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Artist: Wai
Category: Asia/Pacific; Innovator
Read an interview with Mina & Maaka of Wai.
Wai are proud ambassadors for a cultural renaissance that is taking place right across the Pacific, from the explosion in the Hawaiian recording industry to the Land Of The Long White Cloud, better known as Aotearoa / New Zealand. The indigenous language of this country is Maori and 'wai' means water.
The debut album Wai 100% has enthralled critics at both ends of the earth and plenty of places in between. At home, it has already won a string of awards for its innovative left field approach.
The music of Wai is a startlingly original combination of the ancient and the modern, with its roots in Maoritanga (Maori culture) and its proverbial finger on the pulse of cutting edge technology. It combines traditional Maori song forms from before and after the first influence of Pakeha (non-Maori) music with contemporary pop styles like hip hop, reggae, funk and R&B. It's also one of the first ever internationally released albums sung entirely in Maori.
Perhaps most original of all is the way the programmed beats used on the album are largely synthesised from organic samples like breathing, heartbeats, body slaps and poi. These are tight balls of plant fibre twirled on long strings in traditional Maori performing arts ceremonies - prized as much for their visual as their percussive effects.
Wai are really just singer Mina Ripia and programmer/producer Maaka McGregor, but they are joined on the album by a host of other guest vocalists. Rare live performances feature several of them as well as an 8-piece dance group from their local Whitirea Performing Arts club.
With their music Wai are deconstructing stereotypes of Maori culture and reclaiming the past while embracing the future: 'This album is our own very modern interpretation of what our tupuna (ancestors) did,' Maaka explains. 'And we're hoping that our elders may actually hear a connection.' adds Mina.
Biography by Jon Lusk, November 2001
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