Maaka Fiso and Waatea Music release new single celebrating M

June 2, 2016

- The stars are about to align signaling the start of the Māori New Year and also the release of Auckland-based singer, songwriter Maaka Fiso’s latest single. Matariki is the name of the song, written in te reo Māori, which will be the former XFactor finalist’s second single of the year. The song will be released via the Waatea Music label on Friday, June 3, 2016. “It’s really an expressive piece of writing celebrating and acknowledging the seven stars of Matariki,” Maaka says, describing the new single.

“It encourages us to embrace the stars of Matariki and take part in the coming of the Māori New Year. It’s a time of kaitahi [sharing a meal] and spending time with your family. “I don’t think there have been a lot of commercial songs addressing Matariki so for me it was challenging and rewarding to be able to produce a single like this. “When you’re writing a song like this in te reo Māori, there’s a lot more emphasis on whakatauki [proverbs] but at the same time the lyrics can also be very expressive.

“I had the idea of adding the well-known nursery rhyme, Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star (Tīrama, Tīrama) at the end of the song and I would like to think it fits really well. “It was one of the first Māori songs I learnt and sang as a baby, it provided a sense of familiarity for me and of course, the theme fit perfectly for Matariki.” Maaka, 29, says composing and producing the song was a collaborative effort.

“In a song like this, there’s always a number of people involved, that’s how it’s done these days. So we had a beat provided, I wrote a melody and then the lyrics, then we changed the beat slightly to suit the song.” Maaka’s unique mix of soul, R&B and pop sound comes through strongly on the new single. While the song is written in te reo Māori, he believes it will appeal to mainstream listeners curious to know more about Matariki.

“Wherever I’ve lived, we’ve always celebrated Matariki. But there are a lot of people who probably still don’t know what Matariki is about.

“So maybe listening to this song, to either its lyrics or its melody, it’ll prompt people to think more about Matariki, and what it means to them.”

Maaka is originally from Wellington where he studied at the Whitireia Music School. He was a finalist in the 2013 X-Factor show and spent the following year touring New Zealand with artists such as Stan Walker, Aaradhna and Tyna Keelan.

‘‘It was something new, travelling on tour, living out of a suitcase and spending a lot of time with the other performers and band. It was a lot of hard work but I did enjoy it, you learn a lot being on tour. ‘‘You can be tired but when you go out on stage you’ve got to be working at 110 per cent for the show. When there are people who have come to see you sing and perform, you need to deliver, no matter what.’’ After the tour, he recorded a single with Tyna Keelan, called Moving On, which was released in 2014. It’s aptly named because it showed Maaka had moved on from his X-Factor performances and was taking serious steps towards a career in music. He moved from Wellington, where he had been teaching at kohanga reo, to Auckland, to focus on recording original music under the Waatea Music label.

Waatea Music was formed to produce and support traditional and contemporary Māori music and artists performing in both te reo Maori and English.

It is a collaboration between South Auckland’s Manukau Urban Māori Authority (MUMA), which will provide management and mentoring services to artists, and broadcast knowledge and support through its radio station, Radio Waatea; and Woodcut Productions, a production studio that has nurtured and developed artistic talent such as Sid Diamond and Smashproof in New Zealand for more than 15 years. Maaka’s been able to continue teaching in Auckland while recording new songs. Earlier this year he released his first single for the year, Moemoeā, which talks about support systems people can find for their family and friends. Matariki is his second single with Waatea Music and more songs are in the planning stages.

“It’s time to get back into the studio and look at producing a larger body of work for an EP or album. I like the idea of an EP in te reo Māori but I’m also interested in a commercial English album.

“I think there is a strong place for te reo Māori music in mainstream but it’s going to take more than just my music to make that change.

“I feel quite lucky being able to write music in te reo Māori and English, and to be able to target two different audiences, it’s quite cool.”

Matariki is the second of four singles being released by the Waatea Music label over May and June 2016. The label launched a classic soul single by Howie Morrison Jnr called, If I Could Change My Life, in May. The song is an ode to his father, the late Sir Howard Morrison.

In the coming weeks Waatea Music plans to release songs by two new artists.

It includes roots band Ihi, a group of ex-University of Auckland students who came together to write and perform roots-style music and is working on a te reo Māori album, as well as Rotorua-based Chris Powley, a veteran entertainer who’s travelled the world performing on land and at sea but is now working on a solo career with Waatea Music.

ENDS

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