03 September 2021 - 0 Comments

Bilingual duo Aro, are taking their music on the road this October to celebrate and share the stories of our waters, in support of their latest project, & EP release He Wai. The release, workshops & tour dates intentionally coincide with Mahuru Maori and Te Wiki o te Reo Maori which celebrates the Maori language.

Alongside the release of He Wai, Aro will also continue on with their established education programme within schools around the country, proudly supported by the NZ Music Commission.

He Wai is the third major project out of five for Silver Scroll APRA Maioha Award and APRA Best Children’s Award Finalists – Aro. Each project has featured a new music release (an album or EP) and these new waiata are then used as a part of the education resources & programme created for schools & Kura Kaupapa Maori.

Husband and wife duo, Charles (Ngapuhi, Te Rarawa, Ngati Te Ata, Ngati Mutunga) and Emily Looker, proudly share a passion for the power of language and music to tell stories and remind us of our cultural identity. The moving new EP, He Wai celebrates 5 waiata inspired and guided by our relationship to te taiao and what we can learn from it about ourselves and each other. He Wai, is the bands 3rd project, following Manu and He Manu Ano.

Stunning 1st Single, Tuna, was released on Aug 20th, celebrating the great ancestor of tuna (eels) and feature track, Tohora, is about the way a Tohora (whale) is depicted in Maori legends, as a guardian, much like some people can be in our lives. This song is like a dedication to those who have been there for us when we needed them to be.

The bands latest EP release features Aro’s signature playful and uplifting sound, using a plethora of instruments and taonga puoro, including guitars, strings and saxophone. A multi-genre offering of storytelling pop, RnB, electronic and jazz, fusing vocals, taonga puoro and chants, each song also thematically explores the ideas of kaitiakitanga and manaakitanga - looking after ourselves, looking after each other and looking after our environment.

Listen to He Wai here

Aro have been performing nationwide in Aotearoa since 2017 when they were established after meeting while both studying Music at Auckland University. The pair have completed three nationwide tours, and played to thousands at numerous festivals including Auckland Arts Festival, Wellington Gardens Magic, Auckland Folk Festival, Festival One, Okura Forest Festival, Waitangi Day Festival (Paeroa), Kauri Karnival, Flava Urban Beats and Music in Parks with several more lined up for 2021-2022. They have also been featured on RNZ, have been consistently broadcast on Māori Television, and have been featured on and performed on radio & TV stations across the country. Consistently growing their audience over the past few years, the pair have reached 200,000 streams over their waiata on Spotify, and have released several music videos which have been broadcast nationwide.

As the band have a strong focus on tamariki and encouraging young people to be proud of who they are and their unique identities, In 2018, Aro developed an education programme delivering workshops, informed by matauranga Maori of our natural environment in Aotearoa New Zealand, to schools and kura kaupapa Maori. They have taken this resource to communities around Aotearoa with their past projects, and will continue to build on this with He Wai, visiting coastal communities in particular in 2021. This will take place in person (where possible) or online and via on Zoom.

Feedback from the past workshops was immense and overwhelmingly positive, resulting in the 2020 & 2021 education programmes growing year on year and taking place with the support of Creative NZ in 2020 and the NZ Music Commission 2021.Aro aim to keep building on this success, and to increase the number of schools & kura kaupapa Māori visited in 2022 threefold.

In 2021, Aro will be using the stories of He Wai, of Aotearoa’s native sea/water creatures and the importance of caring for our environment, while making te reo Maori and whakatauki accessible and interesting for young people.

https://www.aromusic.co.nz/schools

Both Emily & Charles have successful careers in music as individuals, but meld together with a stunning harmony and a breathtaking loving presence as Aro, Emily, who performs solo under her maiden name, Emily Rice, has been twice finalist of UoA’s songwriter of the year, has gone on to release four successful EP’s since 2012, has lived and performed across Europe and collaborated with countless fellow musicians, and is also currently part of the ropu House of Misfits. Charles has been writing and performing since 2012, studying first at MAINZ and then completing a Bachelor of Music at Auckland University. He then went on to complete a scholarship Post Grad in teaching and trained as a Te Reo Māori teacher. Charles is also part of House of Misfits and is one of the key songwriters of this collaborative gospel group.

After living in a van touring full time, writing music together for two years from 2017-2019, the couple now base themselves in Pukekohe and have a new baby girl called Olive - who arrived in Feb 2021. This will be the first tour with pepi and the couple are excited to be taking her on the road for her first big trip around the motu, with a grandparent or two joining them for parts of the adventure.

“The musicianship through out – haunting and interlocking vocals, stick percussion, evocations of taonga puoro, touches of Latin rhythms – is clever and diverse” – Graham Reid | Elsewhere Magazine

“This is currently my go-to album to take a break from the world and let the music wash over me.”– Corinne Rutherford | muzic.net.nz

Aro - He Wai’ Release Tour Dates (More TBC in 2022):

Tickets available via undertheradar & aromusic.co.nz/shows

Sept Shows (Cancelled):

Saturday 4th September- Bellamys Gallery - Dunedin

Saturday 11th September - House with no Nails - Wardville / Matamata

Friday 17th September - 4th Wall Theatre - New Plymouth

Thursday 23rd September - Le Cafe - Picton

Friday 24th September - Boathouse - Nelson

October Shows:

Saturday 9th October - D’vine Oasis - Russell

Labour Weekend - Wellington Folk Festival

Saturday October 30th - Music on the Mall - Onehunga

NB: The 2021 He Wai dates scheduled during September have unfortunately been cancelled due to the current Covid 19 outbreak. Aro will be releasing live songs from the EP via social media during this time since they cant play for you in person at this time.

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