By Marty Jones*
Opinion - This week marked the end of New Zealand Music Month, an initiative that has been running for over 20 years now.
It's a national celebration, one that shines a light on local artists and the great music they make.
From top left: Bic Runga, Troy Kingi, Ria Hall and Stan Walker. Photo:
For many, it brings back memories of Shihad playing in Aotea Square, or everyone you know owning one of those circle logo T-shirts from Hallensteins. Or just simply when you discovered a new act that you now love.
When reflecting on NZ Music Month and the state of the industry, there's something that stands at the heart of our local music success, and that is how the waiata of tangata whenua have, and will continue to be, our greatest musical taonga.
Six60 perform at Eden Park. Photo:
By the numbers, our biggest streaming and touring artists currently are Māori composers and musicians; Six60, L.A.B., Stan Walker, Katchafire, Sons of Zion, Fat Freddy's Drop and Kings.
And beyond that, some of our most beloved artists of the past 10 to 20 years are Māori artists; Anika Moa, Bic Runga, Che Fu, KORA, Marlon Williams, Tiki Taane, Trinity Roots and many more.
Watch Marlon Williams sing My Boy
It's a strong recurring thread in our country's musical lineage that continues all the way back and through the likes of Prince Tui Teka, Sir Howard Morrison, Patea Māori Club, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Herbs, Upper Hutt Posse and many more.
Watch Dalvanius and the Pātea Māori Club perform Poi E
It shouldn't be surprising that the music which is the most popular and resonant with us is the music of the people of the land. It was puoro Māori that drew early international cultural interest in Aotearoa, with kapa haka, and then showbands, touring the world to much acclaim and success.
Long-standing kapa haka have been performing locally and internationally for over 60 years and the explosion of Māori showbands in the 1960s then saw groups like the Māori Hi-Fives tour internationally and hold residency at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, years before the likes of Celine Dion, Elton John, and Adele would follow on in that tradition.
This incredible wealth of talent comes from a rich history of creative arts, supported by festivals like Te Matatini and education practices like kura kaupapa Māori. These, plus many more important initiatives, provide great opportunities for the development of creative individuals and their connection to Māoritanga.
Despite their holistic and unique cultural value, government funding for Te Matatini is only $2.9 million per year, while the Royal NZ Ballet gets $8.1m per year and the NZSO $19.7m per year.
Bic Runga Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Thankfully puoro Māori has always had its champions over the years, with support from organisations like Te Māngai Pāho and thanks to people like Dame Hinewehi Mohi, Moana Maniapoto, Hirini Melbourne, Sir Timoti Karetu, Bub Wehi, Tuini Ngāwai, and many others, going all the way back to Sir Āpirana Ngata.
In 1999 Mohi took puoro Māori to the world when she sung the national anthem in te reo Māori in front of millions at the Rugby World Cup. It's hard to imagine it sung any differently now, but at the time it challenged the status quo of an English only anthem and demonstrated, alongside another globally recognised cultural icon (the haka) how important Māoritanga is to Aotearoa's identity on the world stage.
Dame Hinewehi Mohi who sung the national anthem in te reo Māori causing a stir at Twickenham in London 23 years ago. Photo: Getty Images
Since then, recent initiatives like Mohi's Waiata Anthems, its accompanying TV series and week-long celebration, along with te reo Māori music charts, iwi radio champions, and the formation and the ongoing work of the Māori Music Industry Coalition have seen puoro Māori go from strength to strength.
The work of artists like Maisey Rika, Ria Hall, Stan Walker and Tama Waipara and many others over the past 10 years cannot go unmentioned either.
Watch Maisey Rika perform Tangaroa Whakamautai
It's through these kinds of efforts that we now see the next wave of Māori artists coming through. Acts like COTERIE, Louis Baker, TEEKS, Troy Kingi, TE KAAHU, Maimoa, Mikey Dam, Rei, Hamo Dell, Ka Hao, Mōhau, Niko Walters, Paige and Rob Ruha are all charting their own paths of success.
In 2019, just over 4500 waiata Māori were streamed and played on mainstream networks. By 2021, that number had increased to over 25,000. 2021 was also the year that saw Rob Ruha and Ka Hao's te reo Māori track '35' become a breakthrough hit, generating 12 million views on TikTok and attention and fans from around the globe, while TEEKS was profiled by Vogue as "New Zealand's Soul Singer You Need To Know" and would sell gold and top the charts in South Africa with his single 'First Time'.
TEEKS and kapa haka Ngā Tūmanako perform at the Silver Scroll Awards in 2018. Photo:
The past five years has seen an explosion in the success of non-English language music internationally with artists like Bad Bunny, J Balvin, and Rosalía, and monumental cultural phenomena like K-Pop. Language is now less of a barrier to having a hit and music's ability to create meaningful cultural exchanges has never been so easy or important.
In 2021, Lorde released her Te Ao Mārama EP, a reinterpretation of five tracks from her album Solar Power in te reo Māori, which while provoking lengthy discussions, also increased global interest in waiata reo Māori and Māoritanga as a whole.
People like Taika Waititi and Temuera Morrison have taken global awareness of Māoritanga to new places (and galaxies) in recent years with their work and connections to global brands Marvel and Star Wars.
It's connections like these that has led to Disney investing in creating te reo Māori translated versions of their musicals Moana and The Lion King.
We've seen global success for Māori made music before. And who could forget the distinctive guitar strum of OMC's world dominating hit 'How Bizarre' or when Stan Walker won Australian Idol and performed in front of massive crowds at the Sydney Opera House. But the breakout moments for New Zealand made music on the world stage have largely been with music that is reflective of already existing global styles and sounds.
If history and our own tastes tell us anything, it's that waiata from this country, with stories and cultural values unique to us, is something that we strongly connect to and should be championing to the world. With a bevy of talent, ready and eager international audiences, and an ever connected online society, the time is ripe for us to turn an annual national celebration of our music to a year round one on the world stage.
* Marty Jones is a music critic and has worked in the music industry in various roles for many years
