29 Mar 2024
UsernamePassword

Remember Me? | Join | Recover
Click here to sign in via social networking

Aro - Single Review: Baby Beat

08 Mar 2021 // A review by Kev Rowland

Any parent will say that the feeling of hearing their baby’s heartbeat for the very first time is an overwhelming experience, but there cannot be many who turn that sound into the basis for a song. Less than three weeks after their appearances at Auckland Folk Festival, Charles and Emily Looker celebrated the birth of Olive Koanui Terangioteata Looker, who took the words of the chorus, "kaua e aukumea" (don't take too long) to heart and appeared three weeks before due date. To celebrate that momentous event Aro are releasing this single on what was supposed to be the birth date, March 11th, but it appears that Olive just did not want to wait.

Aro were one of the highlights of that festival for me, with their wonderfully intertwined vocals combining with acoustic guitar and Emily creating some live vocal loops and harmonies. Baby Beat starts life with just that, the ultrasound of Olive’s heartbeat, something both strangely organic and restful, yet also hypnotic and almost synth based. This sets the tempo and style for the accompaniment which is more electronic than what I generally expect from them, with their wonderful voices cutting through and providing incredible contrast between the different styles. They sing about their love for their child, and what they want to say to her when she is born, and it is all incredibly personal. We are being allowed into the inner sanctum of soon-to-be parents and they have poured all their love for Olive into this song, and it is there in every note.

The verse is sung in English, with the chorus in Te Reo, but no matter the language, this song is all about emotion and love, wrapped up in a song that is incredibly effective as they push their folk stylings far more into the pop arena. It is an absolute delight which makes me smile each time I listen to it, and it reminds me of what was going on in my life at the time of the birth of my own daughters and how that made me feel. I am sure each parent will be taken on the same journey, and for that we should all be very grateful indeed.

Rating: ( 4 / 5 )
 

About Aro

Aro consists of husband and wife Charles (Ngapuhi, Te Rarawa, Ngati Te Ata, Te Ati Awa) and Emily Looker (nee Rice). The pair share a passion for the power of language and music to tell stories and remind us of our cultural identity. The duo were finalists for the Maioha Award at the Silver Scrolls (2019) and the APRA Best Children’s Song Award for their song Korimako (2020).




Visit the muzic.net.nz Profile for Aro

Releases

He Wai
Year: 2021
Type: EP
He Manu Ano
Year: 2020
Type: EP
Manu
Year: 2019
Type: Album
Van Jams
Year: 2018
Type: EP
Aro
Year: 2017
Type: EP

Other Reviews By Kev Rowland

Gig Review: Crushfest @ The Tuning Fork, Auckland - 07/07/2023
07 Jul 2023 // by Kev Rowland
So it was down to Tuning Fork for the first night of the second Crushfest festival. Tonight was going to be Wellington and Auckland bands, and then some of the same will be playing at the second night in Wellington next month.
Read More...
Rain - Single Review: Love and War
15 Jun 2023 // by Kev Rowland
It has been quite a while since I last heard from Wellington-based singer songwriter Cathy Elizabeth, and back then Rain was seen solely as a studio project with Cathy being accompanied by Thomas Te Taite, who provided all the instrumentation including digital drums. Now they are a full band who have been performing live, and it is the first time they have recorded as such, with Thomas now, just providing acoustic guitar (plus engineering and producing etc.
Read More...
Lost Vessels - Single Review: All This Time
01 Jun 2023 // by Kev Rowland
I must admit I was not that impressed when I first saw Lost Vessels play at Crushfest, something they later admitted to me was the worst gig of their career, but since then they have improved in leaps and bounds. This has been noticed by others on the Auckland circuit as they are getting more opportunities with better support slots, and I was not at all surprised when they won the Ding Dong Lounge Battle Of The Bands in November last year.
Read More...
Unwanted Subject - Single Review: Sons of Savages
28 May 2023 // by Kev Rowland
I have caught Unwanted Subject in concert a few times over the last couple of years, and while they have been getting better each time I have seen them, I must admit that nothing prepared me for this, which right from the off is a monster. I have never heard them quite this is aggressive, nor as polished, and this multi-sectioned single sounds almost like a different band as they have pushed their metal roots to the max in this metalcore beast which sees them mixing and blending different genres to create something quite special.
Read More...
Gig Review: Stray Dogs @ AUX, Auckland - 26/05/2023
28 May 2023 // by Kev Rowland
So it was back to Ding Dong Lounge on a Friday night for one of their infamous Emo nights, which tonight was a three-band bill with Stray Dogs having an extended set, supported by Altaea and then up first we had Blindr, a band new to me. Blindr are a quartet featuring Bill Caldwell (vocals, guitar), Blake Woodfield (lead guitar), Jack Power (bass), and Charlie McCracken (drums).
Read More...
Gig Review: Turkey The Bird @ The Ministry of Folk, Auckland - 27/05/2023
27 May 2023 // by Kev Rowland
Back up to Auckland Guide Centre in Mount Eden tonight for my second consecutive gig (Sol suggested it was a turkey sandwich as I am at Vader tomorrow) to see Taranaki’s finest, Turkey The Bird at The Ministry of Folk. Before that we of course had Hoop, who are Al Baxter (vocals, guitar, harmonica, banjo, mandolin), Nick Edgar (vocals, guitar, ukulele, flute, harmonica), Emily Allen (violin, viola), Glenn Coldham (bass) while tonight Gary Hunt was filling in for drummer Rusty Knox.
Read More...
This Silent Divide - Single Review: Beautiful Creature
25 May 2023 // by Kev Rowland
Here we have the latest single from Wellington-based melodic hard rock quartet This Silent Divide, entitled Beautiful Creature. I really enjoyed their Tall Stories EP, and they played a great gig at Dead Witch towards the end of last year, and this would have been recorded at about the same time.
Read More...
Gig Review: Emily Rice @ Your Local Coffee Roasters, Pukekohe - 24/05/2023
24 May 2023 // by Kev Rowland
Earlier this week I had a message from Emily Rice asking me if I lived in South Auckland. When I responded I did, she asked if I would be interested in coming along to an event she was putting on in a coffee shop in Pukekohe to celebrate the release of her new single, Warenoa.
Read More...
View All Articles By Kev Rowland

NZ Top 10 Singles

  • WE CAN'T BE FRIENDS (WAIT FOR YOUR LOVE)
    Ariana Grande
  • BEAUTIFUL THINGS
    Benson Boone
  • END OF BEGINNING
    Djo
  • LOSE CONTROL
    Teddy Swims
  • TEXAS HOLD 'EM
    Beyonce
  • STICK SEASON
    Noah Kahan
  • PRAISE JAH IN THE MOONLIGHT
    YG Marley
  • CARNIVAL
    Kanye West And Ty Dolla $ign
  • SATURN
    SZA
  • LOVIN ON ME
    Jack Harlow
View the Full NZ Top 40...
muzic.net.nz Logo
100% New Zealand Music
All content on this website is copyright to muzic.net.nz and other respective rights holders. Redistribution of any material presented here without permission is prohibited.
Report a ProblemReport A Problem