Emerging artist Mārei, has released her latest single titled “Nanakia” - a fusion of Te Ao Māori with burlesque-inspired sounds.
The track acknowledges the experiences of iwi taketake expressed through the perspective of a wahine Māori.
Nanakia meaning crafty or cheeky reflects the spirit of a tirairaka that became the inspiration for the single. Inspiration that become apparent at a recent APRA NZ songwriting workshop with other indigenous people.
“Thats a big pig passion of mine eh. Music in general. So to be able to share our reo with another culture, and even our neighbours, you know it was so cool!,
“So that’s what the tirairaka was all our ideas we shared flying around,”
Nanakia blends jazz using intruments such as a saxophone with vocals sung in te reo, creating a sound that is deeply grounded in passion and whakapapa.
“In our Te ao Māori tirairaka are meant to be quite cheeky so that’s what I wanted to hear in the music, the passion and the excitement of what it means to be a Nanakia. What it means to be a songwriter,”
Kua whakaae a Nan
Ko tā Mārei, he aruaru i ngā tapuwae o ngā tino wāhine i tōnā whānau. Ko ana kuia ko Mere, ko Whirimako, a, ko Ngātapa hoki tōna māmā.
E whakamiharo atu ana a kui Mere ki ngā mahi a tana mokopuna, ā, e kite ake ana ia i ngā tino taera a Mārei i roto i tēnei waiata.
“Me tana whakarongo, tana mātaki atu ki ngā nekenekehanga a taua tirairaka rā. Ka kite au i roto i taku mokopuna. Ka kanikani ana ka waiata ana. Paku noa iho nei. Koiraa te tuu a te wahine nē?"
Me te aha, e hīkakā ana te whānau i te putanga o te waiata hou nei, ahakoa kua taunga kē rātou ki ēnei momo āhuaranga.
“E noho whakahīhī ana ahau ki taku mokopuna te ātaahua te mōhio ki te kawe i a ia ki tana tūnga kei roto i tēnei ao, a, kei te titiro atu koe i a ia ka whakaaro ana au kua tutuki. Tērā anō hoki mo ngā mahi ātaahua o tana kuia a Whirimako ki a ia, kāre e kore!”
Kei ngā taupānga pūoro te waiata i tēnei wā tonu.
