MOANA & THE TRIBE feat. Inka Mbing(Taiwan) release new single ‘TŌKU REO’

Inka Mbing is the stunning guest vocalist on 'Tōku Reo', a music collaboration
with the singer from the Atayal tribe, one of 16 indigenous tribe in Taiwan. Inka defied the taboo on women not singing traditional songs and had been punished – like Māori - for speaking their native language in school. Now she is celebrated for helping keep the language alive. Moana Maniapoto and producer Paddy Free visited Inka and started a conversation with her about the loss of language and its revitalisation in Aotearoa/New Zealand. They recorded the song Tōku Reo, based on the lyrics by Scotty Morrison, sung in Atayal and Māori, both of which belong to the Austronesian language family. Tōku Reo  pays tribute to the language of both cultures and is released worldwide on Friday, September 18th, 2020.
 
Toku reo, toku ohooho
My Language, my awakening
Tohu reo, toku oho kaikakau
My Language, my strength
 
Mai e te tipua, mai e te tawhito, mai e te kahui o nga ariki, 
In the beginning, before there was Light, under the cloak of the gods
 
Mai e tawhiri atu ki ngā atua i te ora kua hanga mai o te ao i te putaketanga nei o tatou reo
From that ancient time when the ancestors and gods created a means to speak to each other,
Out of the darkness and their chatter in the Void, came…
 
Reo Waiti, Reo Waita
This Language of Sweetness,this Language of Eloquence
Reo i wehi mai e nga matua ko Ranginui e tu nei
This Language used by sacred forces to plot and plan the separation of Rangi Sky Father
 

‘Tōku Reo’ is the second single to be released from the forthcoming album from Moana & the Tribe, Ono.

APRA TAKE THE SILVER SCROLL AWARDS ONLINE!

We're writing today with an update and some significant news about the 2020 Silver Scroll Awards ceremony. After much discussion, contemplation, and reflection across the organisation, we feel the level of uncertainty in proceeding with a live event with an invited audience at the Auckland Town Hall, and the investment that requires is just too great at the moment.

So unfortunately we have to cancel the plans we had made to hold a live event for members at the Auckland Town Hall on Weds Oct 14. We absolutely understand this will be very disappointing to many – particularly to our finalists. The Silver Scroll Awards are not only a celebration of the wonderful songs and works that have been released, but also an opportunity for our community to gather together and see old friends or make new ones. We definitely wish circumstances were different. However, we are going to take the awards into the digital realm, and hopefully create something which really showcases the amazing work of Aotearoa's songwriters, that everyone can enjoy in the online world. This will include the incredible (but top secret) live performances that our Music Director Julia Deans has been planning.  The exact timing of the ‘digital ceremony/broadcast’ is something we’re still working through, but we’ll announce that as soon as we can. In the mean time, we want you to know that APRA continues to offer our support and enthusiasm for all of the many live shows and tours that are planned in the coming months. We know how tough it has been for so many of you, to deal with the ongoing challenges of Covid-19, particularly in the effect on live shows. We have great respect for you all continuing to postpone, re-group, and move forward, despite the uncertainty. The APRA AMCOS team are huge live music fans, and we are super keen to get back into all these wonderful live experiences with you as soon as we can. Thank you again for your patience and understanding, and for continuing to make such great songs and compositions.  Kia kaha.
PS. We're very grateful to have the support of Te Māngai Pāho and NZ On Air for the 2020 Silver Scroll Awards

ANNOUNCING NEW REO MĀORI SONGHUBS PROGRAM - APPLICATIONS OPEN

Apra are delighted to announce that applications are now open for our new Reo Māori SongHubs Program 2020, and will close at 5pm on Monday 28 September.

Reo Māori SongHubs Waimārama 2020

When: Monday 16 November to Friday 20 November
Where: Waimārama Marae in Hawkes BayWhat: Reo Māori SongHubs is a collaborative songwriting wānanga presented by APRA AMCOS with the generous support of Te Māngai Pāho. Reo Māori SongHubs brings together experts in music creation and waiata reo Māori to collaborate with a mixture of our best and brightest songwriters, artists and producers.

The curator of the program will be Aotearoa's own superstar/producer/collaborator Joel Little, while pre-eminent mātanga reo/language specialist and songwriter Sir Tīmoti Kāretu will be the reo curator. Four other mātanga reo/songwriters Pānia Papa, Leon Te Heketū Blake, Kingi Kiriona and Jeremy Tātere MacLeod will guide and assist with the sessions.  

How SongHubs works:
Reo Māori SongHubs is a week long program held at Waimārama Marae in Hawkes Bay. Each day you will be assigned a different group to write a song with. This group will consist of a producer/engineer, a Māori language consultant/mātanga reo (see more details below), a ‘lead’ songwriter (for whom you are writing a song), and one other songwriter. These groups will each inhabit a separate space for the day.  
Each songwriter will get the opportunity to be a 'lead' songwriter at least once, and will work with different producers and mātanga reo across the week. 

Eligibility criteria:

You are eligible to apply for Reo Māori SongHubs 2020 if:

• You are an elected Full Writer Member of APRA

• You are either a) able to demonstrate commercial success or a strong track record of audience and industry support within the past two years OR b) have a manager, record company, or music publisher, supporting your career

• You have a recording scheduled for release during the 12 months following Reo Māori SongHubs 2020 and a clear plan for its dissemination

• You are keen and willing to collaborate with other artists, songwriters and producers

• You are willing to be photographed and filmed throughout the Reo Māori SongHubs program for APRA's promotional purposes

• You are willing to make yourself available for media relating to Reo Māori SongHubs 2020, and for your image and biography to be used in association with this and future SongHubs events

• You are available for the FULL duration of Reo Māori SongHubs 2020 including the pōwhiri at Waimārama Marae on Monday 16 November at 11am to Friday 20 November available daily from 9.30am to 8pm, departing on Saturday 21 November

• You are a student or speaker of te reo Māori

We are offering the following positions for Reo Māori SongHubs 2020

- 4 producers/engineers  
- 8 songwriters 
 
Travel, accommodation and meals will be provided.  

Please fill out the application to be considered for one of these positions.

HE WHAKAPĀOHOTANGA TĒNEI NĀ APRA MŌ ‘TE TOHU MAIOHA’ 2020 ME NGĀ RĀRANGI WHIRINGA TOA | ANNOUNCING THE FINALISTS FOR THE 2020 APRA MAIOHA AWARD

The APRA Maioha Award recognises the art of contemporary Māori songwriting and honours composers who are telling their stories in the language of Te Ao Māori.

• Ka Mānu by Rob Ruha, performed by Bella Kalolo, Maisey Rika, Majic, Ria Hall, Rob Ruha, Seth Haapu, Troy Kingi, and The Witch Dr

• Ūkaipō by Seth Haapu

• Whāia by Pere Wihongi, Meto-Tagivale Schmidt-Peke, Hoeata Maxwell-Blake, Awatea Wihongi, Te Kaaterama Pou, Mereana Teka, Raniera Blake, Puawai Taiapa, Nathaniel Howe, and Tawaroa Kawana, and performed by Maimoa

Rob Ruha (Te Whānau a Apanui, Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Rongowhakaata, Tainui, Te Arawa, Ngā Ariki-kaipūtahi, Ngā Puhi) has been a finalist multiple times, and won the Maioha Award first in 2014, and again in 2016. This year he returns with Ka Mānu – a waiata written in response to the dispute around Ihumātao, speaking of unity and peaceful resistance, and highlighting the issues of oppression for indigenous people around the world. In continuing the theme of unity, the song brings together musicians from across Aotearoa for a stirring performance full of aroha and hope.

Also a former finalist, Seth Haapu’s smooth and tender style is once again commended with his new work Ūkaipō. It’s a powerful ballad examining the origins of life, and exploring the path of awakening, reclamation, and restoration of identity. The track pairs his lush vocals with memorable piano melodies and captivating rhythmic percussion, and draws influence from Haapu’s own Māori and Polynesian heritage.

Bringing together ten musicians, Maimoa is a collective of young Māori music artists who first made headlines in 2015 when they knocked off Justin Timberlake from the number spot on the iTunes NZ Charts, and went number 2 on the New Zealand Charts. This year they’re finalists for their waiata Whāia, from their recently released album Rongomaiwhiti. It’s a proud pop song that encourages everyone to embrace their unique qualities and celebrate their identity – an objective which permeates Waiata Nation, the series that follows the members in their creative pursuits.

The judges for the 2020 APRA Maioha Award were: Matai Rangi Smith, Ngatapa Black, Tama Waipara, and Toni Huata.

You can watch past Maioha Award performances and presentations HERE.

The awards are proudly supported by NZ On Air and Te Mangai Paho.

Finalists Announced for SOUNZ and Screen Awards

Some of New Zealand’s best songwriters and composers have been shortlisted for three prestigious awards to be presented at the 2020 APRA Silver Scroll Awards.

SOUNZ CONTEMPORARY AWARD - TE TOHU AUAHA

The SOUNZ Contemporary Award celebrates excellence in contemporary composition.

2020 finalists:

• a loose affiliation of alleluias by Celeste Oram

• Assemblage by Alex Taylor and Simon Ingram

• Mātauranga (Rerenga) by Michael Norris

All three SOUNZ Contemporary Award finalists this year are former finalists, but they take us in very different directions in contemporary classical music.

Celeste Oram is a New Zealand composer and vocalist now based in San Diego, who aims to create work “in which performers and listeners explore sonic and social histories, micro-cultures, and utopias.” This year she is a finalist for her work a loose affiliation of alleluias – a concerto for improvising violinist and three voices, commissioned by the La Jolla Symphony & Chorus. The piece takes inspiration from pop song structures and the mechanisms of breathing, while intertwining glimpses of material from contemporary works like Paul Simon’s The Boy in the Bubble, redemption by serpentwithfeet, as well as choral works from the 12th and 17th centuries.

The genesis of Assemblage is truly collaborative, with composer Alex Taylor (also now San Diego based) working with visual artist Simon Ingram, to bring together the sounds, movements, and inspirations of a painting robot (who is part of the performance), with an orchestral composition. Commissioned by conductor Marc Taddei and premiered by Orchestra Wellington, the piece draws on many of the gestural elements of the robot – gradients, curves, expansion and contraction, and much of the work is built on a series of slow-moving chromatic harmonies – creating a constrained quality to the sound. But like a rubber band being pulled, there’s always the potential for that energy to snap or release.

Commissioned by the NZSO, Michael Norris’ Mātauranga (Rerenga) is a work for orchestra, taonga puoro and live electronics which reflects on Captain Cook’s first voyage to the South Pacific and his arrival in Aotearoa. Norris (who has been a finalist six times, and won the award three times) recognised the many issues surrounding Cook's arrival in New Zealand, and the piece is not so much a celebration as an evocation of a moment in time. “I'm not just thinking of the cultural collision between Cook and the local iwi and tangata whenua, but I'm also thinking of a kind of sonic world. What were the seascapes that Cook was experiencing during those long days of endless voyaging around the South Pacific? What were the birdscapes or the gentle lapping of the waves on the shoreline of these places where Cook put down his anchors?”

Judging for the SOUNZ Contemporary Award is conducted by an anonymous judging panel of local and international composers, convened by SOUNZ Centre for New Zealand Music.

APRA SCREEN AWARDS

The APRA Best Original Music in a Feature Film and APRA Best Original Music in a Series Awards celebrate New Zealand's screen composers. The awards recognise the relationship that composers have with cinema and the power of music to illuminate, elevate and support real and imagined worlds, narratives, images and performances.

2020 finalists for APRA Best Original Music In A Series Award:

• Claire Cowan for One Lane Bridge

• David Long for The Luminaries (published by Native Tongue Music Publishing)

• Doc McGlashan and Harry Sinclair for Kiri and Lou (published by Native Tongue Music Publishing)

• Lachlan Anderson for The Dead Lands

2020 finalists for APRA Best Original Music In A Film Award:

• Claire Cowan for Runaway Millionaires

• Karl Steven for Come to Daddy

• Mahuia Bridgman-Cooper for The Legend of Baron To’a

Claire Cowan is a prolific Auckland based composer, and won Best Original Music in a Series for her work on Hillary in 2017. This year she’s a finalist in both categories. Firstly for her innovative work on Queenstown-based mystery series One Lane Bridge, evoking the eerie solitude of the landscape and familial tensions, and secondly for her energetic score for larger-than-life drama Runaway Millionaires, based on the true story of the Kiwi couple who ended up with $10 million in their bank account by accident, and decided to take off to China to see if they could evade authorities and keep the cash.

Wellington’s David Long (also a former finalist and winner) is recognized this year for his work on the sumptuous international co-production of The Luminaries. Based on Eleanor Catton’s acclaimed historical novel, and series unravels an incredible tale of star-crossed love bound up in a gold-rush mystery, and Long’s score carefully intertwines the spiritual with the gritty, building drama while also delineating the many characters who cross paths.

The names Don McGlashan and Harry Sinclair are synonymous with the innovative and hilarious 80s musical creations of The Front Lawn. Now they have transposed that same knack for whimsy and delight to children’s animated TV series Kiri and Lou, for which they are finalists. Blending songs with soundscapes that highlight the adventures of the two pre-historic mates of disparate sizes, they capture a wild natural world, and encourage subtle life lessons we can all relate to.

Having carved a successful career as the bass player in Die! Die! Die!, Lachlan Anderson has been concurrently emerging as an in-demand screen composer both in Aotearoa and internationally. Having been applauded for his work on Belgian Netflix hit Tabula Rasa, and London-based true life thriller 6 Days, he’s recently returned to Auckland and completed work on transgender drama Rūrangi and high intensity action adventure series The Dead Lands – for which he is nominated.

Karl Steven is no stranger to the APRA Screen Awards, having been nominated six times, and won twice. This year, his work on cult horror thriller (with a touch of comedy) Come To Daddy is a finalist, applauded for its characterful chamber orchestra score which balances intrigue, knife-edge tension, and mayhem, enhancing the unpredictable storyline that unfolds as a son reunites with his estranged father in a remote location.

Also a former finalist and winner, Mahuia Bridgman-Cooper is known for his playful, innovative scores, and this year’s nomination is no different. The Legend of Baron To’a is a Kiwi-Polynesian action comedy which finds pathos in amongst the exceptionally choreographed and shot fight scenes, and Bridgman-Cooper’s music gives it extra punch and energy, with touches of island inspiration.  

The judges for the 2020 APRA Screen Awards were: Amanda Brown, Janet Roddick, Rhian Sheehan, and Tom McLeod.

The awards are proudly supported by NZ On Air.

NZ ON AIR AND TE MĀNGAI PĀHO ANNOUNCE WAIATA TAKITAHI – A NEW SINGLE-BASED MUSIC FUNDING ROUND

Irirangi te Motu/NZ On Air and Te M​ā​ngai Pāho are proud to announce their first ​official music funding ​collaboration, with the launch of ​Waiata Takitahi​focused on songs featuring te reo Māori.

​The ​music funding initiative, which ​opens in ​Whiringa-ā-nuku​ (October) will be seeking new songs that incorporate te reo Māori lyrics with a minimum of 25% te reo Māori content. The fund will be open to musicians from all backgrounds who have a genuine interest in writing and recording ​waiata​ ​integrating​ ​te reo Māori​, with an eye to distribution across​ mainstream audiences via online and broadcast platforms. 

The ​Waiata Takitahi f​unding amount is $14,000 (+ GST) per track, ​which can cover costs of recording, video content and promotion, ​and also be used to​ cover costs of te reo specialists or coaches to assist with the writing and recording of the songs. 

NZ On Air and ​Te Māngai Pāh​o expect to be able to support up to 12 new songs in this inaugural Waiata Takitahi​ funding round. The grant also incorporates the new Artist Creation Fee of up to $1,000 (optional) to recognise the artists creation of the original song. 

There will be high expectations ​placed on​ the quality of te reo to be used in the funded songs, and te reo Māori consultants and​ language experts must be engaged to ensure quality control and the contextual relevance in the tracks. 

NZ On Air’s Head of Music David Ridler says this focus round of funding is the logical next step in the collegial relationship with ​Te Māngai Pāho.​ “We have been actively looking for a way to work together in an official capacity to work on a common goal – break more local music incorporating te reo Māori into the mainstream.” 

Te Mangai Pāho Kaiarahi Puoro Nadia Marsh agrees​. ​“Artists are driving the kaupapa, and we are in full support. ​The 2019 Waiata/Anthems project ​demonstrates just how effortlessly te reo Māori can be integrated into our nation’s everyday listening,​” she says.

Applications for the ​Waiata Takitahi​ round will open on ​22 o Whiringa-ā-nuku​ (22 October), with the deadline ​Rāpare, 12 o Whiringa-ā-rangi (12 November)​ at 4:00pm. Funding decisions will be announced in ​Hakihea​ (December). Applications will be online-only and will be made through NZ On Air’s New Music Single application portal – ​https://newmusicsingles.nzonair.govt.nz​. 

For more details on the Waiata Takitahi focus round including application criteria and an FAQ head to our website. 

National Waiata Māori Music Awards Now An Online Event For 2020

Organisers of the National Waiata Māori Music Awards have made the tough decision to move the 2020 event online, with safety of the people being the priority.

It comes after the Government announced Auckland will stay in alert level 2.5 for now while the rest of the country is likely to stay in alert level 2 until next week.

The awards gala event was due to be held on October 2 in Hawke’s Bay.

Traditionally, a large number of guests and finalists would come from all over Aotearoa, as well as some from overseas.

National Waiata Māori Music Awards Executive Director Ellison Huata said there would still be an awards event for 2020, an online version, to be held at the later date of October 9.

“We’re about to announce the finalists for this year’s awards and we still want to have an event to let people know who the winners for 2020 are and to celebrate our Māori artists and music in what has been a very difficult year.

“We plan to run it as an online, virtual event but still have a presence at Toitoi - Hawke's Bay Arts & Events Centre, the venue where we planned to run the awards event this year.”

Ellison said it would be a mixture of pre-recorded material and live performances for the virtual event which will be streamed online via YouTube and the Waiata Māori Music Awards Facebook page.

“We know a lot of people will be disappointed, we wanted this year’s awards event to be a positive way to bring people through the challenges of 2020.

“We were also looking forward to returning to Toitoi, the venue where we had our awards event in 2008.”

The awards event had been run at the Hastings Sports Centre since 2014 and then Clubs Hastings, while Toitoi was being redeveloped.

“We still want people to tune in to watch this year’s awards event, to recognise and celebrate the achievements of our Māori singers, song-writers and performers.”

TikTok Whānau Challenge

The change to an online event was made following the inaugural TikTok Whānau Challenge, an event to support Te Marama Pūoro Waiata Māori - Māori Music Month during August.

Māori Music Month is also run by the National Waiata Māori Music Awards.

People were challenged to come up with a dance, performed to a waiata by any of the many Māori music performers.

Ellison was happy with the results.

There were about 400 videos submitted and 540,000 views of the TikTok Challenge over the month which showed the reach Māori music had globally.

Six winners were selected who will now attend the National Waiata Māori Music Awards as VIPs in 2021.

“We know TikTok is really popular not just in New Zealand but around the world and so it’s a really good way to promote Māori music at home and to the rest of the world.

“We were impressed with the videos whānau submitted, with lots of creativity and humour to promote our Māori artists and songs.

“We had planned to have the winners of the TikTok Challenge appear as VIPs at this year’s National Waiata Māori Music Awards, but because the event is going online, we will host the winners in 2021.”

Ellison said the event’s TikTok host Te Atakura Huata-Harawira made a video compilation pulling together all of the winners of the inaugural Whanau TikTok Challenge.

“Every day we asked people to think about what was their favourite waiata, by a Māori artist and then to create their own video and dance to share, to celebrate Te Marama Pūoro Waiata Māori,” Te Atakura said.

“The response was really amazing, we had people not just from Aotearoa but also from Australia, America, Guam, from the UK, Canada and more.

“We had a few people from Italy jumping on board to support Māori Music Month and in the end got about 540,000 views of the challenge over 30 days, which is pretty amazing.”

There were also some people writing their own songs and performing to them on TikTok which added another dimension to the challenge.

“The judges were looking for creativity, for singers, dancers that supported the kaupapa.”

The list of entrants was narrowed down to 25 and from there six winners were selected.

Among the winners was Stephanie Awheto from Hamilton who said she felt “lucky to be one of the winners”.

“I'm a New Zealand Sign Language interpreter so all my content is in NZSL.”

She selected the Karakia Whakakapi sung by Maisey Rika for her waiata.

“I chose my waiata because my whāngai brother Patrick, who was deaf and I created all the signs for it.

“He passed in 2016 so it was a way to honour him as well as whakanui Māori Music Month.”

Dominique Smith, Auckland, entered the challenge because she wanted to showcase the outstanding music Māori artists make, both in Māori and English reo.

She enjoys being a TikTok dance creator and has recorded a few dances for songs made by the likes of Six60, Sons of Zion and Kingz.

It was her performance to a Sons of Zion song that caught the judge’s attention.

Miquelle Blake, from Flaxmere, Hawke’s Bay, wrote and performed an original song, Ko Tōku Reo, a blend of Māori proverbs and her own thoughts.

“I love being Māori and am very proud to be part of Māori Music Month and seeing our language thrive,” Miquelle said.

Te Atakura Huata-Harawira said it was great to see how people got involved to champion Māori Music Month.

“It was a great way to support our Māori artists and whānau during this crazy time,” Te Atakura said.

“Music gives so much to the mind, body and soul and its one reason for this we should celebrate our own during this month of August.”

We would also like to congratulate all of the Māori artists who released new work during the Te Marama Pūoro Waiata Māori - Māori Music Month.

“To all our TikTok Whānau Challenge entrants, thank you for supporting our Māori artists and sharing their waiata with your awesome TikTok moves,” Te Atakura said.

The other winners of the Whānau TikTok Challenges included Tarsh Green from Hamilton, Manaia Canterbury from Hastings, Miquelle Blake and Micheal Kenny from Huntly.

National Waiata Māori Music Awards 2020

• August 1-31: Te Marama Pūoro Waiata Māori – Māori Music Month

• August 1: Nominations open for National Waiata Māori Music Awards.

• August 31: Nominations close.

• September 17: Finalists announced.

• October 9: Winners announced at the National Waiata Māori Music Awards online event.

SWEAT (FT. TĀNE) - THE NEW HIGH ENERGY BANGER FROM REI

Need a new track for your work out playlist? Well Rei made one just for you! Turn it up, get moving and shake off any anxiety by getting your blood pumping. With obvious throwbacks to the late 80s and 90s, you might even break out the old lycra bodysuit for this one...

‘Sweat’ follows up the success of Rei’s new Te Reo album ‘Hoea’ (released June 26th). ‘Sweat’ features Rei’s good friend and frequent collaborator Tāne aka Tane Williams, well known for playing Ali on Shortland Street. ‘Sweat’ is the latest single from Rei’s upcoming english album, due for release in 2020.

2020 has been a difficult time for artists, but Rei has kept himself busy. He featured on the #1 lockdown track ‘Stay’’ as well as making various content for Māori TV, live streams for Hallensteins, his own ‘Tutū Tuesdays’ live songwriting sessions and even made 3 music videos. One was a comedy track called ‘Miss My Homies’ with Mikey Mayz and Tane The Forest Kid. Another was ‘Rāpeti’, a cheeky track about his super busy summer of touring… And his dance track Holy Hecka has also taken off in the NZ dance community, spawning multiple dance videos on social media. All of this from the comfort of his Waterview whare. Oh yeah, and his Spotify just clocked over 5 million streams...

Listen to Sweat here

www.musicbyrei.com