Mānawatia a Matariki ✨

Matariki is a time to reflect on the past and those who have passed on, to celebrate the present with kai and time with our whānau and communities, and to look ahead and plan for the future.

Selected Works is a weekly (usually) newsletter by the Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Aotearoa (Wellington, New Zealand) based freelance music journalist, broadcaster, copywriter and sometimes DJ Martyn Pepperell, aka Yours Truly. Most weeks, Selected Works consists of a recap of what I’ve been doing lately and some of what I’ve been listening to and reading, paired with film photographs I’ve taken + some bonuses. All of that said, sometimes it takes completely different forms.

Mānawa maiea te putanga o Matariki.

Mānawa maiea te ariki o te rangi.

Mānawa maiea te Mātahi o te tau.

Celebrate the rising of Matariki.

Celebrate the rising of the lord of the sky.

Celebrate the rising of the New Year.

This Hune (June), people all over Aotearoa New Zealand, are taking part in traditions and festivities as Matariki rises to herald in Te Mātahi o te Tau, the Māori New Year. Matariki is a time to reflect on the past and those who have passed on, to celebrate the present with kai and time with our whānau and communities, and to look ahead and plan for the future. Today, we’re acknowledging it with a public holiday. If you’re not across it and would like to learn more about Matariki, you can read more here, here and here.

TE REO MĀORI SONGS/MUSIC VIDEOS:

Since I’m the music guy, I thought that this might be a good opportunity for me to share some music videos for a few classic songs from Aotearoa New Zealand, that are sung in te reo Māori (the Māori language). I hope you enjoy some of them.

Dean Waretini, The Bridge

Born in Rotorua, Aotearoa, in 1946, Dean Waretini was one of the titans of Māori language music in the early 1980s.

For ‘The Bridge’, Waretini chose to sing over 'Il Silenzio' by the Italian composer Nini Rosso. The lyrics were written by Waretini's cousin, George Tait, a Te Arawa elder. When it was released in 1981, ‘The Bridge’ pushed John Lennon off the charts, in the process becoming the first Māori language song to reach #1 in Aotearoa New Zealand. Thematically, the song refers to the construction of South Auckland’s Mangere Bridge. Dean and George saw the song as representing a link between cultures.

Moana, Kua Makona

Recorded in 1987 by a young Moana Maniapoto, 'Kua Makona' was produced by the legendary Dalvanius Prime (RIP!) - who you can see vibing at the mixing desk in the video - and Ryan Monga of Ardijah. It also featured keyboards from Ryan's bandmate Simon Lynch (and BVs from Ardijah, I think).

Moana spent some time in the bilingual reggae band Aotearoa before forming her own group, Moana and The Moa Hunters, with Teremoana Rapley, Mina Ripia and other friends. That wasn't the end of her story, far from it. These days, you can find her working as a television journalist with Māori TV in Aotearoa, amongst other ventures.

Hirini Melbourne, Tirairaka (The Fantail)

A composer, singer, instrumentalist, lecturer, poet and author, Hirini Melbourne (rest in peace) created Forest and Ocean - Bird Songs an album of spare and delicate Te Reo waiata about the birds and nature of Aotearoa. Voice and guitar set to field recordings in an elegant, near perfect expression of the relationship between man, animals, land and sea.

Hirini also did a lot of incredible work alongside Richard Nunns to revive understanding of Taonga pūoro (the traditional Māori instruments of Aotearoa), but that is another story for another time. Out of all the songs on Forest and Ocean - Bird Songs, ‘Tirairaka (The Fantail)’ might be my favourite.

Patea Māori Club, Poi E

The leader of the Patea Māori Club, Dalvanius Prime (16 January 1948 – 3 October 2002), was a New Zealand Māori entertainer and songwriter. Over his thirty-year-plus career, he mentored many of the country’s next wave of Māori performers and was a vocal and forthright supporter of Māori culture as part of popular culture.

In 1984, 'Poi E' used an electro-boogie/breakdance backing track (and Space Invaders SFX?!) to take Te Reo Māori to the top of the Aotearoa New Zealand music charts. The lyrics were written by the Māori language advocate and composer Ngoi Pēwhairangi. This was her second time around topping the charts. Two years earlier, Ngoi co-wrote 'E Ipo' with Prince Tui Teka (a tribute to his wife Missy). If you haven't seen the 2016 film Poi E: The Story of Our Song, strongly recommend you watch it.

Prince Tui Teka, E Ipo

Tumanako "Tui" Teka (8 March 1937-23 January 1985), better known by his stage names Tui Latui or Prince Tui Teka, was a Māori singer and actor. Teka was a member of the Maori Volcanics Showband before having a successful solo career.

As I mentioned in the ‘Poi E’ blurb above, 'E Ipo' was written in tribute to Prince Tui Teka's wife Missy. It's a slice of remarkably beautiful Te reo Māori lounge music. 'E Ipo's melody was based on the popular Indonesian love song 'Mimpi Sedih' by Aloysius Riyanto, which Teka had heard from New Zealand soldiers stationed in Singapore when he was performing overseas between 1980-1982. The song was a number-one single in Aotearoa New Zealand, for two weeks, but Teka's career and legacy runs far deeper than one single. You should look him up.

Whirimako Black, Engari Te Titi

Originally written by the truly legendary Tuhoe composer Mihikitekapua, who, according to Pou Temara, was born around 1790, ‘Engari Te Titi’ is an ancient lament about loneliness. Engari te tītī e tangi haere ana, whai tokorua rawa ki te haere. (Consider the lucky mutton bird crying out in its flight; at least she does not fly alone, unlike me).

When the Whakatāne singer Whirimako Black recorded her first album, Hinepukohurangi: Shrouded in the Mist, in 2000, she included an interpretation of it. The following year, Black won Best Maori Language Album at the 2001 NZ Music Awards. On New Year's Eve 2006, I was lucky enough to see her sing at the Tolaga Bay Domain as part of a line-up that included Ardijah, Renee Geyer, Ruia, Katchafire, Kora and Tyna.

FIN.