Al Fraser

Mahurangi is the second album from Riki Gooch Pirihi and Alistair Fraser. This album broadens the sound palette of the duo’s original stylings to now include Riki on modular synths as well as drums and percussion. Alistair and Riki have used these new sounds to enable them to converse in music both with each other,... Continue Reading →

5 Stars - Songlines Magazine UK Tararua were nominated in the Best Group category for their 2021 release ‘Bird Like Men’. Tararua is an art music quartet based in Wellington, Aotearoa, with members, Al Fraser (taonga puoro), Ariana Tikao (taonga puoro & vocals), Ruby Solly (taonga puoro, vocals & cello), and Phil Boniface (double bass... Continue Reading →

Words by Ruby Solly https://www.pyramidclub.org.nz/playing-them-room Riki Gooch and Alistair Fraser have come together to create 'Rangatira'; an album dedicated to their mutual friend Eddie Tutaki. The pair met through Tutaki in Dunedin where they were raised, then Fraser and Gooch moved to Wellington where they continued both their friendship and music careers. Gooch going on... Continue Reading →

The ancient sororities of taonga puoro combine with the contemporary textures and timbres of electronic technology and sequencing techniques to produce an evocative soundscape that is as compelling as it is mysterious. David Harrow is a record producer, DJ and multimedia artist who currently lives and works in Los Angeles. While performing in and around... Continue Reading →

From Five Lines: https://www.fivelines.nz/articles/music-of-aotearoa Composer Gillian Whitehead’s Hineraukatauri, commissioned by taonga pūoro master Richard Nunns and flutist Alexa Still, was her first composition to combine traditional Māori instruments with a western instrument. Named for the Māori goddess of music and dance, whose voice is heard in the pūtorino, the work has a notated flute part... Continue Reading →

From RNZ's website "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 is described as ‘a sonic journey through the pristine waters of Te Wai Pounamu’ (the South Island of New Zealand), where Ariana and Alistair both grew up.... Continue Reading →

    mic.gr (Greece) has selected my solo album Toitū Te Pūoro as one of the best albums of 2018! Here's a translation of their review of Toitū Te Pūoro; ""Al Fraser in 'Toitū Te Pūoro' delivered an audio system with unprecedented charm. The reason has nothing to do with the exotics of this particular... Continue Reading →

PONGURU Al Fraser and Phil Boniface Al Fraser (ngā taonga pūoro) Phil Boniface (acoustic bass) Release date: Sunday March 4, 5:00pm at LOT 23 — $25, all welcome Tickets available here Ponguru: sonorous, resonant, deep-toned, gruff Phil and Al began performing together in 1998 while studying jazz performance at Massey University Conservatorium of Music, now... Continue Reading →

SHEARWATER DRIFT Neil Johnstone (recording, manipulation, composition) Al Fraser (ngā taonga pūoro) Steve Burridge (engineering) Ross Harris (accordion sounds on Tsitern) Nick Pilcher (piano on Ferrous Aro) Robert Baldock (treated sea samples on Cloud Shadow) Seemingly familiar but tantalisingly mysterious, these beautifully composed sonic landscapes offer a unique experience of the world through sound –... Continue Reading →

  Chamber Music New Zealand, Wellington Museum, Pātaka Art + Museum (Porirua), Puke Ariki (New Plymouth) and Te Manawa (Palmerston North) are joining forces  to present a Matariki inspired tour that showcases elements of chamber music, video, Māori music and storytelling in unique settings outside the concert hall. Te Korekore is a one-hour, multi-genre performance work that weaves... Continue Reading →