The April Maze

Artist Information

Biography

“Their music moves you and seeps deep in to your soul, staying with you for days and weeks to come.”
–Timber and Steel review July 14 2011

Hailing from London and Cairns The April Maze have been living on the road touring their original music throughout Australia and New Zealand non-stop in their 1976 kombi van. There are just two of them. She plays soulful cello standing up while effortlessly singing at the same time. He sings in harmony and switches between guitar and banjo, while stomping on the stomp box to keep the syncopated rhythms punching through. They look like they just slipped out a time machine from the 70’s, they sound like a cross between Florence and the Machine, Carole King and Cat Stevens and they chat on-stage like they are in your living room. Their touring schedule has been extensive and has included appearances at a string of festivals including Port Fairy, Nannup and Australia's National Folk Festival.

Since forming 6 years ago in an old Melbourne share house, Todd and Sivan have been busy: over 800 shows, 30 Festivals, 15 Folk Clubs multiple tours, three EP’s, and now their first full-length album ‘Recycled Soul’ will continue to take them around Australia, before touring internationally to the UK, Canada and Europe.

‘Recycled Soul’ is available now directly from the artist, at www.theaprilmaze.com

To see The April Maze Live Show Reel VIDEO - copy & paste this link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UU_U6WIO62E

Past Tour Dates:

Fri Mar 11 2011 Port Fairy Folk Festival, VIC, Australia
Sat Mar 19 2011 Healesville Music Festival VIC
Sat Apr 02 2011 8:00 pm Great Southern Hotel, Berry, NSW
Sat Apr 09 2011 St Albans Festival NSW
Thu Apr 21 2011 National Folk Festival Canberra, ACT
Fri Apr 01 2011 7:00 pm Quarterdeck Narooma, NSW S
Thu Apr 28 2011 7:00 pm House Concert Congo, NSW
Fri Apr 29 2011 7:00 pm Tomerong Hall Tomerong, NSW
Sun May 01 2011 Tilba Valley Wines Narooma/Tilba, NSW
Wed May 04 2011 8:00 pm Manly Boat Shed Manly, NSW
Thu May 05 2011 9:00 pm The Clovelly Hotel, Bondi, NSW
Thu May 12 2011 9:00 pm Port Macquarie Hotel,
Mon May 16 2011 7:00 pm (The Cave) Nobby Beach QLD
Tue May 17 2011 7:30 pm Buddha Bar Byron Bay, NSW
Wed May 25 2011 7:00 pm Old Kirk Concert - Yamba NSW
Thu May 26 2011 Dundurrabin Community Centre, NSW
Fri May 27 2011 8:00 pm The Armidale Club Armidale, NSW
Sat May 28 2011 Great Northern Hotel Newcastle, NSW
Sun May 29 2011 7:00 pm The Rythm Hut Gosford, NSW
Sat Jun 04 2011 7:00 pm The Shack Narrabeen, NSW
Sun Jun 05 2011 8:00 pm Monkey Bar Balmain, NSW
Fri Jun 10 2011 Perisher Mountains of Music FESTIVAL
Fri Jun 17 2011 Brackets and Jam, Gosford, NSW
Sat Jun 18 2011 Illawarra Folk Club Wollongong, NSW
Sun Jun 19 2011 Bridge Tavern Concert Nowra, NSW
Thu Jun 23 2011 John Curtin Hotel, Carlton Melbourne, VIC
Sun Jun 26 2011 Yarra Valley Grand Hotel, Yarra Glen, VIC
Wed Jul 13 2011 8:30 pm The Retreat Hotel Brunswick, VIC
Thu Jul 14 2011 The Espy w/ The Hosies, St Kilda, VIC
Tue Jul 19 2011 The Espy The Espy , St Kilda, VIC
Sun Jul 24 2011 5:00 pm Speakeasy Wine Bar Echuca, VIC
Wed Jul 27 2011 8:30 pm The Retreat Hotel Brunswick, VIC
Fri Aug 05 2011 The Corner Hotel, VIC (w/ Ash Grunwald)
Sun Aug 07 2011 Wesley Anne Northcote (Melbourne), VIC
Sun Aug 14 2011 Belgian Beer Café Melbourne, VIC
Sat Aug 20 2011 The Village Chapel, Yungaburra QLD
Sat Aug 27 2011 Cairns FESTIVAL, QLD
Sun Sep 11 2011 - Wesley Anne Northcote VIC
Fri Nov 04 2011 7:30 pm The Front (Canberra), ACT
Sat Nov 05 2011 Woden Valley Festival Canberra, ACT
Thu Nov 10 2011 Bottlerocket Bar & Cafe NOWRA, NSW
Fri Nov 11 Music at the creek FESTIVAL, Braidwood, NSW
Fri Nov 18 2011 Commonground Festival, Seymor, VIC
Sat Nov 26 2011 8:00 pm S.A. Folk Centre Thebarton, SA
Fri Dec 02 2011 8:00 pm LA Bar - Avalon, Sydney Avalon
Sat Dec 03 2011 7:30 pm Th

Instrumentation

Sivan - Vocals, Guitar, Cello
Todd Mayhew - Banjo, Vocals, Guitar, Stomp Box

Discography

The April Maze Album Sampler serviced to radio and TV - December 2011

Single 'The Protest Song' serviced to radio and TV

Single 'Where Do They Go' serviced to radio and TV

Debut Album "Recycled Soul" July 2010 available in physical and digital formats at www.theaprilmaze.com

One For The Hills (2009) - 10 April Maze Folk Songs, available at live shows only

Debut EP - 6 Tracks - Released in June 2008

Limited Edition Live Demo recorded at Cornish Arms October 2006 (now sold out)

4-track Demo, released May 2006 (now sold out)

Official Website

http://www.theaprilmaze.com

Links

• Facebook
• MySpace
• Twitter
• Last.fm
• Youtube

Audio

• Will I Ever
  Listen  
• Oh Yesterday (Wisdom Teeth)
  Listen  
• The Protest Song
  Listen  
• Where Do They Go (single edit)
  Listen  
• Tumbleweed
  Listen  

Lyrics

• Wisdom Teeth
• Aliens
• Counting Stars
• Tumbleweed
• Where Do They Go?

Video

Photo Gallery

Press

• April Maze & Faye Blais NZ Tour [+ Show ]
  

  Faye Blais & April Maze 24/04/09 | Hole In The Wall Words and photos by Crispin Anderlini A fr...Faye Blais & April Maze
  24/04/09 | Hole In The Wall
  Words and photos by Crispin Anderlini
  
  A frosty ANZAC Eve Friday brought me in from the cold to enjoy the rich, powerful, varied sounds and thoughtful, catchy, ultimately satisfying, lyrics of Australia’s April Maze (Sivan Agam and Todd Mayhew) and Canadian singer-songwriter Faye Blais.
  
  April Maze took the stage first with Sivan Agam providing a smooth, heartwarming sound with cello and voice that made me think of good whiskey while Todd Mayhew balanced and cut it with broad guitar strokes and a finely complementing voice. Moving on to a banjo (Mayhew) and guitar (Agam) mix and through solidly written, heartfelt songs, accompanied by two guitars and a harmonica, April Maze produced a rich and varied sonic environment that seemed to reveal just how pleased they were to be doing what they love for a living.
  
  Exhibiting an equal amount of joy in her art, a wicked sense of humour and an electric and acoustic guitar for company, Faye Blais wowed the crowd with her lilting, haunting voice and folksy-jazz guitar playing. Thought-provoking and beautiful lyrics kept all eyes shut, or on Blais, as she rode her own sound through the memories that create the poetry of her songs.
  
  It was a night when folk mixed with jazz which blended with rock that morphed back into folk shot through with streaks of reggae and blues as first April Maze, then Faye Blais, then all three musicians took the stage in a gig that had all the comfort and intimacy of a household party and none of the distance one normally feels from those performing on stage. The fact that Faye Blais and April Maze are touring together, and are quite obviously friends, played a big part in creating this atmosphere. But their confident, entertaining banter with the small, appreciative crowd sealed the bubble of good feeling they created.
  

• Timber and Steel Interview with The April Maze [+ Show ]
  

  This Friday the Snowy Mountains of Music Festival will blast the Perisher slopes with come of the co...This Friday the Snowy Mountains of Music Festival will blast the Perisher slopes with come of the coolest acts around. Timber and Steel are packing the winter woolies to go and check out this unique festival and to get in the mood, we’ve been checking out some of the lesser known acts. We were delighted to discover the mellow tunes of The April Maze. We were so excited by them that, instead of just Spotlighting them, we decided we should grab a few minutes of their time and grill them! Sivan is the gorgeous vocalist and cellist and she took some time out to chat with us about their musical influences and their time on the folk festival circuit.
  
  KT Bell: Hi there, thanks for taking the time to talk to Timber and Steel.
  Sivan: Hi Timber and Steel, Thanks for picking us!
  
  KT:The April Maze is a name I came across only a few weeks ago and ever since then your name has been everywhere! But you’ve been touring non-stop since April 2010, what has the last year of touring and recording been like for the two of you?
  S: Oohh that is a huge question! Every day on the road is so so different. It has been a wondrous whirlwind, and if you were to put it on a graph it would be a huge learning curve…
  
  We’ve been ripped off, under – paid, we’ve camped out on the side of the road in stormy weather, we’ve been flooded in, and smoked out, and we’ve worked like dogs. But we have also played to amazing audiences in the middle of nowhere, played at some of our absolute favourite Australian folk festivals, had all night jam sessions with amazing musicians, slept in amazing apartments overlooking perfect seas and blue skies, eaten like kings and have truly seen a lot of this amazing country.
  
  KT: You have quite a retro look and even theme, especially when it comes to your current single “The Protest Song”, yet a relaxed, mellow sound. Where do you draw your musical influences from?
  S: Artists that have made a statement, have stood up for what they believe in, all the while managing to capture the essence of a moment through a song are the artists that have influenced and inspired us the most. There are so many of these artists – but those that we have listened to the most are The Beatles, Cat Stevens, Fleetwood Mac, Bob Dylan, Bob Marley, Toots, Gillian Welsch, India Arie, and Pearl Jam. We LOVE folk music. To us, this means music that is simple but sparks imagination and tells a good story.
  
  KT: The local music scenes in Australia have been screaming about music venues with pubs closing down and a general shift in the scene. You’ve been doing house gigs and hosting open mic nights, how have they been, and do you think that is the way of the future for emerging bands?
  S: We gave up our day jobs to commit ourselves 100% to music, and we are in no way ready to turn back…so when venues close down, or when liquor licensing laws only allow one person on stage at a time (which by the way is the dumbest law ever instated), or whatever, we have had to find other ways of finding audiences. Busking is a great way of gathering supporters, open mics a great way to get involved with younger upcoming artists, and house concerts are a fabulous way of putting on unique and intimate shows where you can also make a decent income – we particularly love these as they break down barriers between the performer and audience that other gigs have in place. House concerts can be a way into the future for emerging bands… but house concerts aren’t for everyone … I think that it is important for music makers, venues and audiences to work together to keep the live music scene in Australia alive.
  
  KT: You’ve appeared at a couple of festivals lately including the Port Fairy Folk Festival and the National, how have you found the audiences at those festivals compared to your venue gigs?
  S: Ahhh the folk festivals are our dream audiences, everyone really listens…at the National Folk Festival we mentioned on stage that we had been cold camping out as we didn’t have enough blankets, and also that we hadn’t received any easter eggs as we had forgotten that it was Easter…after the show people where offering us spare doona’s left right and centre, and throughout the rest of the festival people were running up to us with Easter eggs…and I love chocoate – so I was as happy as Larry!
  
  And you know what…we love playing venues as well…it’s the spice of life. Sure people wearing silver pants may thrust up against our mic stands (true story), or get in our ear after the show about how we should audition for the X-factor,but it makes things interesting– But really, there are so many great venues around – we really do love it. The best is when it is the second or third time you have played the venue, and people know all the words.
  
  KT: What are you most looking forward to about playing at the Snowy Mountains of Music Festival?
  S: The Snow. Snowball fights, making snowmen/women. Gathering by an open fire for warmth and sing alongs, seeing loads of great music…drinking hot chocolate and mulled wine! Playing music…getting on the ski lift and eating a snow cone!
  
  KT: What other acts are you looking forward to seeing at the Festival?
  S: All of them! It’s an awesome line-up this year – we will try and soak in as much music as is physically possible whilst we are at the festival… these are the days, and as far as I know, you only live once, so we are going to enjoy!
  
  KT: Thanks for your time, it’s been lovely talking to you and we look forward to seeing you at the Snowy Mountains of Music Festival!
  S: Thank you!
  
  Country of Origin: Australia (Melbourne)
  File Under: Alt-Folk
  Sounds Like: A bit like a Carol King and She & Him collaboration
  Myspace: myspace.com/theaprilmaze
  Official website: theaprilmaze.com

• No More Mellow Cello [+ Show ]
  

  Sivan Agam, half of alternative Melbourne folk duo April Maze, is also not keen on sitting in the co...Sivan Agam, half of alternative Melbourne folk duo April Maze, is also not keen on sitting in the corner. She plays her cello standing up and sings at the same time: ''It does take a lot of practice,'' she says.
  On stage she alternately plucks and bows in a syncopated rhythm that leaves other musicians in awe: ''I've had double bass players coming up to me saying, 'How do you do that?'''
  Agam is now considering using a smaller cello and a guitar strap to give her even more freedom to move around the stage.
  Virgil Starkwell would have loved that.
  
  April Maze will appear at the Yackandandah Folk Festival on March 23-25.
  
  Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/no-more-mellow-cello-20120210-1sfbg.html#ixzz1svu0WgR1
  
  
  For the full review and to Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/no-more-mellow-cello-20120210-1sfbg.html#ixzz1svtslB1s

• From creating soul inspiring music to using a clever social media campaign to raise van repair funds... [+ Show ]
  

  From creating soul-inspiring music to using a clever social media campaign to raise van repair Funds...From creating soul-inspiring music to using a clever social media campaign to raise van repair Funds, as well as imagining a herb garden that Will survive travelling on the FreeWay, there’s a lot to like about the april maze. Peppermint recently stumbled across and fell in love with Melbourne duo Todd Mayhew and Sivan Agam, who combine folk, classical and soul music with male–female harmonies to create songs that makes you want to grab your iPod and press repeat.

• "A flair for folk and firestorms!" [+ Show ]
  

  When it comes to avoiding manmade and natural disasters, Melbourne duo The April Maze need to check ...When it comes to avoiding manmade and natural disasters, Melbourne duo The April Maze need to check the controls on their time machine writes FRANCES RAND.
  Folk, classic and soul duo The April Maze has been touring so hard their 1976 Kombi finally bit the dust.Friends are driving them to gigs as they have a new engine put in, but it’s not the worse disaster the duo has coped with in its four years on the road.
  Todd and Sivan had to leave Whittlesea in Victoria as the Black Saturday fires approached in February 2009. “We thought the cello was going to melt,” says guitarist and banjo player Todd. The instrument was fine, but the town burnt down.
  
  The pair left Brisbane the day the river flooded and Christchurch the day the earthquake hit. “We’re a dangerous band to be around.”
  Todd and Sivan have been translating their experiences into songs.......

• Go to www.theaprilmaze.com/press for current press release
  

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• Recycled Soul Album Review by Mary Brettell [+ Show ]
  

  The April Maze Recycled Soul I have seen Sivan (AKA April) and Todd, The April Maze, play live...The April Maze
  Recycled Soul
  
  I have seen Sivan (AKA April) and Todd, The April Maze, play live four times now and every time has been an absolute treat. Their music brings an instant smile to the lips and lifts the spirits. It is fascinating to watch them mesmerize their audience with their unique musical style.
  
  Their latest CD Recycled Soul continues in this tradition.
  
  The April Maze are Sivan Agam and Todd Mayhew. Sivan has a wonderful rich voice with a husky quality which is absolutely enchanting. Her instrumental work on the cello is totally captivating with deep sexy bowing interspersed with syncopated plucking – I just can’t get enough! Todd has a voice which is a delight to listen to and his instrumentation on guitars banjo and stomp come together to create a magical music experience... The vocal blend of Sivan and Todd is awesome!
  
  Besides having a unique and fascinating sound the songs of The April Maze tell stories. I love all the songs on this CD … I guess if I had to pick a favourite it would be “Where Do they Go”, co-written with Canadian singer/songwriter Faye Blais, Steve Mayhew and Arlo Picasso Enmark.
  
  Recycled Soul was produced in the studio of Hugh McDonald (Redgum) who also plays Bass, mandolin, bouzouki, violin, keys and Backing Vox on the CD.
  
  Guest musicians are Sophie Kingston, Catherine Leslie, Lizanne Friebel and Lilli waters on violin and Anna Petelin on viola, Jason Chalmers on Sax and Andrew Rogers on drums.
  
  I would also like to add that the presentation of this CD (using recycled materials) is creative and certainly relevant to the standard of perfection of the music. It is simple but the photographer, Haydn Cattach, has done a superb job – buy the CD – have a look and a listen. AND it’s ONLY $20!! What value!
  
  Get it from their website at www.aprilmaze.com.
  
  Mary Brettell

Setlist

Oh Yesterday
The Protest Song
Where do they go
Crystal Ball
Deep in your heart
Counting Stars
If I cant walk
Aliens
Dirty Water
Tumbleweed
The Night Sailor
Fire
Salt Water
I love this life
Jervis Bay
Crocodile song
Pebble Stones
These are the days
Smokey River

The Swimming Song (Louden Wainwright III)
Miss Ohio (Gillian Welch)
When the sun goes down (Arctic Monkeys)
Sandman (America)
Dont think twice (Bob Dylan)
Mocking Bird (Bob Marley)

Basic Requirements

PDF Rider

Stage / Tech Specs_The April Maze

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