The Muses



Their latest, Pop On Strings 2, welcomes back violinists Olivia Kotze and Mia Snyman, viola player Ruby Ngoasheng and welcomes in newest arrival and cellist Laetitia van Wyk. The quartet’s 14 brand-new renditions of global smash-hit singles pick up where their debut left off. Only this time the wish list of songs came from the very people that help keep The Muses great. “We listened to what the fans wanted us to record, via our Facebook and Twitter pages,” Kotze explains. “This album is all about taking the energy of what unravels when we perform live, and capturing as much of that as possible for fans to enjoy between seeing and hearing us perform live. The best part is we play a good mix of events, shows, and accept interesting invites to know just how to ignite the night.”



The Muses’ journey began in 2011, and in that time the four-piece have played the length and breadth of the country, invited by prestigious brands the likes of BMW, Mercedes-Benz, The Spring Summer Guess Fashion Show and the 2013 UEFA Champions League Heineken Mansion series.



Known for their quality productions, qualification as classically trained, pop prepped and able to deliver musicians, the music The Muses make generates enough energy to contribute to the national power grid and light a dance floor indefinitely. Whether it’s “Party Rock”, “Pata, Pata” or “Don’t You Worry Child”, their biggest floor fillers are soon to be topped by their new inclusions from the likes of David Guetta (“Titanium”), Bruno Mars (“Locked Out Of Heaven) and P¡ink (“Try”), amongst others.



The chemistry that makes The Muses spark comes from many different places. “Ruby is the rock chick and a big John Mayer fan”, Kotze explains. “Mia’s world revolves around music, she loves anything new and fresh on the market and with a busy teaching schedule there’s never a quiet moment in her life. Laetitia, or “baby-muse”, is busy studying music at the University of Pretoria, so there’s lots of classical influence in her life. I’m more of an indie and world-music lover, my all-time favourite artist is Cesária Évora.”
 

So what’s clear is their musical influences are varied, and some even a little less mainstream, but between the four music-makers each has their favourite. The best part being that they all get to show off their rich personalities at different times, thanks to the diversity of their respective and evolving playlists.



“We’ve all studied and learnt to master our instruments and the technical focus makes for some wonderful spontaneous moments,” Kotze continues, “whether we’ve brought our laser show along for the ride or not. We love to get dressed up and have some good clean fun. Classical music may be our foundation, but we’ve left the launch pad, thanks to the success of our debut, and now Pop On Strings 2. Both are powerful calling cards we’re very proud of indeed.”

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Great music makes for a convincing introductions and licence to traverse the country, continent, and potentially the world, should fate become currency. “We love the buzz, the wonderful energy each show brings with it,” Kotze concludes. Big or small, blue chip or A-List corporates, The Muses make the rooms they play in, and with each the quartet blazes a trail and reputation that’ll see these four busy, playing up a storm indefinitely!