06 July 2021 - 0 Comments

Today, 1:12 Records and Whammy Bar present Hoki mai Ki Te Hihiri – Return to The Spark, feat. performances from Upper Hutt Posse, Memory Foam, Whyfi, Hagseed, Half/Time and Roy Irwin.

Whammy Bar, 17 July 2021 Tickets onsale today from undertheradar.co.nz.

Fair to say 1:12 and Whammy were devastated when Te Hihiri headliners Upper Hutt Posse were forced to withdraw from our 25th June Matariki show due to Wellington, Wairarapa and Kapiti Coast being put in alert level two on the eve of Te Hihiri.

Fortunately, the kaitiaki group have rallied and we have been able to reschedule Upper Hutt Posse for a new Auckland date on 17 July, opening the way for a second very special night celebrating Maori independent rock ’n’ roll and featuring an all-new lineup of fantastic bands 1:12 and Whammy are excited to present Hoki Mai Ki Te Hihiri – Return To The Spark, a showcase of Māori identity, independent creative spirit, manakitanga and whanaungatanga.

In Tamaki Makaurau a kaitiaki group of Maori band members from the 1:12 / Whammy community developed the kaupapa of Te Hihiri - a Maori kupu (word) for “the spark”. In this case the spark is an idea, the idea of bringing Maori musicians who play loud, rebellious music together to celebrate Matariki. Contact was made with fantastic bands in Poneke and Otaki who have strong Māori identity and the spark grew.

6 bands, 1 night, hosted by kaumatua Rob Tuwhare.

Rob Tuwhare (Nga Puhi) Rob is the son of poet Hone Tuwhare. As the Hone Tuwhare Charitable Trust chair, Rob is a passionate kaitiaki of his father’s creative legacy. Rob is a member of the project’s kaitiaki group and has generously agreed to oversee the night's event as MC. Music performances will be interlaced with Rob’s readings of his father’s poetry.

Upper Hutt Posse (Raumati) We are super psyched to have rescheduled Aotearoa music royalty Upper Hutt Posse (Poneke) to headline this event. In November 2018 Upper Hutt Posse were inducted into the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame | Te Whare Taonga Puoro o Aotearoa. Their pioneering hit E-Tu was a game-changer for the 1:12 whanau. Fiercely political and always ready to rock the party, their hybrid of rap/reggae is a rare treat for Tamaki audiences.

Memory Foam (Tamaki Makaurau) One of the best live bands tearing it up in Tamaki Makaurau, Memory Foam is our dirty cities' own missing link between German ‘kraut rock’ royalty Neu, American ‘stoner rockers’ Fu Manchu and ‘space rock’ pioneers Hawkwind. Singer Yuko Miyoshi’s presence is commanding, the band solid yet unpredictable. Punk attitude with bi-lingual songs about cat food and aliens.

Whyfi (Tamaki Makaurau) Larsen Winiata Tito-Taylor AKA Whyfi is the initiator, in-house producer and a recording star for Noa Records, our favourite Tamaki Makaurau record label that is not 1:12. His soulful, free-ranging, approach makes him hard to pin down and he’s all the stronger for it. His 2020 album Trash 2 brings to mind vintage superfly era Curtis Mayfield one minute and Alan Vega’s Suicide the next. Thrilling!

Hagseed (Tamaki Makaurau) As tough as reinforced concrete, Hagseed are absolute wahine toa. Caitlin (bass) and Cee (drums) bring the rumble, whilst Alanna provides the attack. A band to be feared and loved for all its raw beauty.

Half/Time (Kirikiriroa) The solo project of rock ’n’ roll musicologist and doctoral candidate Wairehu Grant, Half/Time brings the post-punk goth glamour to our line-up. Choppy rhythms and space echo guitar with docu=drama vocal delivery. Time to invest in some hairspray and dye your hair black again...

Roy Irwin (Tamaki Makaurau)) Roy Irwin is a star. The one-man garage-punk hit machine has released somewhere in the vicinity of 8 LPs in the last 10 years. His first 1:12 LP S.O.D.A featured Spotify hit Demons Cave, a track that clocked up millions of plays and rightfully introduced him to the larger world outside his bedroom.

Artwork by Huriana Kopeke-Te Aho

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