MZAZA

MZAZA is one of the most unique bands coming out of Australia today. Lead by acclaimed French-Sephardic vocalist Pauline Maudy, this award-winning group of cultural refugees from Bosnia, Latvia, Greece, Turkey, France, Sephardic Spain and Australia has been mesmerising audiences with powerful and inspired performances. With a fascination for making something new from the old MZAZA create their own set of traditions from a tapestry of skilfully woven influences. Driven by her ancestry, Maudy is an enchanting stage leader at the helm of this unlikely group who have found each other at the end of the world to draw audiences into their tales of life, love and death. In 2015 MZAZA released Ghosts, an album mixed by ARIA-nominated engineer Robin Mai and featuring a collection of impressive musical collaborators. With much of the original material in French or English and inspired by Balkan music, Ghosts delves into stories of MZAZA’s ancestors and their migratory pasts. The impressive musicianship of MZAZA – deftly realised with accordion, violin, percussion, double bass and Flamenco guitar – embraces diversity, the old and the new, the familiar and the foreign, through timeless melodies. It is the timelessness of the music and stories that fuels an intense live show, an unforgettable musical journey, that has enraptured audiences at MONA FOMA, Queensland Music Festival, Cygnet, National and Woodford Folk Festivals, and visited airwaves internationally. Jaw-dropping technique, unique compositions and captivating shows have earned Mzaza supports for the likes of Yasmin Levy (Israel) and DJ Click (France). www.mzaza.com