MARA!

Mara! began life in Australia in 1982 as Tansey's Fancy, playing Celtic and early music, and performing countless arts centres, festival and campus gigs, with more than 200 concerts in 1983 alone. Band members included Mara Keik, Llew Keik, Doug Kelly, Adrian Coleridge, Davoud Tabrizi, Linsey Pollack, Andrew De Teliga and Kim Sanders, and many migrant musician guests. Tansey's evolved into one of the seminal "multicultural music" groups in Australia, and in 1983-4 were support act for major tours around Australia by Donovan, Pentangle, Steeleye Span, Max Boyce and the Furies.

Tansey's Fancy first toured Europe in 1984 with Mara Keik on vocals, Llew Keik on guitar, Jim Denley on sax and Mike Haughton on woodwinds. With guests Paul Miller (and occasionally Paul James) on bagpipes and Danny Thompson (from Pentangle and Donovan) on bass, their debut album 'Images' was recorded at Topic Records in London in 1984 under the name Mara! Danny performed and toured with Mara! in Europe and Australia for the next four years and was on the album "On the Edge" in London in 1987.

As Danny's performing commitments prevented him touring with Mara! in Australia in 1987, Steve Elphick joined the band and remained Mara!'s bass player for more than 20 years. By 1990, Denley and Houghton had both migrated to Europe, and sax player Sandy Evans and sax/clarinet player Tony Gorman joined Mara! Numerous Australian, European, Canadian, Asian and New Zealand tours and Australian work with Musica Viva in Schools continued and by 1997 the albums 'Don't Even Think' (1990), 'Ruino Vino' (1995) and 'Sezoni' (1997) had been produced in Australia.

Sandy Evans won a Keating award in 1996, and decided to focus on her own projects, and was briefly replaced by violinist Veren Grigorov. Tony Gorman retired from Mara! due to health problems in 1997, and Paul Cutlan on sax, clarinet and recorder and Andrew Robson began an eleven-year partnership with Mara! During the last three years of the decade there were several Australian and foreign tours with this line-up.

The 2000 Sydney Olympics were a major highlight for Mara! and the Martenitsa Choir with the presentation of their "Homeland" collaboration with aerial specialists Legs on the Wall at the live site at Sydney's Circular Quay. A massive arena, a huge canvas (the 50 storey AMP Centre) and a multimedia performance was a highlight in all our musical lives. "Homeland" was subsequently performed at The Brisbane Festival and the Berlin Poesiefestival with live music from Mara!/Martenitsa, and later at the Manchester Commonwealth games with pre-recorded soundtrack.

Extensive Australian and international tours were undertaken after 2000, with several tours visiting Asian festivals. In 2005 the first combined international tour with both Mara! and the Martenitsa Choir (highlights being WOMAD Reading and Koprivshtitsa Bulgaria) followed several joint concerts in South East Australia. In 2009 Robson withdrew from regular performing with Mara! to spend time with his new family, and Sandy Evans rejoined the band. In this decade the albums 'Live in Europe' and 'Sorella' were released.

In 2012 Lloyd Swanton replaced Elphick as Mara!'s regular bassist, just after the release of the album "Tra Parole e Silenzio" and its launch at Woodford Folk Festival (over New Year 2012). In fact, Lloyd was not new to the band as he was one of the first bass players to work with Mara and Llew in Tansey's Fancy during the early 80s. A highlight of 2013 was Mara! and Martenitsa's return to WOMADelaide, having performed at the first one in 1992 when Martenitsa was touring with Bulgaria's famous Trio Bulgarka and Balkana. It was Mara!'s third WOMADelaide, and the combined Mara!/Martenitsa ensemble presented "Tra Parole e Silenzio". Mara! most recently performed at the inaugural Sydney Folk Festival on August 16, 2019.

Members

Mara Kiek (vocals, tapan, darabukka, tambourine), James Llewelyn Kiek (bouzouki, guitar, bass, baglama), Jim Denley (flute, sax, darabukka), Mike Haughton (recorder, sax, vocals), Steve Elphick (bass), Paul Cutlan (sax, clarinet, recorder), Sandy Evans (sax), Tony Gorman (sax/clarinet), Veren Grigorov (violin), Andrew Robson, Lloyd Swanton (bass), Danny Thompson (bass)

ALBUMS
'Images 1984 Plant Life 1984
 'On The Edge' 1987 Sandstock Music 
'Don't Even Think' 1990 Sandstock Music 
'Ruino Vino' 1995 Rufus Records
'Sezoni' 1997 Rufus Records 
'Live in Europe' 2001 Mara! Music
'Sorella' 2005 Mara! Music
'Tra Parole E Silenzio' 2012 Mara! Music

References

Mara Music - Mara! History - Australia