The Cloud Maker

Through reimagined goddess folklore from their many shared heritages, The Cloud Maker weaves powerful music that echoes tales of creation, regeneration, and transformation, evoking a time when music and language, art and life, were intertwined. 

The Cloud Maker’s music celebrates goddesses from each of the five female master musician’s cultures, in how they channel 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 Cloud Maker harnesses the power of archetypal stories to transport listeners across time and space. Weaving sound and performance, the collaboration remembers ancient bloodlines and breathes new life into old stories.

The Cloud Maker 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). 

Winner of the APRA AMCOS Art Music Award (Performance of the Year). Their debut album will be released in February 2025. Ahead of their debut release and an upcoming performance at WOMAD, The Cloud Maker will present a special one-off concert at Platform Arts. 

Te Kahureremoa Taumata – Tāonga Pūoro
Aviva Endean – clarinets and winds
Sunny Kim – voice
Freya Schack-Arnott – cello/nyckelharpa
Maria Moles – drums 

The Cloud Maker was supported by the Ukaria residency through The Australia Council for the Arts and Australian Art Orchestra (AAO). The Cloud Maker has also 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.

Image: Costume by Kate Davis, photo by Sung Hyun Sohn.