Initially formed between two French new Zealanders, Tui Mamaki and Monsieur E.,who bonded over their mutual love for music and travel, the Mamaku Project has developed a reputation for a sound that manages to mesh elements of chanson, dub, electronica, poetry, and trip hop. 

“Mardi Gras,” the first single from the band’s soon-to-be-released album, Twigs of Gold, through the New Zealand-based label, Monkey Records, manages to possess an airy seductiveness and a subtle jazzy swing that belies it’s sparse, atmospheric beats. To me it simmers with a slow-burning and very adult sensuality.