Maruja () are an English

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band formed in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

in 2014, currently signed to

Music for Nations Music for Nations (MFN) is a British independent record label focusing mainly on rock and metal. Originally a subsidiary of Zomba Records, which was a division of BMG, the label was closed in 2004 and later revived in 2015 by Sony Music Ente ...

. Their most recent line-up consists of Harry Wilkinson (lead vocals, guitar), Joe Carroll (saxophone, vocals), Matt Buonaccorsi (bass) and Jacob Hayes (drums). The band gained attention through their

EPs An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

''Knocknarea'' (2023) and ''Connla's Well'' (2024), combining elements of

post-rock Post-rock is a subgenre of experimental rock that emphasizes Texture (music), texture, atmosphere, and non-traditional song structures over conventional rock techniques. Post-rock artists often combine rock instrumentation and rock stylings wit ...

jazz-rock Jazz fusion (also known as jazz rock, jazz-rock fusion, or simply fusion) is a popular music Music genre, genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and jazz improvisation, improvisation with rock music, funk, a ...

and

noise rock Noise rock (sometimes called noise punk) is a noise music, noise-oriented style of experimental rock that spun off from punk rock in the 1980s. Drawing on movements such as minimal music, minimalism, industrial music, and New York hardcore, a ...

History

2014–2019: Formation and early years

Prior to the formation of the band, Harry Wilkinson and Matt Buonaccorsi were childhood friends and both attended

The Manchester College The Manchester College is the largest further education college in the United Kingdom and the largest single provider of 16–19, adult and higher education in Greater Manchester, with more than 25% of Greater Manchester’s learning provision ...

. Together with guitarist Liam Laurence and a drummer, the group formed Maruja in 2014. The band's name was inspired by a store sign that Wilkinson saw during a family holiday in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. The band released their self-titled debut EP in 2016. It was followed by the ''Explicit Trickery'' EP in 2017. Between 2017 and 2018, saxophonist Joe Carroll joined the band and the original drummer was replaced by Jacob Hayes. The band released their third EP, ''Compassion'', in 2019. Laurence left the band in 2019 due to "creative differences". Afterwards, the band disowned their prior releases, with Carroll stating, .

2020–2023: New line-up and ''Knocknarea''

In 2020, Maruja released two non-album singles under the new line-up: "Tao" on 16 March and "Rage" on 27 November. In September 2021, it was reported that singer

Louis Tomlinson Louis William Tomlinson ( ; born 24 December 1991) is an English singer, songwriter, and fashion designer. Born and raised in Doncaster, England, Tomlinson auditioned for British singing competition ''The X Factor'' as a solo artist in 2010, w ...

had donated £4000 to the band's

GoFundMe GoFundMe is an American for-profit crowdfunding platform that allows people to raise money for events ranging from life events such as celebrations and graduations to challenging circumstances like accidents and illnesses. From 2010 to the ...

page after their equipment had been stolen, leading them to reach their overall target of £6000. On 17 March 2023, the band released ''Knocknarea'', their fourth EP and first under the new line-up. Three of the EP's tracks—"Blind Spot", "The Tinker" and "Thunder"—were released as singles prior to its release.

2024–present: ''Connla's Well'', ''The Vault'' and label signing

Maruja announced their fifth EP ''Connla's Well'' on 25 March 2024, which was released on 26 April 2024. It was preceded by the singles "Zeitgeist", "One Hand Behind the Devil" and "The Invisible Man". Matt Mitchell of ''

Paste Paste is a term for any very thick viscous fluid. It may refer to: Science and technology * Adhesive or paste ** Wallpaper paste ** Wheatpaste, a liquid adhesive made from vegetable starch and water * Paste (rheology), a substance that behaves as ...

'' praised the EP, calling it "intense and compelling" and "a symphonic, crushing listen that'll challenge your own entropy". ''

Our Culture Mag ''Our Culture Mag'' (stylised ourculture) is a British arts and culture online magazine launched in 2016 by Modestas Mankus, based in Cambridge, England. It covers film, fashion, music, art, photography and literature. History In 2016, Modesta ...

'' ranked the EP number 4 on its year-end list of the 25 best EPs of 2024. On 30 August 2024, the band released ''The Vault'' exclusively to

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

and

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online music distribution platform founded in 2008 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with an office and record store in Oakland, California. Acquired by Epic ...

, comprising a collection of six

jam sessions ''Jam Sessions'' is a guitar simulation software title and music game for the Nintendo DS that was originally based on the Japan-only title ''Sing & Play DS Guitar M-06'' (''Hiite Utaeru DS Guitar M-06'') originally developed by Plato and relea ...

recorded between 2021 and 2023. In late 2024, the band signed to

. Their first single under the label, "Break the Tension", was released on 3 October 2024. On 9 May 2025, the band announced their debut album, ''Pain to Power'', set for release on 12 September by Music for Nations.

Musical style and influences

The band's sound has been variously labelled as

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

art rock Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that generally reflects a challenging or avant-garde approach to rock, or which makes use of modernist, experimental, or unconventional elements. Art rock aspires to elevate rock from entertainment to an ar ...

and

post-hardcore Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. Like the term " post-punk", the term "post-hardcore" has been applied to a broad conste ...

. Rishi Shah of ''

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 ...

'' described the band's style as "noisy jazz-punk". The band have acknowledged

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

and

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductors * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic c ...

musicians such as

Shpongle Shpongle is a psychedelic music, psychedelic electronic music project from England that formed in 1996. The group includes Hallucinogen (musician), Simon Posford and Raja Ram (musician), Raja Ram (one of three in The Infinity Project). The duo ...

Floating Points Samuel Shepherd (born 1986), known professionally as Floating Points, is a British electronic music producer, DJ, and musician. He is the founder of Pluto Records, co-founder of Eglo Records and leader of a 16-piece group called Floating Poin ...

Kamasi Washington Kamasi Tii Washington (born February 18, 1981) is an American arranger, composer and jazz saxophonist. Archived July 9, 2015. He is a founding member of the jazz collective West Coast Get Down. Career Washington was born in 1981 and raise ...

Alice Coltrane Alice Lucille Coltrane (' McLeod; August 27, 1937January 12, 2007), also known as Swamini Turiyasangitananda () or simply Turiya, was an American jazz musician, composer, bandleader, and Hindu spiritual leader. An accomplished pianist and one o ...

and

Pharoah Sanders Pharoah Sanders (born Ferrell Lee Sanders; October 13, 1940 – September 24, 2022) was an American jazz saxophonist. Known for his overblowing, harmonic, and multiphonic techniques on the saxophone, as well as his use of "sheets of sound", San ...

as influences. Wilkinson has cited

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

artists such as

Tupac Tupac Amaru Shakur (; born Lesane Parish Crooks; June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor, regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all tim ...

Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, he was awarded the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music, becoming the first music ...

and

Little Simz Simbiatu "Simbi" Abisola Abiola Ajikawo (born 23 February 1994), better known by her stage name Little Simz, is a British Rapping, rapper and Acting, actress. She rose to prominence with the independent release of her first three albums: ''A Cur ...

as major influences on his performing style. Buonaccorsi has mentioned

Swans Swans are birds of the genus ''Cygnus'' within the family Anatidae. The swans' closest relatives include the geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Sometim ...

as a key influence on his bass playing, naming them his "favourite band ever".

Members

;Current members * Harry Wilkinsonlead vocals, guitar (2014–present) * Matt Buonaccorsibass guitar (2014–present) * Joe Carroll

alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgians, Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in the key of E♭ ( ...

, vocals (2017–present) * Jacob Hayesdrums (2018–present) ;Former members * Liam Laurenceguitar (2014–2019)

Discography

Albums

* ''Pain to Power'' (2025,

)

Demos

* ''The Vault'' (2024)

EPs

* ''Maruja EP'' (2016) * ''Explicit Trickery'' (2017) * ''Compassion'' (2019) * ''Knocknarea'' (2023) * ''Connla's Well'' (2024) * ''Tir na nÓg'' (2025)

Singles

References

External links

* {{Authority control English post-rock groups English post-punk music groups Musical groups established in 2014 2014 establishments in England Music for Nations artists Musical groups from Manchester