MZAZA is one of the most unique bands coming out of Australia today.

Hosted by the USQ Academic Services Division

Led 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 creates their own set of traditions from a tapestry of skilfully woven influences.

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).

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 response to the album has been overwhelmingly positive with first single ‘Enfants du Chemin (Children of the Road)’ winning Best Song [World] in the Queensland Music Awards.

MZAZA’s show Children of the Road is based around the theme of migrations and the ghosts of ancestors left behind. This theme is inspired by the stories of our families, and of people around the world who have migrated or whose ancestors once migrated, voluntarily or not.

A reception in the USQ Arts Gallery will follow the recital – refreshments will be served.

Reviews:
“MZAZA has been a real revelation for our SBS Chill audience. They are just Amazing!” – Christophe Mallet, SBS Radio, 2014

“Maudy and band darted across bright, asymmetrical rhythms with persuasive ease.” – Jessica Nicholas,The Age, 2013

“Mzaza takes the listener on a colourful international tour on its excellent eight-track mini-album Journey Over Skin which features the dexterous playing of Flamenco guitarist Andrew Veivers. […] French-born lead vocalist Pauline Maudy, who sings beautifully in several languages, has a wonderfully dramatic delivery and sounds particularly alluring on Mon Amant De Saint Jean. […] The music is of a uniformly high quality and it is easy to see why the band has achieved airplay on ABC Classic, Radio National, Triple J, SBS and QANTAS” – Graham Blackley, Trad and Now, 2013