Singer/songwriter Jon Muq’s dreams come to life in his aptly-titled debut album ‘Flying Away,’ a spirited, soaring, breathtakingly soulful record full of love, heart, energy, and above all else, raw, relentless passion. Here, the Texas by-way-of Uganda artist takes us track-by-track through his full-length record, produced by The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach.

Stream: “Flying Away From Home” – Jon Muq

It’s been a journey of transition, of culture, climate, language – each song is a true life event. It was not an easy journey for sure, but it has resulted in this amazing music.

He’s got stars in his eyes – and to his credit, Jon Muq shines as bright as the lights that guide him.

Hailing from Uganda and now based in Austin, Texas, the singer/songwriter has already lived several lives over his first thirty years on the planet. From busking in the streets of Kampala and performing on cruise liners to opening for Billy Joel and collaborating with Dan Auerbach, Muq’s journey is one filled with powerful stories, life lessons, and dreams – or rather, the relentless pursuit of his dreams. Those dreams come to life in his aptly-titled debut album Flying Away, a spirited, soaring, breathtakingly soulful record full of love, heart, energy, and above all else, raw, relentless passion.

Sometimes you have to search
Before you find it
The light can seem so very far away
But everything you left so far behind it
Is in your heart to stay
To help you find your way

– “Flying Away From Home,” Jon Muq

Released May 31, 2024 via Easy Eye Sound, Flying Away is a resounding, radiant triumph for dreamers everywhere, and a testament to what can happen when you chase your inner light, letting it guide you wherever you need to go. Produced by Dan Auerbach, Jon Muq’s debut album is a musical autobiography of sorts; a sonic diary through which he tells his story in twelve songs.

While this is technically Muq’s longform “debut,” it is so much more than an introduction to the multi-dimensional singer/songwriter, who traversed the world in more ways than one just to get to this point in time.

“I’ve been writing a lot of these songs for years. These songs are my friends, stories and experiences I have had. Some of them came to life in the studio with Dan and some of them were born there, but they all reflect my life so far,” Muq tells Atwood Magazine. “It’s just right from the heart and about experiences I have faced in real life and how I have turned them to positivity and joy.”

“I always don’t worry about a river, not until I am there to cross it, so I had no vision. All I knew is that the songs will sound great after the production,” he adds. “I just wanted to share my songs. Sometimes I would bring music into the studio, and the song would transform – either with new instruments, being sped up or slowed down. The experience working with Dan was really magical, I learned a lot.”

A highlight of how the album was made was, each song was one take and it took four days to record sixteen songs – that was so fun.

Music has been core to Muq’s identity as far back as he can remember.

He fell in love with singing at a young age, and eventually learned to play guitar, busking in the streets and performing for homeless children in Kampala. A video of him busking led to a performance gig on a Norwegian Cruise Liner – a life-changing experience he recalls in the song, “Flying Away From Home”: “I left my home when I was 23 years old and sailed away into the night.” Working on ships enabled Muq to secure a passport and visa, and he flew to Texas in 2020 to keep chasing his dreams in the “Live Music Capital of the World.”

He’s arguably put in far more than his share of 10,000 hours, but Muq’s success is as much due to his tireless work ethic, as it is due to the raw humanity at this core of his songwriting.

He candidly describes his record as a simple heart; that heart glows with a warm, inviting light on songs like “Bend,” “Shake Shake,” One You Love,” and more – all tracks that resonate with an inspiring depth of intimacy, love, and tenderness. The album’s title comes from the song of the same name, which tells so much of Muq’s life story in just three minutes’ time.

“‘Flying Away From Home’ is about that decision to leave for a long trip that has no boundaries and timing,” he explains. “It’s the one I am on right now.” The sunny and soulful title track, which Atwood Magazine had the honor of premiering earlier this May, is also home to some of Muq’s favorite lyrics, in large part because they hit so close to home, telling his (albeit abridged) life story:

Sometimes you have to search
Before you find it
The light can seem so very far away
But everything you left so far behind it
Is in your heart to stay
To help you find your way

I was born to live for more
And I don’t know the reason why
When opportunity came knocking at my door
I looked it right into the eyes
When I wandered down the road
They didn’t know what I was thinking
I just knew I had to go

Every day I’m growing stronger
Every day is something new
I can’t wait until tomorrow

“Flying Away From Home” is just one of several highlights on a record full of heart and soul, stunning songwriting and beautiful melody.

Muq sets the scene with soul-stirring album opener “Runaway,” which also served as his debut single last September. A candid confessional in which he expresses his commitment to push forward, in spite of hardships and obstacles, “Runaway” is heartfelt and humanizing; he admits that the road he’s on has not been easy, nor has it been straightforward or altogether obvious, but with music as his guiding light, he has continued on a path that led him here, to us, today: “I feel like a runaway; I got a home but I just can’t find it. I never knew the right of way; I’m not alone ’cause the stars they guide me,” he sings at the top, an aching in his chest. “It’s in my past I gotta let it go. I don’t look back, I gotta keep on going…“

So I say, hey
Don’t care what the weather man’s saying
Hey, hey
I’m not afraid of the storm that’s raging
It’s not mine, I gotta let it go
I pay no mind, I gotta keep on walking

I feel like a child now
Every day I keep on growing
Every road that I travel down
There’s always someone there worth knowing

It’s in my blood, I was born to roam
Where I go there is no returning
I feel like a runaway

Further standouts see find Muq reckoning with love, loneliness, human connection, and the search for hope in trying times.

From the deep, heart-on-sleeve longing permeating throughout songs like “One You Love” and “Bend,” to the celebration of dance in “Shake, Shake,” to the attempt at overcoming cultural differences in “Butterflies,” Flying Away is forever honest and true to Muq’s lived experiences – and yet, within every personal story, there lies universal truth.

Muq concludes his album with “Riding,” another deeply human song of acceptance, wonderment, and continued dedication to that lifelong journey of music and dream-chasing. It’s a pacifying ending to a record full of self-reflection, inner and outer connection – and a sendoff that fills our spirits the will to keep riding through life’s highs and lows.

I’ve seen the world standing still
I’ve seen the leaders come and go
Them leaving good and a mess
I’ve buried friends and family
I’ve heard that Jesus will come again

But I just keep riding, riding all alone
Riding, riding, down the road
Through the hurricanes
Riding, riding all alone
Through the hate and fear
Riding, riding down the road

I’ve seen religions come and go
I’ve seen the innocents killed by law
Seen them sweet lovers break my heart
I’ve seen the races fight themselvеs
I’ve seen what I chose and what I need
But I just keep riding, riding all alone, oh, no

Jon Muq may be riding high with Flying Away‘s release – and rightfully so; the album is a masterful, deeply moving triumph in every sense of the word – but he’s not slowing down.

While others may take a moment to relax or rest on their laurels, Muq is a runaway at heart and a true road warrior through and through. He will be opening for living legend Mavis Staples and playing festivals throughout North America this summer, followed by a short European tour in late August and more shows throughout the fall (tickets and more information here).

At all of these concerts, Muq will bring the heart and soul we hear on his debut record to life onstage – because whether he’s playing in the streets of Kampala, on the deck of a cruise ship, or at a revered concert hall or festival, Jon Muq is already living his dream, connecting to others the way he knows best.

“When I arrived in America, I was coming from a different part of the world, and I was very lost,” he shares. “I didn’t have a plan. I didn’t know what was coming tomorrow. I was just following instinct. I always thought, if I can communicate with people through music, it will make me feel like I am not alone. I can speak to people very intimately using music.”

Flying Away is both the culmination of Jon Muq’s first thirty years, and the new platform off of which he now soars up toward the sky.

“It’s been a journey of transition, of culture, climate, language – each song is a true life event,” he reflects. “It was not an easy journey for sure, but it has resulted in this amazing music. I hope this new album now reaches a person who might need to hear some of the messages in it. As long as a song makes someone’s day, I’ll be happy.”

Experience the full record via our below stream, and peek inside Jon Muq’s Flying Away with Atwood Magazine as he goes track-by-track through the music and lyrics of his debut album!

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:: stream/purchase Flying Away here ::

:: connect with Jon Muq here ::

Stream: ‘Flying Away’ – Jon Muq

:: Inside Flying Away ::

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“Runaway”

Running away from anything good or bad is never a weakness but rather courageous. It took me a while to realize I ran away from the life I grew up in – sisters, friends and family – which makes me feel like a runaway.

“One You Love”

Anyone can promise you the world, but I don’t want to be anyone. I just want to be the one you love near or far.

“Shake Shake”

Growing up around over 50 tribes that had different kinds of dances, each tribe focused on a specific part of the body when dancing, and the joy was endless. That moment of joy and happiness will always be yours, as long as you can “Shake Shake” what you got.

“Lucky Love”

Sometimes I catch myself mid-wonder and I realize if the tiny choice was different. Our souls wouldn’t have met. So lucky it wasn’t.

“Bend”

I had a problem with self-reflection. I hate mirrors, but I decided to confront myself in a mirror, and ‘Bend’ is the conversation I had with my reflection. It’s okay to give up on yourself on occasion; find an honest conversation with your reflection and you will truly discover yourself.

“Love, Love, Love”

While in the search of Love somewhere else, remember you are love yourself. There is love somewhere looking around for someone like you.

“Crying, Laughing, Loving, Lying”

This is a cover of Labi Siffre, who I admire.

“Butterflies”

This song is about the difference between gestures of “Hi” in the western world compared to the Ugandan world. My drunk friends told me in America if you look at someone for a long time you are communicating something, I was so surprised! So I went to a bar, got a beer and looked at the lady that was seated across the table. As I was 20 mins into looking at her she smiled. I did not say anything but I decided to write about the confusion we both had, and it’s the song “Butterflies.”

“Hello Sunshine”

I love singing this live… this is about keeping a positive attitude even when things are hard.

“Dark Door”

A friend of mine who was always there for me in my first days when I moved to the USA, she always offered to show me new things like swimming. It really helped a lot to feel welcome, but I hadn’t seen her for a while. After a few years she reached out and asked me to help her move. I was so happy to help, during the move she was crying, she was passing through a lot. But I did not ask why. This song is about all the guilt of not asking as a good friend.

“Flying Away From Home”

At 23 I made a big decision to leave my home in Uganda to adventure this new passion of music that I had encountered. No one understood why and how much I loved this passion. Some friends/people called me crazy because I was singing in English yet I never spoke proper english. They asked me “Are you competing with Chris brown?? Who was hurting sometimes. Regardless of all the negative opinions from even the closest people to me I never stopped.

All dreamers!! “It’s time for you to fly, fly far, far away, into a life you have a vision of in your mind. When any opportunity comes knocking at your door, don’t blink! Look it right in the eyes, it’ll lead you into a brand new day.”

“Riding”

First time I visited a person in an assisted living place, I was so intrigued. We had gone to see my roommate’s grandmother… One day I was left with their grandmother in the room. We were all quiet and I started imagining the kind of life she had passed through. And there she was by herself in this world… She had seen it and experienced it all… So that’s why I wrote that song.

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:: stream/purchase Flying Away here ::

:: connect with Jon Muq here ::

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 © Jim Herrington

Flying Away

an album by Jon Muq