Moana & The Tribe Live at ERUPT Taupo Festival

My mountain greets your mountain, my river greets your river, my tribe greets your tribe.

New Zealand music icon, Moana Maniapoto is heading home to Taupo to celebrate the launch of her beautiful new album “Wha” with a special showcase of music performance and multimedia.

Moana has Tuwharetoa links, her family marae is Waitetoko, and links to Te Arawa, and is excited about the opportunity to present new songs to her elders and the Taupo community.

As a performing and recording artist, Moana has consistently pushed the boundaries with a unique mix of Maori musical elements and traditional and contemporary music. The multimedia showcase for ERUPT will feature this fusion of Maori vocal harmonies, traditional chanting and haka alongside guitar, percussion, taonga puoro, violin and cello.

The new album ‘Whā’ is an extensive collage of contemporary dub, reverential odes to heroes lost, emotive reminders about our past, and sensual love songs. The sounds range from electronic programming through to flugel horn to Taonga Puoro (traditional Maori instruments) and include some historical recordings such as that of the 28th Maori Battalion. This blend carries a warmth and passion that the listener will find hard to escape.

The band that helped start it all, Moana and The Moahunters was formed in 2002 and more recently Moana & ten piece band, The Tribe, have been touring extensively from the Pacific to Russia on the back of her last CD release, Toru. That album entered the European World Charts at number 17.

Following ERUPT Festival, Moana & the Tribe tour to Poland, Montreux Jazz Festival and to Bonn, Germany to represent the Pacific before a 5000 strong audience at a concert for the United Nations. The concert kicks off a conference about biological diversity and other environmental and conservation issues, and the band will perform alongside artists such as Bob Geldof (UK), Hugh Masekela (Africa), Daniela Mercury (South America) and Gocoo (Japan).

In 2007 Moana was the recipient of a NZ Arts Foundation Laureate and received the New Zealand Order of Merit in recognition of her services to both Maori and Music in 2004.

“So many people overseas have been wowed by Moana and the Tribe, as they bring the new Maori edge to the world stage with stunning vibrancy.” Marbeck Records.

"As a singer with a political and cultural consciousness, Moana is one of the most renowned artists to emerge from New Zealand … and she creates a fusion between smooth world music, and the urban sound with earthy, international beats." Süddeutsche Zeitung, Extra, review of TORU.

http://www.moananz.com

Moana and The Tribe

Presented by Mighty River Power