Auaha Album Release – Wellington Gigs

Te Pari o Auahatanga, The Flood of Inspiration: Songs recorded on the Whanganui River.

Featuring Ariana Tikao, Alistair Fraser, Matiu Bartlet, Sacha Keating, Te Paerata Tichbon, Charles Ranginui, Brad McMillan and Elise Goodge.

Auaha (meaning ‘to inspire’) are a group of musicians brought together by a flood. In 2015 Whanganui experienced its worst flood in 100 years. This tragic event inspired a group of contemporary and traditional Maori musicians to embark on a journey, both figurative and literal, on the Whanganui River.

This journey resulted in 12 new compositions inspired by the stories and natural environment of this amazing part of Aotearoa New Zealand. After paddling and recording on the river for three days, the group then recorded the album at Koriniti Marae on the banks of the river, and at the Whanganui Musicians Club at the mouth of the river.

The disparate styles of the group members including roots, rock, neo-soul, traditional Māori chant, and taonga puoro, has resulted in an album that is eclectic and surprising. Blending history, cultures, backgrounds and disciplines of the artists involved. Auaha represent a journey into what indigenous music was, is and can be.