Maruja tell us about their epic single ‘Look Down On Us’ and debut album ‘Pain To Power’

Maruja have announced their hotly-anticipated debut album ‘Pain To Power’ with the epic but cutting new single ‘Look Down On Us’ and details of a world tour. Check everything out below, along with our interview with bassist Matt Buonaccorsi.

Hailed in the NME 100 as “creating an out-of-body experience where psych sounds meet rapid-fire truths and feral moshpits” where “the tension of modernity finally bursts with one helluva racket”, the hyped political Manchester jazz-punks today (Friday May 9) announce that ‘Pain to Power’ will be released on Friday September 12 via Music For Nations.

The album was recorded at Low Four Studio and produced by Samuel W Jones – who has helmed their three EPs to date – and comes previewed by ‘Look Down On Us’. Check out its accompanying 10 minute video, which is inspired by the violent LP artwork by Mikey Thomas.

“The four of us acutely understand this song, and you can say it’s in two halves,” Buonaccorsi told NME, also describing ‘Look Down On Us’ as “a furious cry against the impact of late-stage capitalism and the wealth of the one percent on global society”.

“The first half is the narrator/us/the listener experiencing anger and frustration at the discourse right now. The lyrics refer to multibillionaires and oligarchical figures like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg. All these people have so much power and can control what we see in our lives.”

• READ MORE: Meet Maruja: Manchester’s defiant, outspoken and noisy new jazz-punks

He continued: “The fact that these people have so much power and wealth has created a tension that’s boiling. A lot of the first half of the song alludes to that, along with war as well. That same type of greed can arise in our politicians who are, alarmingly, quite open with it. America is profiting from selling weapons to Israel who are butchering Palestine.

“The first half of the song is incredibly angry, while the second half asks, ‘How can we be hopeful in a time like this?’ The message of the song is about finding hope through the destruction of democracy and the dissolution of society and culture.”

Buonaccorsi added: “As much as we need to be angry and frustrated, we need to utilise that for collective action, for looking after one another, for understanding how trauma effects all of us both on a societal and personal level.”

As for the cinematic video, Buonaccorsi explained how it came together as a collaboration with the team at the Light In The Tower production company to utilise art and dance “to convey ideas like ‘the oppressed vs the oppressor'”. This too, is a battle that lay at the heart of ‘Pain To Power’.

“A lot of themes on this album – and I mean stuff that the four of us, our generation and people across the world are experiencing right now – are about seeing so much turmoil, war, corruption, greed, horror through the screens of our phones,” the bassist told NME. “It’s easy to feel powerless when looking at all of this happening. Decades ago, you would have just heard about stuff like Palestine through the newspaper, but now the world is an open stage. We’re getting angles about all kinds of incredible suffering from different countries, different peoples.

“It’s so horrifying to try and take in all of this collective pain. The fact that we can try and turn this pain into power, into action, to come together to protest and form communities and celebrate solidarity and love over division – that’s quite powerful. ‘Pain To Power’ means to transform something that is making our lives so difficult and trying to change the world with that. The whole album is a study on that phrase.”

Ready to hit the road this summer ahead of their newly-announced dates across the UK, Europe, China, Japan and the US later this year, Maruja find themselves refreshed and inspired after a break following their recent and lengthy North American tour.

“It was wonderful,” said Buonaccorsi. “It’s a big culture shock going there, because it’s such a massive, grand place. Every single state, and in Canada, every single fan is lovely. There was a warm presence from them all and they were some of the most energetic and frightening crowds we’ve ever had. New York was just possibly my favourite show ever.”

Alluding to the ongoing debate and campaign around freedom of expression within music following Kneecap’s Coachella stunt for Palestine,  Buonaccorsi said he felt encouraged by the engagement from their fans.

“With the discourse, we’re in very politically sensitive times for both our countries – probably more so for America right now,” he told NME. “It meant that on some level, we could really relate to the fans that we were meeting. For the fans that were coming down to our shows across the States, they understood that our message is very much to be wary of authoritarianism and how that can descend into all kinds of ugly places.

“America is having a tough time right now. All the fans that were coming down were the exact type of crowd that would cheer, go crazy in moshpits. We welcomed each other with open arms. We look forward to much more of that.”

Maruja release ‘Pain To Power’ on Friday September 12 via Music For Nations. Check out a full list of 2025 tour dates below, with artist pre-sale for the new headline shows kicking off at 9am local time on Wednesday May 14 before a general on-sale from 9am local time on Friday May 16. Visit here for tickets and more information.

MAY
16 – The Great Escape, BRIGHTON
23 – Conpass, OSAKA
24 – Club Que, TOKYO
27 – YUE Space, BEIJING
28t – VAS Livehouse, SHANGHAI
29 – 9 Club, HANGZHOU
31 – VOX Livehouse, WUHAN

JUNE
1 – B10 Live, GUANGZHAN
2 – OMNI Space, BEIJING
8 – Lycabettus Hill Theatre, ATHENS (supporting TV on the Radio)
11 – Rock For People Festival, CZECH REPUBLIC
12 – Ecosystemic Festival, LATVIA
14 – Outbreak Festival, MANCHESTER

JULY
11 – Pohoda Festival, SLOVAKIA
20 – TvSpenta festival, ITALY
26 – Deer Shed Festival, YORKSHIRE

 AUGUST
7– Ypsigrock Festival, ITALY
8 – Haldern Pop Festival, GERMANY
9 – Winterthurer Musikfestwochen, SWITZERLAND
14 –  Paredes de Coura festival, PORTUGAL
16 – Lowlands Festival, NETHERLANDS
17 – Pukkelpop Festival, BELGIUM
21 – Canela Party, SPAIN
23 – Shambala Festival, UK        

SEPTEMBER
22 – Foundry, PHILADELPHIA
23 – Sinclair, BOSTON
25 – Elsewhere, BROOKLYN
27 – Concert Hall, TORONTO
28 – Thalia Hall, CHICAGO

OCTOBER
1 – El Rey, LOS ANGELES
2 – Constellation Room, SANTA ANA
3 – Independent, SAN FRANCISCO
4 – Harlows Startlet Room, SACRAMENTO
25 – Electric Bristol, BRISTOL
29 – The Garage, GLASGOW
31 – Whelan’s, DUBLIN

 NOVEMBER
1 – The Limelight 2, BELFAST
5 – The Castle & Falcon, BIRMINGHAM
7 – The Wardrobe, LEEDS
8 – Rescue Rooms, NOTTINGHAM
12 – CHALK, BRIGHTON
13 – Electric Ballroom, LONDON
14 – O2 Ritz, MANCHESTER
19 – Botanique Orangerie, BRUSSELS
20 – LUXOR, COLOGNE
21 – Paradiso Tolhuistuin, AMSTERDAM
22 – Bahnhof Pauli, HAMBURG
26 – Hole44, BERLIN
28t – Bogen F, ZURICH
29 – Santeria Toscana 31, MILAN

 DECEMBER
3 – M.OU.CO., Porto
4 – LAV, Lisbon
5 – Copernico, MADRID
6 – Sala Apolo, BARCELONA
10 – Pannonica, NANTES
11 – Le Tetris, LE HAVRE
12 – Trabendo, PARIS

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