording sessions that the band's first songs "Come Save Me" and "What Love" would emerge. At this point, the pair decided to semi-relocate to France and to extend what was originally "going to be a one off 7 inch single" to a full LP. Jack Freeman, a London-based musician and old friend, joined the live lineup in mid-2012. In June 2013, the band released ''Howlin, which reached the UK album chart. In 2015, the band toured as support to

Tame Impala Tame Impala is the psychedelic music project of Australian singer and multi-instrumentalist Kevin Parker (musician), Kevin Parker. In the recording studio, Parker writes, records, performs, and produces all of the project's music. As a touring a ...

. The duo began writing material at their Crescent Head studio in rural Australia, before returning to the farmhouse in La Briche, France to record. The record was finalised in London and featured guest appearances by

Stella Mozgawa Stella Mozgawa is an Australian drummer and record producer, best known as a member of the indie rock band Warpaint, with whom she has recorded four studio albums. Alongside her work with Warpaint, Mozgawa is one half of the electronica duo Bel ...

Ewan Pearson Ewan Pearson (born 1 April 1972) is an English electronic music producer/remixer who works under various aliases including Maas, Sulky Pup, Villa America, World of Apples, and Dirtbox. He is also in Partial Arts with Al Usher. He has remixed ...

and James Ford. In May 2016, Ma confirmed that the second album would be released in the second half of 2016. The band released the first single, "O B 1" in July, followed by a second "Give Me A Reason" in August 2016. The 11-track album, ''Every Now & Then,'' was released on 14 October 2016. Musicfeeds maintained that it "rewards a dedicated listener with a fine-tuned ear". ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' gave the album four out of five stars, calling it "a mind-altering second album with melody at its heart"

DIY Magazine ''DIY'' is a United Kingdom-based music publication, in print and online. Its free print edition is released monthly with a physical circulation of 40,000 in UK venues, clubs and shops. DIY Magazine ''DIY'' was launched in 2002 by then-editor ...

said the album had Jagwar Ma "on a process of self-discovery, just a couple of steps away from striking gold." The band embarked on a headlining tour in support. In 2018, the band began recording sessions in Iceland, however further tours and recordings were delayed by an illness which confined Ma to Australia. According to Jono, the band has "by no means disbanded". Both members have embarked on separate projects. Winterfield began a "surf blues" solo project as Golf Alpha Bravo, releasing singles "Groove Baby Groove", "Unwind", and "Blue Wave" via Mom+Pop Records in 2019. His full length debut album, ''The Sundog'', was released on his own label, Treasured Recordings, on 12 June 2020. Jono Ma started an ongoing project with

Jonti Jonti Danilewitz (born ), known mononymously as Jonti, is a South African-Australian electronic and alternative hip hop record producer, composer and songwriter. He is signed to Stones Throw Records and Future Classic. He was also a touring memb ...

called Mystics, who released their first single, "Steppers" in 2019, and performed live at Carriageworks in 2022. He also released an EP in collaboration with Dreems titled ''The Dreemas'' on Kompact in 2018, and a cover of

Kraftwerk Kraftwerk (, ) is a Germany, German Electronic music, electronic band formed in Düsseldorf in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Widely considered innovators and pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk was among the first successful a ...

's "

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" on Bandcamp in 2020, in memory of

Florian Schneider Florian Schneider-Esleben (7 April 194721 April 2020) was a German musician. He is best known as one of the founding members and leaders of the electronic band Kraftwerk, performing his role with the band until his departure in 2008. Early li ...

and

Andrew Weatherall Andrew James Weatherall (6 April 1963 – 17 February 2020) was an English musician, DJ, songwriter, producer and remixer. His career took him from being a DJ in the acid house movement of the late 1980s to being a remixer of tracks by Happy M ...

, with proceeds benefiting The Aboriginal Legal Service.

Touring and shows

In 2014, Jagwar Ma played the Summer Festival circuit throughout the UK, EU and Australia including Reading and Leeds,

Glastonbury Glastonbury ( , ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury is less than across the River ...

Pukkelpop Pukkelpop is an annual music festival that takes place near the city of Hasselt, Belgium in mid- to late August. It is held within a large enclosure of fields and woodland—adjacent to a dual carriageway called ''Kempische Steenweg''—in the v ...

Latitude In geography, latitude is a geographic coordinate system, geographic coordinate that specifies the north-south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from −90° at t ...

Bestival Bestival was a four-day music festival held in the south of England. The name Bestival is a portmanteau of the words best and festival. It had been held annually in the late summer since 2004 at Robin Hill on the Isle of Wight. In 2017 the festi ...

Paredes de Coura Festival The Paredes de Coura Festival, currently named Vodafone Paredes de Coura for sponsorship reasons, is a music festival that is held every year, in August, at Praia do Taboão in Paredes de Coura, Portugal. The first edition was held in 1993. It is ...

The Big Day Out The Big Day Out (BDO) was an annual music festival that was held in five Australian cities: Sydney, Melbourne, Gold Coast, Queensland, Gold Coast, Adelaide, and Perth, as well as Auckland, New Zealand. The festival was held during summer, typi ...

Splendour in the Grass Splendour in the Grass (commonly referred to as Splendour) is an annual Australian music festival held at the North Byron Parklands in Yelgun, New South Wales. Since its inauguration, the festival has also been held in various locations near ...

among others. Jagwar Ma has played sold out headline tours in the UK, France, Australia and the US. In 2017, Jagwar Ma played at Summer Bright Lager's Summer Sessions Tour and at

Coachella Coachella (officially called the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and sometimes known as Coachella Festival) is an annual music festival, music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valle ...

. In the summer of 2017, the band performed at

Panorama Music Festival The Panorama Music Festival (commonly referred to as Panorama) is a multi-day music festival held on Randall's Island in New York City. It is presented by Goldenvoice. History ''Goldenvoice'', the company behind Panorama, is a subsidiary of A ...

on Randall's Island in New York City and England's

Glastonbury Festival The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts (commonly referred to as simply Glastonbury Festival, known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts held near Pilton, Somerset, England, in most su ...

. In 2018, Jagwar Ma performed at

Dark Mofo Dark Mofo is an annual mid-winter arts and culture festival held by the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. Launched in 2013 as the winter counterpart of the summer MONA FOMA festival, Dark Mofo events take place a ...

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

, headlining a

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Music lineup.

Members

* Gabriel Winterfield – lead vocals, guitar * Jono Ma – guitar, synths, drum machines, samplers, producer * Jack Freeman – bass

Discography

Studio albums

EPs

Singles

Awards

AIR Awards

The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as

AIR Awards The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector. History The inaugural 2006 awards were held at Blacket Hot ...

) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector. , - , rowspan="6" ,

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

, themselves , Best Independent Artist , , - , rowspan="2" , ''Howlin , Independent Album of the Year , , - , Best Independent Dance/Electronic Club Album , , - , rowspan="2" , "Man I Need" , Independent Single of the Year , , - , Best Independent Dance/Electronic Club Song or EP , , - , themselves , Carlton Dry Global Music Grant , , - ,

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

, ''Every Now and Then'' , Best Independent Dance/Electronic Album , , -

APRA Awards

The APRA Awards are presented annually from 1982 by the

Australasian Performing Right Association APRA AMCOS consists of Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS), both copyright management organisations or copyright collectives which jointly represent over 100,000 songwri ...

(APRA), "honouring composers and songwriters". They commenced in 1982. ! , - ,

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

, Jagwar Ma , Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year , , , -

Australian Music Prize

The

Australian Music Prize The Australian Music Prize (often shortened to the AMP) is an annual award of $50,000 ($30,000 from 2005 to 2023) given to an Australian band or solo artist in recognition of the merit of an album released during the year of award. The award was ...

(the AMP) is an annual award of $30,000 given to an Australian band or solo artist in recognition of the merit of an album released during the year of award. The commenced in 2005. , - , 2013 , ''Howlin , Australian Music Prize , , -

J Award

The

J Awards The J Awards are an annual series of Australian music awards, established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's youth-focused radio station Triple J, and which also extend to sister stations, Triple J Unearthed and Double J. The awar ...

are an annual series of Australian music awards that were established by the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...

's youth-focused radio station

Triple J Triple J is an Australian government-funded national radio station founded in 1975 as a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). It aims to appeal to young listeners of alternative music, and plays far more Australian conten ...

. They commenced in 2005. , - ,

, ''Howlin , Australian Album of the Year ,

References

External links

* {{Authority control Australian rock music groups Musical groups from Sydney Mom + Pop Music artists