Star Guard Muffin also known as SGM is a Polish band formed in Brzeg in 2008, and suspended in February 2012. It consisted of vocalist Kamil Bednarek, guitarist Szymon Chudy, keyboardist Radek Szyszkowski, bassist Kuba Wojciechowski and drummer Maciek Pilarz. The band is widely associated with

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

music, including roots reggae,

ragga Raggamuffin music, usually abbreviated as ragga, is a subgenre of dancehall and reggae music. The instrumentals primarily consist of electronic music. Similar to hip hop, sampling often serves a prominent role in raggamuffin music. Wayne Sm ...

and

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Rou ...

History

Early years

The band was formed in Brzeg in May 2008. Their first performance was as opening performers before EastWest Rockers' concert in club BigStar in Brzeg. In September they took the first place on Rock Reggae Festiwal in

Brzeszcze Brzeszcze (German: ''Brisk'') is a town in Oświęcim County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship in southern Poland, near Oświęcim. As of December 2021, the town has a population of 10,935. The history of the town dates back to the 15th century, and it ...

. In August 2009 Star Guard Muffin won Grand Prix at Festiwal Artystyczny Młodzieży Akademickiej in

Świnoujście Świnoujście (; german: Swinemünde ; nds, Swienemünn; all three meaning "Świna ivermouth"; csb, Swina) is a city and seaport on the Baltic Sea and Szczecin Lagoon, located in the extreme north-west of Poland. Situated mainly on the islands o ...

. In the same month they performed on Second Days of Youngsters in

Dobre Miasto Dobre Miasto (; german: Guttstadt ; literally Good City) is a town in Poland, in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship with 9,857 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is situated in the northwestern part of the Masurian Lake District in the heart of th ...

Breakthrough

The band reached media attention in September 2010 after Kamil Bednarek's participation in the third series of television show '' Poland's Got Talent'', where he placed second. In November their debut album ''Szanuj'' was released. It reached the top places of

OLiS OLiS (Oficjalna Lista Sprzedaży; en, Official Sales Chart) is the official chart of the highest selling music albums in Poland. The chart exists since 23 October 2000 and is provided by Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry, ZPAV. This is ...

chart. In December it became golden and in January platinum. The album turned out to be one of the fastest selling since the beginning of the 21st century and became the second bestseller of 2010. Over 70,000 copies have been sold so far. In April 2011 the band visited

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

where they worked in the legendary

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...

's studio, Tuff Gong in

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the five most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

, with the best known reggae artist on minialbum ''Jamaican Trip''. Released in June 2011 and completed with DVD containing behind-the-scenes footage and music videos, placed third in

chart. On July 9, 2011, Star Guard Muffin appeared on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' magazine's ''

Uncharted ''Uncharted'' is an action-adventure video game franchise published by Sony Interactive Entertainment and developed by Naughty Dog. Created by Amy Hennig, the ''Uncharted'' franchise follows a group of treasure hunters who travel across the wo ...

'' list of at number four. The same month, the band performed at

Jarocin Festival Jarocin Festival was one of the biggest and most important rock music festivals in 1980s Europe, by far the biggest festival of alternative music in the Warsaw Pact countries. Founded in 1980, the festival was based on the earlier ''Wielkopolskie ...

. In August 2011, they appeared at Ostróda Reggae Festiwal and received an award of magazine Free Colours for the debut of the year. In February 2012, it was announced that bassist Kuba Wojciechowski decided to leave Star Guard Muffin and the band was suspended. Kamil Bednarek decided to continue playing with keyboardist Radosław Szyszkowski and drummer Maciej Pilarz under the band name Bednarek, and the line-up was completed by guitarist Piotr Bielawski and bassist Piotr Stanclik.

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

References

External links

Official site
{{Authority control Polish reggae musical groups Musical groups reestablished in 2008