Jagwar Ma is a psychedelic dance band from Australia that started in 2011. Gabriel Winterfield (lead vocalist, guitarist), Jono Ma (guitar, rhythms, synths, production), and bass guitarist Jack Freeman, who joined in 2012, make up the band. The band name is a sarcastic combination of the word “jaguar” with Jono’s surname. Jagwar Ma released their debut album Howlin’ in 2013 after signing with record labels Mom+Pop (US), Marathon Artists (EU), and Future Classic (Australia). On October 14, 2016, it released its second album, Every Now and Then.
The band began recording sessions in Iceland in 2018, however, future tours and recordings were postponed due to Ma’s sickness, which kept her in Australia. The band has “by no means disbanded,” according to Jono. Both members have started their own enterprises. Winterfield launched a “surf blues” solo project as Golf Alpha Bravo in 2019, releasing singles “Groove Baby Groove,” “Unwind,” and “Blue Wave” through Mom+Pop Records. On June 12, 2020, his full-length debut album, The Sundog, was published on his own label, Treasured Recordings. Jono Ma and Jonti launched an ongoing collaboration called Mystics, which published their first single, “Steppers,” in 2019 and will perform live at Carriageworks in 2022. In 2018, he published an EP titled The Dreemas on Kompact in conjunction with Dreems, and in 2020, he will release a rendition of Kraftwerk’s “Neon Lights” on Bandcamp in remembrance of Florian Schneider and Andrew Weatherall, with proceeds benefiting The Aboriginal Legal Service.