FEATURE:
The Digital Mixtape
PHOTO CREDIT: Lia Toby/Getty Images
Sugababes’ Mutya Buena at Forty
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A member…
IN THIS PHOTO: Mutya Buena alongside Siobhan Donaghy and Keisha Buchanan of Sugababes
of music’s royalty turns forty on 21st May. She is one-third of the original Sugababes line-up. Mutya Buena, together with Siobhan Donaghy and Keisha Buchanan have created some truly iconic tunes. There have been line-up changes through the years, but we are blessed to have the original line-up performing together today. I am going to come to a 2024 interview where we hear from a group who dominating dancefloors and getting booked alongside prominent D.J.s. Their latest singles, Jungle and Weeds, show that Sugababes’ originals have lost none of their chemistry and power. Before coming to the 2024 interview, there is an AllMusic biography of Mutya Buena that takes us up to 2007. Despite some somewhat dismissive or insulting words, it at least gives you an impression of the accomplishments of Mutya Buena. Happily, after leaving Sugababes, she did eventually reunite and re-join her sisters:
“Mutya Buena has been an international star since the age of 15, when she enjoyed her first hit with the British pop group Sugababes, but it wasn't until 2007 that she stepped out on her own as a solo artist. Born in London's Kingsbury district on May 21, 1985, Rosa Isabel Mutya Buena was raised in a multicultural family (her mother is of Irish descent while her father is from the Philippines), and she developed an interest in music at an early age. When she was eight years old, Buena met Keisha Buchanan and they became fast friends who shared a love for singing. In 1998, Buena and Buchanan were 13 and interested in putting together a singing group when they met a manager who paired them up with fellow singer Siobhan Donaghy. The new trio was named Sugababes, and their first album, One Touch, was released in 2000, with the single "Overload" reaching the British Top Ten. While the group parted ways with its British record label after One Touch failed to top the charts and Heidi Range replaced Donaghy in the group's lineup, Sugababes' second album, Angels with Dirty Faces, became a smash, going triple platinum and scoring four hit singles in the U.K., including two tunes that went to number one, "Freak Like Me" and "Round Round." Sugababes enjoyed similar success with their third album, 2003's Three, but 2005's Taller in More Ways proved to be Buena's swan song with the trio; she gave birth to a daughter, Tahlia-Maya Buena, in March 2005, and in December 2005 she resigned from the group to spend more time with her baby. The group wasted no time hiring a replacement, Amelle Berrabah, who re-recorded Buena's vocal parts for a single release of "Red Dress" from Taller in More Ways. In 2006, Buena began posting demos of new material on her MySpace page, and enjoyed a hit single with George Michael, "This Is Not Real Love," as well as contributing guest vocals to Groove Armada's album Soundboy Rock. In June 2007, Buena released her highly anticipated solo debut, Real Girl”.
Before rounding up, there is an interview from Mixmag from last summer that is interesting. It talks about the comeback of one of the all-time great girl groups. In the next stage of their careers, it is exciting to see what Sugababes produce this year. Whether there will be an album later. I believe there is one coming:
“While this shift was taking shape, Mutya, Keisha and Siobhán were locked out from the Sugababes brand, with Siobhán’s departure later followed by the controversial replacements of Mutya and then Keisha, until no original members remained. That was the case for a decade, until a 2019 legal victory saw the trio reclaim the name. They immediately leaned into their dance music roots, releasing a cover of UK garage classic ‘Flowers’ as their comeback single, recorded for DJ Spoony’s ‘Garage Classical’ compilation. “Coming back under our name, we definitely probably thought it would have been a big [original] single,” says Keisha. “But we're such a fan of old skool garage and we just thought it was a really cool project to be a part of.” Meanwhile the Sugababes were translating into clubland like never before, with contemporary producers and DJs latching onto their tunes for edits and airplay amid a growing wider trend.
“In my humble opinion, one of the best things about the modern day music industry is the ‘00s pop resurgence. Music that my cooler older brother made fun of me for liking when I was seven, that is now being dropped left right and centre from all your fave DJs in clubs around the world!” says DJ and BBC Radio 1 Dance host Jaguar, who’s coined the term UKC (UK Cunty) for her style that blends “peak-time queer clubs and bass music”. DJs drawing for Sugagabes cuts and reworks in recent times include Midland, Yazzus, Elkka and Four Tet, with notable edits made by the likes of Two Shell, Majestic, Metronomy and Joy Anonymous. A clip of Eliza Rose dropping the latter remix on Boiler Room to a fervent crowd secured another viral TikTok post for the ‘B.O.T.A’ chart-topper. The group that once covered a bootleg to top the pop charts was now being bootlegged into a new era of club prominence. They got asked to do their own Boiler Room (apparently due to the sheer number of their bootlegs being dropped on the platform), have been booked to play dance events such as FALSE IDOLS at Drumsheds, on a bill with Job Jobse, Saoirse, Paranoid London, and more, and now get tapped when brands want clubland clout for events like Berlin späti raves.
The wild response to the Avalon set at Glastonbury seems to have helped this. Simon Denby, co-founder of FALSE IDOLS, namechecks it when discussing the booking. “We were lucky and got in - it was joyous and I loved seeing the crowd mix - partying alongside queer raver friends, edgy Berlin DJs and a more expected fun pop crowd - it was really diverse and everyone was singing along,” he says. “Their music is really well produced and has stood the test of time, it crosses over with UK garage and house and has been incredibly popular in the early days of lots of the artists we have playing who listened to Sugababes when they were growing up.”
Widening the lens on ‘why now?’, his comment alludes to nostalgia, which is an evident force behind all of this. It’s worth noting that nostalgia in music is sometimes considered a symbol of poor scene health and creative stagnancy, perhaps reflecting an aging clubbing base, while for younger audiences, the “boom of ‘90s rave nostalgia among Gen Z … has been linked to the struggling economy” (disucssed in more depth here). But it’s also not a cause for outright cynicism. As Siobhán notes, the way younger gerations with the internet discover music has changed drastically, and different eras are more collapsed into each other now. “I'm always fascinated with what my niece is listening to,” she says. “It was so funny because she tried to introduce me to the Cocteau Twins the other day. I was like they're not new and Liz Fraser is about 60 years old, and she could not get her head around that fact.” She considers that this shift has “thrown the doors open, and it's not people telling the younger generation what is cool, they just discover it themselves, and they like it. Who doesn't love a pop banger?”
DJ Heartstring, real names Jonas and Leo, embody the trend of blending nostalgia with fresher club sounds, which makes them a natural fit to share a bill with Sugababes. They do it very well. The Berlin duo have become one of the most sought after acts on the circuit for their style that sits somewhere between Eurodance and techno, fusing a pop-meets-rave approach fuelled by high BPMs and ecstasy-soaked euphoria that’s hard to resist. They run a popular event series called Teenage Dreams, which takes its name from a punter once complaining about Jonas’ throwback selections. “She was like: 'Can you please stop playing these piano tracks? Because it feels like an endless teenage dream',” he reveals, grinning. “I was like this is amazing, I will continue to play this because that's exactly the feeling that I want. Nostalgia, reminding you of the good old days or whatever that means. That's what we're going for.”
The changes from the ‘good old days’ to now are harder to be positive about. The UK’s club scene is struggling, and intimate nightlife venues closing down amid a trend towards festival-style megavenues is another reason why a booking with the Sugababes' following is appealing. It’s also why DJ Heartstring are thrilled to play with them in a späti. “It doesn't make sense in my head. The Sugababes in a späti!” exclaims Leo disbelievingly. “It feels like we're able to take these legendary people into our world and present them in our way,” says Jonas, calling spätis (which provided his youth with cheap drinks, 24/7 opening hours and casual street seating with a bar-like atmosphere) “as much a part of Berlin nightlife as the clubs are”. However: “Unfortunately the city is trying to crackdown on the culture a little bit,’ he continues, reflecting on related nightlife scourges such as gentrification, stricter licensing and the cost of living that also afflict Germany (among other countries). He fears for nightlife’s future if a new generation can’t afford to participate. “If we lose the next generation it's going to eventually die out.” That’s the thinking behind the späti rave and wider DT campaign: to give Gen Z “access to a range of music experiences” (and promote the brand).
Admittedly nightlife struggles are a somewhat sour context, but still, we can’t help agree with Jonas that “it's sick that [the Sugababes were] up for it. There would be artists their size who would be too cool or important for this.” And getting back to the main matter at hand, it’s a beautiful thing that the Sugagabes have overcome industry fuckery and returned from the wilderness to find their place in the club scene and their contribution to dance music newly recognised. They’re loving that new generations are connecting and experimenting with their music. “I've seen quite a few clips of DJs playing our music out, and it’s always nice to see such a young crowd sing along to our lyrics. Just remix it and put it out there and have fun with it. It's nice to hear,” says Mutya. “Especially when they include a big drop!” chimes in Siobhán. “You don't get that in the original so that's fun.” And not only that, they’re taking inspiration from it in turn. The more intimate club shows are their favourite to perform, and have inspired adaptations to their bigger arena gigs, such as the garage medley section of their live show. “It's become such an important part of our set. I actually can’t imagine the show without it now,” says Siobhán. The choice to perform this on a stage setup in the middle of the crowd at the O2 Arena came from the party vibes they experienced playing Boiler Room. “We wanted to create an atmosphere of intimacy, so we took the concept of playing in the round. You could just feel that garage rave and intimate feeling. We just had a ball,” says Keisha.
Things have come full circle for the three girls from London who connected over garage and formed one of the most successful musical groups in UK history with a raft of pioneering bangers. As far as future music goes, expect the Sugababes and clubland love affair to carry on. As Siobhán explained, “faster tempos don't always lend themselves to a busy kind of harmony situation”, but, she teases, “it's worked on our new record”.
After parting ways with BMG, they released Jungle and Weeds. They are now independent artists. Having recently completed some tour dates and with plenty ahead, it is an exciting time for Sugababes. 21st May is Mutya Buena’s fortieth birthday. To mark that, I have ended with a mixtape of Sugababes songs she has been involved with, in addition to some collaborations and solo tracks – and tracks that she has a writing credit on. Even if you are not a huge fan of Sugababes, you have to give respect to Buena. One of music’s greats, this is my salute to…
HER sheer brilliance.