Apanui Set to Release New Album Matariki on May 30th

Apanui Set to Release New Album Matariki on May 30th

May 19, 2011 - Apanui (aka Ngahiwi Apanui) is set to release his fouth studio album Matariki on May 30th. The 11 track release has been recorded fully in Te Reo Māori.

Matariki is an expression of Apanui’s bicultural musical heritage and features many themes, including Te Reo Māori (the Māori language), whānau (family), the environment, unity, death and peace. Each theme has a traditional and a contemporary interpretation. Six songs that feature on Matariki are performed as song poetry – five of which are originals composed by Apanui.

A fluent speaker of Te Reo Māori, Apanui is a proud advocate of the Māori language. “Te Reo Māori is a part of who I am and I want to share it with the rest of the country,” he says. It’s this concern that underpins the title track ‘Matariki’ where he makes a passionate plea to the people of New Zealand to come together to learn and celebrate “New Zealand’s indigenous language.”

Apanui’s first solo album, Te Hono ki te Kāinga (the link with the homeland),was well received in 1990 and he was awarded a Tui in 2003 for album E Tau Nei (the best Māori Language Album) and the APRA Maioha Award in the same year for ‘Whārikihia’, one of the songs from the album.

Apanui was a founding member, composer and leader of what many regard as the first Kaupapa Māori reggae band, Aotearoa. The band nurtured a new generation of contemporary Māori musicians including Moana Maniapoto, Maaka Macgregor and Ruia Aperahama.

Matariki will be available in-stores and from digital retailers from Monday 30th May.

See Apanui live: Matariki Album Release Show -Te Papa, Thursday 16 June

ENDS

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