The Cloudmaker’s music celebrates goddesses from each of the five female master musician’s cultures. Channelling ancient tales of fierce battles, shaman dances, journeys to the after-life, and a moth goddess singing the most beautiful song of all time. Featuring Taonga Pūoro (Maori singing treasures), Bass clarinet, Harmonic flutes, Cello, Nyckelharpa (Nordic fiddle), Prepared Piano, Drums and Voices, The Cloudmaker harness the power of these archetypal stories to transport listeners across time and space. Woven together through sound and performance, they remember ancient bloodlines and breathe new life into old stories.
Winner of the APRA AMCOS Art Music Award (Performance of the Year). Their debut album will be released in February 2024.
The Cloud Maker is a collaboration that began on the snowy peaks of Canada, where Te Kahureremoa Taumata, Sunny Kim and Aviva Endean met on a residency at The Banff Centre in 2019. In a cosy wooden hut, they connected over a story of the Maori moth goddess Raukatauri, the creation story of the Putorino, a cocoon shaped flute, and just one of the many tāonga pūoro(singing treasures) which Taumata plays.
On another mountain, at the Ukaria centre in the Adelaide Hills, The Cloud Maker delved deeper into their connection, with an expanded line up interweaving Te Kahureremoa’s knowledge of the Maori Tāonga Pūoro (including nose flutes, bone flutes and poi) Aviva’s experimental approach to clarinets and winds and Sunny’s evocative vocals, alongside master instrumentalists Freya Schack-Arnott (cello/nyckelharpa) and Maria Moles (drums).
Reimagining folkloric stories of goddesses from their many shared heritages, The Cloud Maker’s powerful music echoes tales of creation, regeneration and transformation, and evokes a time when music and language, art and life, were intertwined.
Their debut album will be released in February 2025.
Watch a Video of The Cloud Maker recording Shaman Dance at Sydney Road Studios
Te Kahureremoa Taumata– Tāonga Pūoro
Aviva Endean– clarinets and winds
Sunny Kim – voice
Freya Schack-Arnott -cello/nyckelharpa
Maria Moles -drums
Winner APRA AMCOS Art Music Awards ‘Performance of the Year – Jazz/Improvised Music‘. Finalist Music Victoria awards in the Diaspora category.
Ukaria residency supported by The Australia Council for the Arts, and Australian Art Orchestra (AAO)
The Cloud Maker has received support for future works including the PPCA Australia Council partnership, the Contemporary Music Touring Fund and The APRA/AMCOS Art Music Fund, and Creative Victoria to collaborate with Kate Davis and Sabina Maselli. Their debut album will be released in early 2025.
