High profile Maori musicians are getting behind a new initiative - Te Marama Pūoru Waiata Māori - Māori Music Month. This August they'll be showcasing their talents, and mentoring young performers in Aotearoa and Australia.
"We'll be planting the seed this year" says one of the ambassadors, Rob Ruha. "We'll be going around to different communities, and sharing our experiences as Māori musicians, as composers, working with some of the kura around the motu. Also promoting that there's a career path in this mahi too."
"There's some amazing talent just sitting out there in our sheds, and our rangatahi jam in their bedrooms and post things out to Facebook, but then when they get to kura they get steered away from this kind of mahi as a sustainable income. So we're here to steer that in a different direction."
Ruha will be working alongside Maisey Rika and Tama Waipara, as well as Taisha Tari, who will be running a workshop on the Gold Coast in Australia. There will be a special focus on turntablism, led by some of top Maori DJs.
Māori Music Month schedule:
August,1st week Wellington; 2nd week Auckland; 3rd week Waikato; 4th week Gold Coast, Australia. If there are any schools that want to become involved in the workshops as part of Māori Music Month, please email Ellison Huata: ellison.kahurangi@xtra.co.nz
