This seven-piece soul, funk and R&B group is no stranger to the Parksville Qualicum Beach area, but this time their coming to town with a proper EP to their names.
They’ll perform at Errington War Memorial Hall (1390 Errington Rd.) on Jan. 19.
Released in April of last year, the band’s EP of six original songs is a milestone for the group, together since 2014.
“(It’s) something that we were striving to do for quite some time,” said lead singer and lyricist Adriana Parejas.
“It felt really good to accomplish that and put that online so that we could open ourselves up to new opportunities and have more people have the opportunity to listen to our music.”
Though she said the EP has no particular theme, she said a pretty clear starting point for their songs is her own life.
“When I listen to our songs and I listen to all the songs that I do write, I think that there is a theme of like … going through heartbreak, being in a relationship, being in love,” said Parejas.
“They are a lot of my own focus in my own life, and healing that part of myself. So it’s just what happens when you have the medium of song to express that in. People get that story about you.”
The band’s classic and contemporary R&B, funk, soul, neo-soul and blues influences no doubt offer a good canvas for those sorts of songs, with the band offering slower, driving ballads to faster-paced offerings.
MudFunk is made up of guitarist William Lloyd, drummer Chris Couto, Cole Tinney on keyboards, Rachel Strobl and Larisa Sanders on background vocals and a bassist (either Jeanse Le Doujet or Scott Archibald.
The band began with Lloyd’s blues and funk influences, Parejas’ interest in soul, and drummer Couto.
While Parejas said her bandmates may feel differently, but her favourite song from their EP remains What About the Love.
“It’s a song about being in a relationship and it not going how you planned, and then coming out the other side and feeling empowerd,” she said.
“I really connect to that song just because it felt really empowering to write it, and then also I wanted it to reach other women as well in their journey of being in relationships that maybe aren’t the best for them or when they feel like they aren’t being treated well.”
While this EP represents the band’s sound as established over the past several years, Parejas said they are working on some new songs that they are hoping to perform at their Errington show.
“We have four new songs that we’ve recently written in December, and the sound of those songs are very different to me, anyways… We’ve kind of tapped into something new as a band.”
The all-ages dance takes place Jan. 19 at 8 p.m. (doors open at 7:30 p.m) at Errington hall. Tickets are $20 at Cranky Dog Music in Parksville, Heaven on Earth Natural Foods in Qualicum Beach and at the Errington Store, or $22 online at erringtonhall.tickit.ca. Kids six-12 are $5, those six and under are free.
