Leading taonga puoro players release new album Nau Mai e Kā Hua

An evocative sonic journey through the pristine waters of Te Wai Pounamu, Nau Mai e Kā Hua, is the first duo album by Ariana Tikao and Al Fraser, two leading players of ngā taonga puoro.

The album features improvisations and spoken word, with waiata and the expressive voices of ngā taonga puoro interwoven like the strands of braided rivers.

Water in te Ao Māori signifies life and identity. Ariana and Al both grew up in Te Wai Pounamu, the South Island of New Zealand, and are now Wellington-based. Their music is inspired by ancestral kōrero, and the natural world.

‘Nau Mai e Kā Hua’ is a sung karakia acknowledging atua presiding over various realms. The album contains a mix of waiata and tunes composed by Ariana and Al, and prominent composers such as Matua Hirini Melbourne (Amokura, co-written by Ariana and Hirini), and Kuini Moehau Reedy (Homai tō Poho).

‘Amokura’ features archival recordings of taonga pūoro performances by Matua Hirini Melbourne that have been masterfully incorporated into the recordings by Rattle’s Steve Garden. Since first playing together at the Pao Pao Pao festival in 2008 they have been performing regularly in Wellington and the South Island, including alongside the New Zealand String Quartet, Stroma, and Richard Nunns.

The album was recorded over a couple of years at Al’s home studio and The Surgery in Wellington, and is being released on Rattle Records on 18 November 2020, with support from the Lilburn Trust.

Nau Mai e Kā Hua is now available for purchase on Bandcamp.