Maza Blaska

What first attracted Yoni Mizrachi to Sam Corlett was what would get any high school boy’s attention.

“I remember Yoni had a sketchbook he would pass around and you could draw in it,” Corlett recalled about the time the two spent together in high school at a Columbus arts education program.

“One day I saw she was drawing a robot in it,” Mizrachi said. “I was like, ‘Oh, OK. I didn’t know you were drawing robots.’”

But it was ultimately music that was this couple’s wingman.

Years after high school, the two friends began playing music together. Both were fresh off of breakups, and songwriting — of sad and silly songs — was a cathartic way for the buddies to help each other mourn a lost love.

“We weren’t expecting a relationship,” Mizrachi said. “But we had a really strong bond and I knew I didn’t want it to go away.”

In fact, Mizrachi was going to study and volunteer in Israel for a year. They figured any romantic connection that was forming would be squashed by distance. But they started Skype chatting and playing music together that way. The two wanted to start a band together (Corlett, who was in Karate Coyote at the time, was looking to play something more quiet and intimate) and working on music became an excuse to talk to each other regularly.

“In retrospect, it’s a lot easier to understand how we were communicating through music at the time,” Corlett said. “I really like Yoni’s songs. I always have. They helped me explore who I was and writing together happened pretty naturally. We had a very supportive system. He’d write and I’d add harmonies.”

Corlett, a vocalist, taught Mizrachi to sing better. Mizrachi, a multi-instrumentalist, helped Corlett learn to play various instruments.

When he returned, the two started dating and the band Maza Blaska began.

“We like being together,” Corlett said. “As a songwriter, my songs are way better when I have Yoni playing on them.”

When they’re not making music together for Maza, they’re still likely making music together. Their mutual obsession with finding strange musical instruments and learning to play them consumes much of their time off. So does using the computer to play around with sounds and rap together like, what else, robots. - Columbus Alive

Hailing from Columbus, Maza Blaska’s 2011 debut, Storyteller, was a colorful, jangly excursion of earthy, world-flavored orchestrations. Storyteller was rich in narrative, shrouded in tales of far-off lands and ancient roots that were offset by the rosy pop of their six member multi-instrumental arrangements.

Brite Winter Fest talks to Sam Corlett about how the band got together, performing with their rotating cast of collaborators, and their first time in Cleveland.

Maza Blaska originally formed between you two, Yoni and Sam. How did the rest of the band fall together?

I love remembering how we all came together, there were a lot of great culminating circumstances that led to Maza Blaska forming as a full band. When Yoni studied abroad in Jerusalem in 2008, he set out
Yoni posted his work on Myspace, where he received a lot of feedback from friends who were interested in what he would do with the music when he returned to Columbus. I remember getting excited about the potential of a group when Kyle Charles, who had played bass with Yoni in the past, wrote that he liked the songs. He’s been with us and supportive of the music and our vision from the very beginning.with a plan to write and record a demo of his music. I was back home in Columbus, serving as a sounding board resource and occasionally recording vocal harmonies at home to be built into the songs. When a collection of material began to form, it was Yoni’s intention to bring those songs back to Columbus to play with a full band of performers. Him and I had fallen in love playing music together in the Spring and Summer before he left for Israel. I was in a rock band at the time (Karate Coyote), and Yoni and I had an acoustic act that we called The Curiosities. We wanted to take the Curiosities to the level of intensity that the rock band I was playing in had, because we knew our music was good and would be even better with more players, especially a slammin’ rhythm section. We wanted that energy and to develop the songs in that way.

Our first drummer was Tim Murray, a good friend of ours who I have always thought was the most entertaining drummer to watch because his personalty really came out. Watching him and hearing him play was always really exciting for us, but he had just gotten married and was expecting his first child, so our time was limited. We liked the idea of Maza Blaska becoming an open ensemble, which made it easy for us to convince a large number and wide variety of players to jam, record, and play shows with us- because there was little commitment and lots of fun. The songs really changed over time, thinking back- they have had many different arrangements and forms. Structuring the band in a way where Yoni and I were the bandleaders, teaching our songs to different players, learning and writing new parts, witnessing incredible musicianship from old and new friends; it gave Maza Blaska its own collective culture that we were creating together. A lot of our members, past and present, play in other bands or as solo artists. We were longtime fans of our friends’ music — especially of Blake Miller, Ryan Dyson, Tyler Evans, & Dane Terry — and we were eager to play with them.

In the winter of 2010, Eddie Ashworth, a professor of Sound Recording and Engineering at Ohio University offered to record a few of our songs for a class he was teaching, in exchange for being a resource to the students. We were ecstatic and we began recruiting musicians to help us make the songs all they could possibly be. We had never had the luxury of time in a professional recording environment and we were transforming the songs from a one-man-band recording to something much more orchestral. I still can’t believe how many tracks we put on Storyteller, it’s incredible. Eddie really let us run wild with our imaginations. James Robertson joined the band to help us make that record, Tim’s son was born and Jay was the ideal replacement. The core of the band really formed when Jay joined, because the five of us (Yoni, Blake, Kyle & I) really clicked and played well together. I think of the glory days of Maza Blaska being when we had 12 people on the stage, trying to re-create the magic we made on the record. It’s insane though, having 12 people play together. Although the energy is through the roof, it can also be a runaway train. Over time we learned to edit ourselves and our live show. Some of the amazing ensemble players moved to other cities and we were ready to be a touring band.

You have six permanent members and a rotating cast of collaborators. How does all that instrumentation translate live? Favorite or most challenging parts of live shows?

The challenging part of live shows for us was letting the song really come through. Last fall, we decided to rethink how to approach our live shows, we wanted to try something different. Maza Blaska has always been a songwriting collaboration between Yoni and I, and we ha - Brite Winter Festival

photos by Rachael Barbash - Donewaiting.com

I hope you’re all getting thru Hurricane Sandy alright. Maza Blaska is the perfect band for this rain. They call themselves a “multi-instrumental gypsy ensemble”, and that description couldn’t be more true. Sadly, I couldn’t find “Midnight Walker” on YouTube, so click on the link below, and press play next to the title. - 365 Days of Music by elle954

The musical solar system that is Maza Blaska may revolve around Yoni Mizrachi (guitar/vocals) and Sam Corlett (vocals/mandolin), but the pair will be the first to tell you that the planets are just as important as the sun. They have featured over a dozen Columbus musicians over the past few years, and each has imparted a little bit of their own style to the collective. Mizrachi, Corlett, Kyle Charles (bass), Blake Anthony Ray Miller (guitar), Jay Robertson (drums), and Curtis Cole (percussion) make up the core of this universe, and their gravity attracts guest appearances from Columbus ex-pats such as Dane Terry and Tyler Evans.



What started as Mizrachi’s musical dabblings during a sabattical in Israel resonated with his musical and artistic friends back home, and when he returned they began fleshing out what would become their first full-length, “Storyteller”. The ‘musician/artist collective’ formula for band-building conjures images of half-baked both – mediocrity and sloppiness dressed up with hipster-indie cred and an ironic record cover.



“Storyteller” is the antithesis of this definition – a focused, beautifully concise, smartly orchestrated pop record that feels very natural and very polished all at the same time. With help from veteran engineer Eddie Ashworth (Sublime), the band spent the better part of a year recording, re-recording, arranging, and re-arranging. Once everything was built up, they started subtracting elements until what remained were the bare essentials.



Even though the journey orbits the globe– influences and sounds from American folk, afro-beat, and Eastern European klezmer music can be found all in one song – the trip feels grounded. Mizrachi’s vocal delivery is soothing, never forced, and Corlett’s alto is a perfect complement. Toy piano, mandolin, banjo, and percussion are all used unironically and with great skill, and the arrangements never upstage the songs.



Moving forward, the band wants to pass around the songwriting duties as well as the instrumental experimentation. No matter how they get there, there is no doubt the next voyage will be as interesting as the first. If there is a law that governs both outer space and Maza Blaska it is a twist on Newton’s first: once a celestial body is set in motion, slowing down is not an option. - The Hot 17

Colleen Carow Interviews Maza Blaska

How did the group become Maza Blaska?

“We sprouted from a 6 song demo titled, “White Stone”. The tracks were written, recorded, and produced by me in my dorm room while I was studying abroad in Jerusalem. I communicated my ideas with Sam via email, phone and skype. My idea was to form a band around those original songs. A number of the band members expressed interest in the demo online and offered their support. When I returned home I was eager to start preforming and contacted a slew of my friends I had played in a previous bands with. At first, we we’re a very open group with a flexible line up that would at times include up to 10 people on stage. Since then we have slimed down our set to 6 solid core members.” -Yoni



Yoni’s time in Israel had an influence on the songs on your CD. What are you finding as influences these days?

“My time abroad was extremely influential on my ideas and opinions about music. Living with people from all walks of life I was introduced to a world of music and sound both traditional and modern. My fascination with world rhythm and melodies has only grown since then. A huge influence is playing with 5 other musicians who all have different tastes in music. Everybody brings something unique to the table and we are open to pretty much everything. We are definitely influenced by pop music mainly from the 60s and 70s which contributes to our sound.” -Yoni



What is the hardest part about making music, writing songs?

“I find it hard to complete a song. I enjoy jumping around with multiple ideas but this makes it very difficult to complete projects.” -Yoni



What is the most joyful part about making music, writing songs?

I find a lot of joy in creating things, and I love to sing. I think that singing is a really natural, hugely expressive way of creating for me. -Sam



One of the delights of Maza Blaska is the textured, layered effect of the instruments and vocal harmonies. What drives the inspiration for your instrumentation … how does it happen?

“Storyteller” is unique, because of the way the instrumentation was built in and around our efforts in the studio. When the band first started, we were rearranging and composing with what Yoni had done with “White Stone” in Israel. The songs developed primarily for the adaptation that would be most convenient and fun for us to perform locally. When we were presented with the opportunity to record at Ohio University, we wanted to expand the instrumentation to fully take advantage of the time and incredible resources that had suddenly become accessible for us to create a larger, more complete project. The inspiration for the instrumentation on “Storyteller” happened through sharing the song with a small circle of musicians in a variety of venues over a long period of time. We sought out pianist, Dane Terry and multi-instrumentalist, Tyler Evans specifically to play on the album because we wanted the songs to be full and beautifully arranged with a lot of texture and atmosphere. A lot of it came together in the studio, but we were lucky enough to play with them live several times and kind of develop that instrumentation further.
Maza Blaska - Storyteller Album

Storyteller Album Cover

The vocal harmonies have developed over time in that same way with Blake, first in the studio and continued into the live setting. Yoni and I are consistently focused on developing interesting chords and harmonies to sing. Writing happens in all different ways, but usually starting with one thing and expanding upon it, over and over again. Then editing, which has largely been a group effort.

Eddie Ashworth, the Professor we were working with who definitely earns the title of Producer on “Storyteller” had a lot to do with the actual layered effect of the instruments and vocal harmonies on the recordings. We learned a lot from working with him and continue to develop songs with him at - The Galley // Marietta, Ohio

Do not listen if you dislike wildly fun acoustic pop - Raving Riots

Comprising musicians who draw inspiration from an array of genres, the music collective We Are Columbus Ohio embodies the deep musical talents of Ohio's capital city.

This week, the bands and performers that make up We Are Columbus Ohio — which we're proud to sponsor — are heading to the great South by Southwest music and film fest this week in Austin, Texas.

If you're in Austin make time to check out the We Are Columbus Ohio showcase and 1 p.m. Friday March 16 at the Treehouse Pub, 501 E. 6th St., 78701 (512-473-2121).

And if you're in Nashville, catch Maza Blaska (featuring guitarist-singer and Jeni's Fulfillment Team member Yoni Mizrachi) at 1 p.m. Sunday March 18 at our scoop shop in East Nashville. The band, returning to Columbus, will play a special acoustic set on the patio. So, stop by and try the new ice creams (and your old favorites) and hear some great Columbus-bred jams such as this: - Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams

Ohio University's Emerging Artist Series features Maza Blaska. Hailing from Columbus, the band breaks cross-cultural musical boundaries, offering flexible style and eccentric instrumentation. Gypsy rock and roll tells their tale, combining klezmer-influenced vocal melodies, Afro-pop beats and American blues-rock guitar. 8 p.m. in the Front Room, Baker Center, OU. - Athens News

AUSTIN, Texas – In a second-floor barroom mostly camouflaged from the bustle of E. 6th Street, 13 central Ohio acts enjoyed their moment in the spotlight at the annual South by Southwest festival.

Sort of.

Though not officially affiliated with the mammoth two-week affair focusing on music, films and interactive media, a free half-day showcase dubbed “We Are Columbus” took refuge downtown in the Treehouse Pub — where Columbus-area musicians, from country to jazz, tried to raise their voices above the orchestrated chaos.

Singer-guitarist Andy Shaw knew that the time and place couldn’t be better, despite the myriad options playing out concurrently in the area.

“It’s the mecca of music,” said Shaw, 31, of the University District — who, with younger brother Chris and a small team of Columbus-area promoters, again organized, booked and staged the event.

“This is a musicians’ festival. Sometimes it’s just about doing it because you need to.”

With little more than fliers, a chalkboard sign and the promise of free rounds of beer, the setup hardly guaranteed the wooing of hundreds of thousands of passers-by.

Yet the central Ohio performers had done their share of digital and face-to-face promotions before the show, with some securing multiple gigs in and near Austin — not uncommon for SXSW bands both large and small.

“People have been so responsive,” said Short North resident Yoni Mizrachi, a 25-year-old who, with his global-tinged indie pop sextet Maza Blaska, had played in the middle of a dense pedestrian thoroughfare, passing out free CDs and apparel provided by Columbus T-shirt printer Skreened.

With the freebies came strategic invitations to “We Are Columbus.”

“I think it shows people there’s a culture of a place,” said 26-year-old band mate Sam Corlett, adding that full-time jobs keep the ensemble from long-

distance touring.

“I want to keep living in Columbus, but I love taking Columbus on the road.”

As for city- or region-specific showcases, the central Ohio offering wasn’t unusual.

Countless posters and promoters touted lineups of Canadian, British and German bands. And bands from cities such as Chicago; Portland, Ore.; San Francisco; and Northampton, Mass., also offered unofficial SXSW shows.

After the Columbus-area lineup on Friday, the Treehouse Pub hosted a two-day show of Boston artists.

Gretchen King, frontwoman of the Columbus rock band Phantods, found the city “overwhelming” but thought the tucked-away Shaw setting allowed organic discovery.

“You kind of stumble upon it — kind of like a thrift store where you find one glorious thing,” said King, 30, of Victorian Village.

To that end, attendance fluctuated during the day and night — ranging at times from only a half-dozen onlookers to 100-plus at peak moments.

A packed house wasn’t required, said Rj Cowdery, a folk singer from the Northeast Side who in 2008 won a songwriting contest at the prestigious Kerrville Folk Festival in Texas.

“You never know who’s listening,” said the 49-year-old, a full-time performer since leaving a health-care administrative job two years ago.

“I know plenty of people who are playing to a small bar during South by Southwest, and they’ve been signed.

“Everybody needs any break they can get.”

The competition for official SXSW sets — this year, more than 10,000 entrants vied for about 2,000 spots — has grown along with the number of peripheral concerts during the festival run.

Interest in the Shaw affair, meanwhile, has increased, too: More than 50 area bands — double the number of a year ago — sought to perform as part of “We Are Columbus.”

A contribution from Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams helped fund the venue rental. Cameron Mitchell Restaurants catered a pre-trip benefit last month in the University District rock club Ace of Cups. And the Columbus-based Red Roof Inn donated free rooms at its north Austin location to “We Are Columbus” performers — a key boost during a period of skyrocketing lodging costs.

A campaign using the crowd-sourced fundraising website Kickstarter.com met the $5,000 goal ahead of schedule.

After rental and production expenses, Shaw said, he expects to pay each band about $300 apiece. (By comparison, official SXSW bands receive either festival passes or $250.)

The 13-hour event helped build a community, according to participating artists, with some players using car pools and others sharing the stage at neighboring clubs while in Austin.

“A lot of us have never played with each other,” said North Side hybrid-folk songwriter Joey Hebdo, 29.

“From now on, we’re cool. There’s no longer that ice to break.”

Although the event was designed primarily to raise the profile of the Columbus music scene and offer bands a taste — however fleeting — of SXSW glory, some early backlash was noted online: Comments on blogs and message boards criticized “We Are Columbus” for soliciting donations and not being indicative of area t - The Columbus Dispatch

By
Mitchell Kinnen

Published Sat, Feb 4, 2012 6:10 am Dateline
Athens, Ohio

The Front Room stage was packed to capacity on Feb. 2.

All six members of Columbus, Ohio, band Maza Blaska managed to fit not only themselves, but over a dozen instruments onstage in Baker Center's coffeehouse.

Featuring two guitars, bass, a mandolin, and countless percussion instruments, they pack enough musical gear to outfit several smaller groups.

However, the band makes the most of their exotic miniature orchestra.

To use a food analogy, Maza Blaska sounds like a musical casserole. The individual elements vary, you may not be able to identify some ingredients, and the whole thing is cooked up together. The end result is appealingly straightforward, yet complex; unique, yet immediately familiar.

The band opened their set with “Mississippi,” a song with a bit of an Eastern feel, some bluegrass inflections and a driving rock undercurrent. This blend of genres is characteristic of Maza Blaska. Defining their style is tricky, even for the band itself.

"It’s been kinda difficult I guess," laughed vocalist Sam Corlett, who also plays mandolin and glockenspiel.

The band's consensus is that they play pop music, but that label isn’t perfect. "I don’t even know what (pop music) is," she said.

"I think the songs are kind of structured in a standard way," said guitarist/vocalist Yoni Mizrachi. "There’s a verse, chorus, verse. Everything’s pretty structured."

What sets Maza Blaska apart is the global scope of their influences.

"We’ve also said gypsy rock, just because we’ve had some world influences," said Corlett. "But I wouldn’t say we’re world music."

"We’ve had a floating line-up of random people," added drummer Jay Robertson. "Like gypsies."

The origins of the band are as transcontinental as their sound. Mizrachi made a six-track demo while living in Jerusalem.

"I really love rhythm, Latin percussion and Afro-pop music," he said. "I wanted to incorporate some of that stuff into standard pop-rock songs."

When he returned to Columbus, Mizrachi found his interest in crossing musical cultures was shared.

"I got a lot of feedback from pretty much everyone here. They really liked the demos, and when I got back, they wanted to do something. We just kinda pieced it together."

Mizrachi, Corlett and Robertson are joined by percussionist Curtis Cole, guitarist/vocalist Blake Miller and bassist Kyle Charles. Everyone seemed to already know one another from a variety of past experiences.

"We played in the same bands, just not at the same times," said Mizrachi.

The result of this collaboration can be heard on Maza Blaska's debut album Storyteller, which was produced by Ohio University Assistant Professor Eddie Ashworth and released last year. Next month, the band is scheduled to perform during a Columbus band showcase at the South by Southwest Music Festival in Austin, Texas.

Though they have carved their sound out of several very distinct traditions, Maza Blaska’s greatest strength is the way their many influences meld together in their music. The various styles blend together to create songs, which, while defying categorization, remain immediately accessible.

In the end, perhaps the best way to define Maza Blaska is to consider what they are doing; using conventional song structure in unconventional ways. By pulling sounds from all sorts of sources and packaging them in a standard structure, they challenge the listener to reconsider their own preconceptions of pop.

Visit Maza Blaska's Facebook page for more information.
- WOUB Music Blog (Athens, OH)

By
Anjelica Oswald

Although MySpace has become a mostly forgotten corner of the Internet, for Maza Blaska, the site was the key to finding a producer.


“It’s kind of funny, because I went to Ohio University for a short time,” said Sam Corlett, lead singer and songwriter. “I went there for two quarters and then transferred to OSU, but Eddie (Ashworth) found us on MySpace. We also happened to be living with one of his former students. He liked our music and was looking for a project for a class, so we came down.”


After partnering up with Ashworth, an assistant professor in the School of Media Arts and Studies, Maza Blaska recorded their debut album, Storyteller, at OU.


Thursday, the band will make its return to Athens to premiere music off its new album. Yoni Mizrachi, guitarist and vocalist, said that they are looking forward to coming back to Athens to see Ashworth and the students they worked with and to experience Athens once again.


However, the six-member band has seen some changes since it started forming in 2008.


“Yoni and I started with curiosities about a band in 2008 and started writing with that project,” Corlett said. “When Yoni came back from studying abroad in Jerusalem, we started with the songs that he had written and then wrote some more.”


Maza Blaska will also join the We Are Columbus Music Showcase for Ohio X Southwest, a group of Columbus musicians and bands traveling to the South By Southwest music festival in March.


“We, along with around 12 other bands, are going to represent Columbus at the South By Southwest festival,” Corlett said. “Our performance at Front Room is the starting point to be considered a regional artist, which is what the festival wants, so this means a lot.”


Mizrachi said he hopes students will come out and listen to Maza Blaska’s music whether or not they know the music.


“I think it’s going to be a really good show,” he said. “We have a unique sound to share, and I think many students can enjoy it.”

ao007510@ohiou.edu



If you go:

What: Emerging Artist Series presents Maza Blaska

When: 8 p.m. Thursday

Where: The Front Room

Admission: Free - The Post (Athens, OH)

Maza Blaska es un proyecto personal que se ha convertido en una auténtica banda. Su sonido te hace viajar a exóticos y felices lugares, recordando a Devendra Banhart y compañía. En este Ep recogen demos de un álbum que actualmente han editado, “Storyteller” (2011), y que podéis comprar desde su bandcamp.

TRACKLIST

1.Midnight Walker (Demo) 04:00
2.Can’t Stop (Demo) 02:47
3.Dance (Demo) 03:15
4.Dream (Demo) 03:13
5.River Jordan 02:48
6.Talking To The Dead 03:19 - Monasterio De Cultura

10. Maza Blaska, Storyteller (Maza Blaska, 2011): I cannot get enough of this Columbus band’s debut featuring Yoni Mizrachi, Sam Corlett and friends. The album was born in Jerusalem while Yoni spent a year studying abroad, writing songs that are unmistakenly and beautifully influenced by that land. The arrangements, intertwined harmonies, thoughtful lyrics and instrumental sparkles from bells and various stringed instruments make this such a textured recording that sometimes I wish I could physically taste it or wrap it around me like a jeweled blanket. “Midnight Walker,” the sunny, upbeat opening track, is my go-to for yoga, and I think it could hold its own among top hits on any radio station out there. The fact that it and its siblings were recorded and produced locally is just another bonus. - WOUB Public Media Athens, OH

Lead by Yoni Mizrachi, Maza Blaska (amazingly) interweaves an elegance comparable to the Gypsy Kings with an overzealous pop attitude that’s nearly too happy, joyous and exuberant to be cool. But put your lonely depressed thoughts to the side and let this orchestrated light beam touch you, because even in its most regretful moments, hope pervades. Storyteller is a bouncing-soft-rock LP introducing a well versed group from Columbus. - Dingus on Music

Genre-jumping was hot

Many a band melded and meandered through genres, most thrillingly the A.D.H.D.-proof spazz-pop of Twenty One Pilots’ “Regional At Best.” Maza Blaska’s “Storyteller” took the exotic route, while The DewDroppers plowed through old-timey genres with pizzazz. Bum Wealthy applied the trick in a jam-band context. MojoFlo turned heads everywhere, including the ComFest main stage. - Columbus Alive

Behold! A few of our favorite examples of bands who treat the eyes as well as they do the ears: - Bandcamp

50 Best Album Covers of 2011 on BandCamp - SIXAND5 Inspiration Magazine

http://vimeo.com/28073469 - Spoonfeed Columbus

Sam and Yoni of Maza Blaska are my guests in the first half-hour. We listen to a session Maza Blaska recorded at Electraplay back in April of this year and talk about the beginnings of the band, the pursuit of unique sounds and melodies, and the desire to tell stories on this new record. - WCRS PatRadio

Maza Blaska is a collective of musicians formed by Yoni Mizrachi and Sam Corlett. In 2008, Yoni spent a year studying abroad in Jerusalem- where he wrote, recorded and produced a six-track demo on his laptop. Collaborating over the Internet, their debut album, “Storyteller” was in the making by the time Yoni returned to Ohio.? And now the album is finally ready, it’s full of folksy and cross cultural tunes that makes you want to dance right away. The uplifting song Midnight Walker that is part of the MassiveTalent catalogue is also on it. You can order their album here. - Massive Music/Massive Talent

Looking for something pleasant to do this evening? Starting at 8 p.m. Sam and Yoni from the "exotic but familiar" Maza Blaska will be playing songs outside in Bexley between the patios of Moshi Sushi (2152 E. Main St.) and Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams (2156 E. Main St.). Should be fun stuff. RSVP at Facebook. - Columbus Alive Sensory Overload

While it's probably reductive to say Maza Blaska is the brainchild of Yoni Mizrachi, it did start out as his solo project. Now, though, the band is more of a collective, with musicians such as Dane Terry, Tyler Evans (Super Desserts, Black Swans) and Blake Miller contributing.

Most notable, though, are the contributions of former Karate Coyote singer Sam Corlett. She seems to have been made a full partner, taking lead vocals on some songs and harmonizing on most others.

On the band's debut album, Storyteller, Corlett's distinctive singing is a good match for Mizrachi's smooth stylings and world beats. And while lots of these folk songs were previously available on free EPs in demo form, the versions on Storyteller are fleshed out with all sorts of string and brass arrangements and gypsy-rock percussion.

Still, something is missing here. Maza Blaska has talented players, a fun vibe, catchy songs and unique instrumentation, but I can't shake my sense of, well, boredom. Part of that, I think, is that so much was squeezed into each song that it all gets mushed together with few dynamic shifts. It's compressed so tightly that it feels quashed.

"Wait a Minute," for example, has this great horn section, one of the record's hookiest vocal melodies and booty-shaking beats. But man, those horns should really blast out of the speakers, like a sweaty brass band down in New Orleans' Tremé neighborhood. But no matter how loud you turn up the song-and others on Storyteller--it all feels fairly quiet and constricted.

I have no doubt that I'd love songs like "Wait a Minute," "Brothers" and "Dance" (a full-on romp through a world-beat junkyard) in a live setting. But some of the power and energy of Storyteller's songs got lost in translation to tape.

Maza Blaska will hold a free CD release show Friday at Carabar, 115 Parsons Ave., with Indigo Wild, Duke Junior & the Smokey Boots and Narrow & the Brights.

Joel Oliphint - The Other Paper (Columbus)

Though they hail from Columbus, Maza Blaska should be familiar to anyone who has been following the Athens music scene recently when they play at Jackie O's on Thursday.

Not only has the band performed multiple times in town this year, they have also recorded their full-length debut album, Storyteller, at MDIA Sound and the School of Music at Ohio University with producer Eddie Ashworth. According to Sam Corlett, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist of the group, working on the album at the university was a rewarding experience.

"We actually just went back to do another single because we liked it so much," said Corlett. "We really enjoyed working with the students and working with Eddie."

Released in August, Storyteller features an eclectic mix of instruments and is difficult to classify as one particular type of music.

"We've always had trouble with genres," Corlett said, "but lately we've been seeing that Maza Blaska is [described as] 'gypsy rock.' It's pop music, but it's got a lot of drumming, so it can sound like rock music sometimes, but there's definitely a world influence that we're trying for in some of the newer songs."

The diverse sound of the album means that some of the band's music is difficult to replicate in a live performance. The band's current six-person lineup has been experimenting with different ways to play their music onstage.

"For this show, it's going to be a special acoustic version of our songs," Corlett said. "We are starting to play around with different ways to be more flexible with our arrangements."

While Storyteller was recently released, the band plans to play newer material at the concert.

"We will definitely play the new song that we just started tracking a few weekends ago, it's called 'White Curtain,'" said Corlett, "and then we'll play some of the songs off our debut record."

The show will also feature a Jackie O's regular, folk musician Joey Hebdo. Corlett says that she is looking forward to performing with him on Thursday night.

"This is our first show with Joey," Corlett said. "I've watched him play, he's a great songwriter and a great performer."

The band is excited to return to Athens due to its influence on Storyteller's songs, as they worked on many of them in the city.

"We spent a lot of time in Athens developing the songs that we're currently playing, so it's kind of the ideal place for us to go out of town," explained Corlett. "It's not so out of town because the record was born there."

The unique sound of Maza Blaska along with Joey Hebdo's self-described "adventure-folk" style should make for an untypical night at Jackie O's. The show is free of charge and starts at 10 p.m. - ACRN The Rock Lobster (Athens, OH)

Indie (Columbus, Ohio)

Shading its alluring Indie Pop base coat with flecks of world textures and rhythms, Maza Blaska’s debut album, Storyteller, is about widened, wiser perspectives from the get-go. But that theme goes deeper when you know the backstory of how the songs on the record were written (and other artwork created) to keep his mind busy during a transformative period living in Jerusalem.

You’ll Dig It If You Dig: Vampire Weekend, The Shins, art as catharsis. (Mike Breen, CityBeat) - CityBeat (Cincinnati)

By Adam Scoppa
Published November 30, 2011

While the members of Maza Blaska were wrapping up their debut album, the ambitious Storyteller, they were faced with somewhat of a dilemma. Their recently completed song “White Curtain” was a new band favorite with no home.

“This has been our favorite song for kind of a long time,” explained singer and multi-instrumentalist Sam Corlett. “It was an afterthought. We had already planned out the record and finished recording when that song was finally finished.”

Last month, they went back into the same studio, the Athens music production classroom of Ohio University professor Eddie Ashworth, to lay down tracks for “White Curtain.” The completion of the song marks a turning point for the increasingly restless band.

“It was one of the first songs we wrote all together,” said percussionist Curtis Cole. “This is getting into the groove of working together as a core band.”

Maza Blaska began a few years ago in Jerusalem, where art student Yoni Mizrachi tracked guitar, vocals and oddball percussion onto his laptop between classes. He brought those demos and the spirit of the city back to the states, intending to start a band with his girlfriend Corlett.

“Jerusalem can be an extremely loud and musical city,” Mizrachi said. “The people are vivacious and uninhibited, so I would consistently hear music blaring out of people’s cars and people playing clarinet on the street. I was surrounded by wonderfully musical people from all reaches of the Earth. They introduced me to music that I had never heard, which I was influenced by.”

Band members have shifted and snowballed in the gypsy-collective fashion that Maza Blaska’s multi-textured music suggests. Storyteller involved 15 musicians and nearly 40 engineering students.

“On the album we were really excited to work with as many people as we could,” said Corlett, explaining how the classroom environment worked well for such a large ensemble. “It was totally convenient. We feel more professional, because [the students] are there so they can learn how to work with professionals. We have to be on top of things.”

“This album was the first time I had ever worked in a professional studio with an experienced producer,” said Mizrachi. “I think at first we were all a bit timid because we were still developing the songs, as well as writing during the sessions. We were continuously trying to figure out the best way to capture these songs. The result was that some of the tracks captured the essence of what I had originally envisioned and others took on new forms.”

The help of multiple hands has made Storyteller feel alive and breathing. A world-beat party condensed into a series of three-and-a-half-minute bursts, it rewards with multiple listens and never feels too dense to traverse. As the first song the band has recorded as a six-piece, “White Curtain" glides and sizzles with the same nomadic energy as any of the tracks on its predecessor. The band plans to release the new single for free.

“We all wanted it to fit with and support the album as a single,” said Corlett. “It’s part of the same family as the songs on the album.”

“It’s like a fun experiment in working together,” added Cole. “We’re excited to see what can happen. It’s kind of a bridge to whatever comes next.”

Maza Blaska will perform as part of (614) Magazine’s Live Music Showcase on December 9th at Skully’s Music Diner (1151 N High St.). Doors open at 9 p.m. For more information, visit www.614columbus.com. To download or order Storyteller, visit www.mazablaska.bandcamp.com.
- (614) Magazine

I’m a sucker for bands with multiple drummers, that bring in unexpected instruments, and exude an infectiously merry energy. Maza Blaska creates beautiful tapestries of sound that weave folk, world, rock, and tiny threads of pop together. Their music brings to mind landscapes of old gypsy caravan campsites, men dressed in vests and collared shirts, women in skirts that softly jingle with every move as they dance around a fire.

Maza’s debut album Storyteller was released on August 13th. You can grab your digital copy on their bandcamp, but I highly recommend purchasing the CD which comes in a high quality printed eco-wallet with original artwork by band members Yoni Mizrachi & Sam Corlett (who are one of the sweetest couples I have ever met.) - Katie Pierce/Heavy Percussion

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Yoni Mizrachi's year in Jerusalem was exceptionally fruitful.

"I was studying painting and drawing, but pretty much the whole year every day I was on GarageBand," Mizrachi said. "I was painting and recording, sometimes at the same time."

Mizrachi had no lack of soul-stirring to inspire the creative outpouring. He was immersed in his father's native culture but struggling to maintain a long-distance romance. He faked insanity to avoid getting drafted into the Israeli army. His Orthodox Jewish roommate survived a slit throat after getting jumped.

By the end of his stay, Mizrachi had produced a roomful of art and a six-song demo that became the basis for a new band, Maza Blaska. Upon his 2009 return to Columbus, Mizrachi teamed with girlfriend Sam Corlett of Karate Coyote and with an ever-evolving cast of collaborators they cultivated the rich, eclectic entity captured on debut album "Storyteller," to be celebrated with a concert Friday at Carabar.

Despite the heavy subject matter, "Storyteller" presents bright, accessible indie-pop of the post-"Garden State" variety imbued with omnivorous globetrotting flair. The shorthand is easy: "The Shins do tango, mariachi and more!" But these songs are honest and complex, fully realized on the musical plane after two years of development.

Much of that coincided with an unusual recording process. Ohio University audio professor Eddie Ashworth discovered Maza Blaska on MySpace and invited them to be recorded by his students.

Ashworth's process usually takes a month, but with Maza Blaska commuting to Athens sporadically, it stretched well past a year. Guitarist Blake Miller wrote his parts in the studio. Talented friends Dane Terry (Swarming Branch) and Tyler Evans (Super Desserts, Couch Forts, The Black Swans) spent entire studio sessions running wild over the tracks.

All the time seems worthwhile now that "Storyteller" is out in time for Maza Blaska's fall tour dates, including Cincinnati's Midpoint Music Festival and a gig at Skully's with kindred spirits Fool's Gold.

"Everything's been going pretty into place for us," Corlett said, "how we wanted it to go." - Columbus Alive

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Yoni Mizrachi's year in Jerusalem was exceptionally fruitful.

"I was studying painting and drawing, but pretty much the whole year every day I was on GarageBand," Mizrachi said. "I was painting and recording, sometimes at the same time."

Mizrachi had no lack of soul-stirring to inspire the creative outpouring. He was immersed in his father's native culture but struggling to maintain a long-distance romance. He faked insanity to avoid getting drafted into the Israeli army. His Orthodox Jewish roommate survived a slit throat after getting jumped.

By the end of his stay, Mizrachi had produced a roomful of art and a six-song demo that became the basis for a new band, Maza Blaska. Upon his 2009 return to Columbus, Mizrachi teamed with girlfriend Sam Corlett of Karate Coyote and with an ever-evolving cast of collaborators they cultivated the rich, eclectic entity captured on debut album "Storyteller," to be celebrated with a concert Friday at Carabar.

Despite the heavy subject matter, "Storyteller" presents bright, accessible indie-pop of the post-"Garden State" variety imbued with omnivorous globetrotting flair. The shorthand is easy: "The Shins do tango, mariachi and more!" But these songs are honest and complex, fully realized on the musical plane after two years of development.

Much of that coincided with an unusual recording process. Ohio University audio professor Eddie Ashworth discovered Maza Blaska on MySpace and invited them to be recorded by his students.

Ashworth's process usually takes a month, but with Maza Blaska commuting to Athens sporadically, it stretched well past a year. Guitarist Blake Miller wrote his parts in the studio. Talented friends Dane Terry (Swarming Branch) and Tyler Evans (Super Desserts, Couch Forts, The Black Swans) spent entire studio sessions running wild over the tracks.

All the time seems worthwhile now that "Storyteller" is out in time for Maza Blaska's fall tour dates, including Cincinnati's Midpoint Music Festival and a gig at Skully's with kindred spirits Fool's Gold.

"Everything's been going pretty into place for us," Corlett said, "how we wanted it to go." - Columbus Alive

Maza Blaska is a collective of musicians formed by Yoni Mizrachi and Sam Corlett. In 2008, Yoni spent a year studying abroad in Jerusalem- where he wrote, recorded and produced a six-track demo on his laptop. Collaborating over the Internet, their debut album, “Storyteller” was in the making by the time Yoni returned to Ohio. Widely influenced by many genres, their sound breaks cross-cultural musical boundaries, paying consistent attention to melody, focusing on harmony and thematic lyrical narratives.

Persusion Factor: Could persuade Putin to show his feminine side. - Massive Music | Massive Talent

After one of the dreariest springs ever, Columbus is ready to plunge into summer fun. There's no better way than by showing up for Alive's Summer Music Tour, a monthly concert series spotlighting a variety of Columbus musicians in some of the city's top venues.

The series launches Friday at Woodlands Tavern and continues all summer with stops at Carabar (June 10), Skully's (July 9) and Kobo (August 6), all leading up to the second edition of Rocktoberfest this fall.

For this first installment, we've rounded up an exciting slate: Old Hundred, Maza Blaska, The Spruce Campbells, Narrow & the Brights, and Time and Temperature. They're artists working in various subgenres, bound by their mastery of the pop hook.

Maza Blaska's music feels exotic but familiar at once, a trick Yoni Mizrachi and Sam Corlett have been honing for a couple of years now with help from their sprawling list of collaborators, which now includes former quivering folkie Blakey Ray Miller. A mini-preview from "Storyteller," their long-awaited debut album due out this summer, shows they've become pretty damn adept at it.
- Columbus Alive

A cross-continental friendship, a kaleidoscopic fascination with the musical styles of myriad cultures and a flexible arrangement that permits a rotating cast of characters have turned Maza Blaska into a thriving band.

The central Ohio collective doesn't go for definitive labels.

Yet the pleasing music doesn't necessarily require intense dissection, according to founders Sam Corlett and Yoni Mizrachi - who recently discussed the group.

Q How did the band form?

Mizrachi Sam and I have been working on music together for three years. In 2008, I spent a year studying abroad in Jerusalem - where I wrote, recorded and produced a six-track demo on my laptop.

Corlett I was writing vocal harmonies to the songs Yoni was sending. We had plans to continue.

We had a lot of musicians in our close circle of friends and were familiar with each other's songs. Things grew and changed quickly, and Maza has been relatively open to a fairly large group of musicians who aren't actual members.

Q Does the name have a story?

Mizrachi It was the name of a Sioux shaman-poet and literally translates to "flatiron."

Q How would you describe your music?

Mizrachi Our sound breaks cross-cultural musical boundaries. For example, one of our songs includes a klezmer-influenced vocal melody with an Afro-pop beat and American blues-rock guitar.

Q How do the lineups and performances work?

Corlett There have been up to 12 musicians onstage. Most everyone was able to be a part of our recording.

We have six members who are consistently playing live shows and are currently looking for a few more.

We have to all be in tune with each other to control the dynamics of each song. That's what I enjoy most.

- Kevin Joy

kjoy@dispatch.com - The Columbus Dispatch

A cross-continental friendship, a kaleidoscopic fascination with the musical styles of myriad cultures and a flexible arrangement that permits a rotating cast of characters have turned Maza Blaska into a thriving band.

The central Ohio collective doesn't go for definitive labels.

Yet the pleasing music doesn't necessarily require intense dissection, according to founders Sam Corlett and Yoni Mizrachi - who recently discussed the group.

Q How did the band form?

Mizrachi Sam and I have been working on music together for three years. In 2008, I spent a year studying abroad in Jerusalem - where I wrote, recorded and produced a six-track demo on my laptop.

Corlett I was writing vocal harmonies to the songs Yoni was sending. We had plans to continue.

We had a lot of musicians in our close circle of friends and were familiar with each other's songs. Things grew and changed quickly, and Maza has been relatively open to a fairly large group of musicians who aren't actual members.

Q Does the name have a story?

Mizrachi It was the name of a Sioux shaman-poet and literally translates to "flatiron."

Q How would you describe your music?

Mizrachi Our sound breaks cross-cultural musical boundaries. For example, one of our songs includes a klezmer-influenced vocal melody with an Afro-pop beat and American blues-rock guitar.

Q How do the lineups and performances work?

Corlett There have been up to 12 musicians onstage. Most everyone was able to be a part of our recording.

We have six members who are consistently playing live shows and are currently looking for a few more.

We have to all be in tune with each other to control the dynamics of each song. That's what I enjoy most.

- Kevin Joy

kjoy@dispatch.com - The Columbus Dispatch

Zapano & Maza Blaska / January 14, 2011 / Smiling Skull Saloon
By Scott Smith, Staff Writer
January 12, 2011

This Friday, the Smiling Skull has prepared a night of music that’s sure to be one of a kind. The show will include Athens regulars Zapaño and all their sensuality as well as Maza Blaska, who is, in contrast, playing their first show ever in Athens.

If you've been out to Athens shows within the last few months, then you've probably grown familiar with Zapaño. They've been playing all around town, sometimes even multiple times a week. One performance, however, is all one needs to remember these guys forever.

The band plays long songs with loose structures that leave room for lots of improvisation. You'll be hard pressed to take your eyes off the lead singer, as he channels his inner mixture of Mick Jagger, Freddie Mercury and Rod Stewart to revive the art of the frontman.

Maza Blaska is a rather large affair that seems to grow on stage as time passes. The band has at least six members at all times and can balloon their way up to 12 members at any moment.

"We’re very adaptable," said Sam Corlett, one of three chief songwriters, "and we love to add instruments."

Corlett has played Athens with her former band Karate Coyotes before, but says that Maza Blaska is "completely different." With a bevy of multi-instrumentalists, including two other percussionists as well as instruments like the mandolin and glockenspiel, fans can expect an eclectic set from the Columbus band full of world beats, island rhythms and Eastern European melodies.

While this is their first show in town, Maza Blaska is familiar with Athens and Ohio University. The band has been recording their first album in Athens with Professor Eddie Ashworth and the audio engineering students at Ohio University.

"To work with Eddie has been a once-in-a-lifetime experience," the band said. "His industry experience is something we could not have gotten elsewhere. We feel very fortunate."

Professor Ashworth has been with the OU faculty since 2003, but has over 20 years of experience recording and mixing music with artists all over the world.

Given certain circumstances, the process of recording their debut record has been a slow one. The band could only come down to record for weekends at a time, except for a two-week camping trip at Strouds Run in July (which they said they loved). These time constraints coupled with meticulous attention to detail has the record still a few months off.

"The songs just seemed to grow as the project continued,” said band member Yoni Mizrachi. “We laid down more tracks than Eddie said he’s ever seen before."

The monstrously composed album will have 13 songs and will have even more instrumental variety, including sitars, banjos and a full horn section.

With these weekend visits, the band found themselves at the Smiling Skull prior to the show.

"We liked the atmosphere of the bar, how it’s kind of off by itself, away from the more crowded uptown bars," Mizrachi said.

However, they did remember "having to go next door to get a shot." Luckily, the Skull has recently acquired their state liquor license, so this should no longer be a problem for the band or the audience.

Maza Blaska seems excited to return to Athens, even calling it the “birthplace of our upcoming debut album.” The show starts at 10 p.m. at the Smiling Skull and will cost $3. - ACRN.com

By Joseph Janko

janko.8@osu.edu

Published: Monday, November 1, 2010

Updated: Tuesday, November 2, 2010 19:11

Editor's note: The original publication of this article contained a number of factual errors. The corrected version is printed below.

Columbus band Maza Blaska mixes its formula up at every show. The band features a constantly shifting lineup of performers playing music influenced by several cultures.

Maza Blaska operates as a "collective" rather than a typical band. Although 10 musicians are listed as band members, not all perform at the band's shows.

Sam Corlett, a 24-year-old multi-instrumentalist and vocalist in the group, said the average concert features five or six band members, composed of "whoever can show up." They often play their songs in different styles to accommodate the constant change. For example, listeners might hear a "reggae" version of one of the group's songs that usually has a "rock" feel.

Maza Blaska mixes Native American percussion with Eastern European melodies and a modern rock edge. Though the melodies are mostly Western, the instruments lend an Eastern feel. The band uses banjos, mandolins, glockenspiels and sitars to fuse "indie rock" and "world" music.

The variety of band members mirrors the range of instruments. Corlett said many of Maza Blaska's members play in other bands in Columbus.

Corlett and Yoni Mizrachi, the 24-year-old guitarist and singer of Maza Blaska, scheduled an appearance at Independent's Day 2009 before they had any actual members. They asked some of their friends to fill in, who were then "tricked" into "staying with the band for good," Corlett jokingly said in an e-mail to The Lantern.

"We just kept adding more because we have a lot of friends that are musicians," Corlett said. "So it was just like, ‘Hey, why don't you play with us?'"

Mizrachi said the band avoids cluttering its sound by placing an emphasis on rhythm. Many of the members play percussive instruments, which bandmembers said leads to a more "danceable" sound.

"I want to get people moving their feet and feeling good," Mizrachi said. "We don't really want to create any drama. We just want people to have fun, feel good, dance and do whatever."

The name "Maza Blaska" came from a list of Native American names Mizrachi found on the Internet. After picking a few names he liked, he sent them to Corlett, who ultimately chose the group's name.

Mizrachi wrote much of the group's initial material while on a trip to Israel. He sent a song to Corlett through the Internet, who expanded on it.

The blending of genres led to unique challenges for the band's members.

"Coming in and trying to learn those songs, the chord structure and the melody lines are not very typical," said Kyle Charles, the group's 26-year-old bass player. "It actually took me a while to figure out the songs because (Mizrachi) plays some weird chords."

The group bases its lyrics and themes on stories, experiences and written tradition, and its upcoming record will be called "Storyteller." Mizrachi said most of the original material came from his desire to describe his trip to Jerusalem, which is evident in tracks like "River Jordan."

The band has been recording its debut record on and off for a few months but has not set a release date.

After discovering the band through MySpace, assistant professor Eddie Ashworth of the School of Media Arts and Studies at Ohio University invited the group to record with him and students in music production. Ashworth mixed and engineered many of the albums by the band Sublime.

After the album is finished, Mizrachi said he plans to use it to attract a record label. The band doesn't intend to release the album on its own unless it can't to find a label or a distributor.

Though the group members are passionate about their music, they said their only concern is creating art.

"I don't think that any of us are expecting that we're going to make any money any time soon from any musical thing we're doing," Corlett said. "That's not because of a total lack of faith as much as we're not worried about it."

The band is taking a short hiatus, but plans to begin playing concerts again in December. - Ohio State University's The Lantern

The sheer amount of talent compiled in Maza Blaska made the band a must-see, so last Tuesday I went to Carabar and did just that.

Since midway through last year, the core of the band has remained Yoni Mizrachi and Sam Corlett (she of Karate Coyote fame) doubling up on vocals, with Mizrachi strumming his guitar and Corlett wielding an array of instruments including mandolin and Glockenspiel. Bassist Kyle Charles and drummer Tim Murray have been consistent contributors too, though Murray is on his way out to tend to daddy duties.

The new and (presumably) improved ensemble on view Tuesday featured two of the city's most talented solo acts flexing their sideman muscles on the flanks. At stage left was Dane Terry, one of the city's truest musical talents whose piano playing enriches just about everything he contributes to.

Stage right found Blake Miller, a former Alive Bands to Watch honoree for his whispery indie-rock concoctions, contributing sonic special effects with his guitar machinery - with his back to the audience, of course.

The songs I previewed on MySpace were sonically minimal and wide open, like Islands' take on tropical twee filtered through Spoon's production values. So I didn't expect a stage sound as thick as the one they unveiled. The extra pieces totally transformed this band's identity from light and airy to densely saturated. Sometimes it worked wonders, but just as often it sounded over-stuffed. Lots of good ideas but not enough focus? Edit, edit, edit.

Closing out the night was Black Love. Glenn Davis, Dylan Meister and Travis Hall used to haunt the house-show circuit as the core members of TI-83 Plus, a supremely catchy ensemble reminiscent of Say Hi To Your Mom's synth-laden janglers and - in a common thread with Maza Blaska - the Islands/Unicorns school of exotic indie-pop. Black Love reunites them under a new banner with new songs and a more down-tempo disposition.

I never saw TI-83 Plus, but I enjoyed their MySpace tracks and considered myself a fan. In principle, I dig Black Love's blend of crisp, minimal electronics and loosey-goosey Paul Simon guitar pop too, but I'm not totally sold on the band, mostly because it all feels way too cutesy, especially when Davis sings like Kermit the Frog (shockingly and unfortunately often).

In the context of the old band's big, bold bundles of fun, the cuter-than-thou approach was a lot more tolerable, but over softly syncopated guitars and understated drum programming, it sounds disingenuous: all wink, no conviction. - Columbus Alive