Mamaku – Twigs of Gold

Mamaku Project’s celebrated electro-organic sessions have crystallized into a compelling new album with a wide emotional spectrum, drawing on trip-hop, quirky grooves, and chanson. The lush sound palette, organically electronic, carries tender vocals, broody harmony and rhythmic word. Cinematic layers of altered guitar, flesh out driving analog-synth bass lines and stirring beats. Woodwinds, horns and conch shells adorn the compositions with luminous lines and inspired improvisations. Dark yet playful, contemplative yet dynamic, this record, indebted to Aotearoa/New Zealand’s soil and sea, offers songs of the moment with a truly global sensitivity.

The Mamaku Project was born of the meeting of two French Kiwi’s, Tui Mamaki and Monsieur E., both with a passion for song, music and travel. With one hand firmly in their roots and the other reaching into trans-cultural imaginings, the Mamaku Project have managed to create a reputation for compelling musical performances, embracing elements of Chanson, Dub, Gypsy, World Electronica and Poetry. Their engaging, evocative show has taken them to numerous arts and music festivals around the globe, including New Zealand (where they are based), Australia, Korea, Canada and Europe. The pool of talented musicians working with them, shifts and morphs over the years, revealing different incarnations of the music but always true to their antipodean roots. Collaborations with contemporary dancers and video artists have furthered their theatrical exuberance.

Twigs of Gold features a stellar cast of players including, Will Scott (Sola Rosa) on drums, Gareth Priceless (Dan Sperber Complex) on guitar, Kingsley Melhuish (Brassouls, Spargo) on conch shells and horns, Finn Scholes (Batucada Sound Machine) on trumpet, Oliver Emmit (Batucada Sound Machine) on trombone, John Ellis (Beyondensemble, Jews Brothers) on percussion, Maxime Berton (Cataclysm Box, Paris, France) on saxophone and bass clarinet, and founding members, Monsieur E. on synthesisers, keyboards, beats, backing vocals and accordion, and Tui Mamaki on vocals.