Muffin is a folk and pop artist from Tokyo, Japan, born in 1980. The name is used by several different acts, including a Russian mix maker, a Japanese guitarist and an Australian electro artist, but the Japanese solo project is the one described here.

Solo work

Working under the name muffin, Mana Sasaki makes music that sits between slowcore and sadcore, with sweet melodies shaped by seventies folk and nineties shoegaze. Her singing is often described as whispered and quiet, backed by sparse guitar.

Releases and collaborators

Her reputation grows in part from the Christmas song “Wonder Night”, which features her hushed vocal and minimal guitar accompaniment. On her first LP, grapes, she works with Yoshiko Iguchi on flute, Yoshinari Kishida on drums and percussion, Yorihito Matsumoto on bass, Yoshino Trans on esraj, Nick Duffy on bouzouki and banjo, and producer David Naughton.

Other activity

Alongside her solo recordings, she also plays bass guitar with Apartment.