It is not new that Paul Banks likes to have a series of flings alongside his band Interpol. But he seems to be serious about his new project Muzz. Besides Banks, the group consists of drummer Matt Barrick from The Walkman and the Fleet Foxes and guitarist Josh Kaufman from the folk band Bonny Light Horseman. All three musicians have known each other for a long time. It was never really a question of whether they would get together, only when that would happen.
"Matt Barrick reconnected Paul and me," Kaufman recalls. "At least on a creative basis. As friends, we were always in touch anyway. But Matt worked separately with Paul and me on different projects. The word 'organic' might be a little overused, but that's how it feels now that the three of us are doing something together."
But that's exactly how the songs on the self-titled debut album feel, not least for the listener, which is why Paul Banks immediately emphasises that this is not a one-off project, but a solid band. The first album is just out, but they already have new songs in stock for the follow-up. The collaboration goes without saying, one doesn't feel like the everywhere praised supergroup, but it is a story of friendship and trust. "The term supergroup suggests nothing else but that we are three musicians who are also in other musical bodies to a certain extent," says Banks. "What he means is that we are not really a new band, but old geezers. But you have to find a name for everything. I don't think about it any further."