Music of New Zealand
[1][2] Pre-colonial Māori music consisted mainly of a form of microtonal chanting and performances on instruments called taonga pūoro: a variety of blown, struck and twirled instruments made out of hollowed-out wood, stone, whale ivory, albatross bone, and human bone.
[5] In recent decades, a number of popular artists have gone on to achieve international success including Lorde,[6] Split Enz, Crowded House, Rosé, OMC, Bic Runga, Benee, Kimbra, Ladyhawke, The Naked and Famous, Fat Freddy's Drop, Savage, Gin Wigmore, Keith Urban, Flight of the Conchords, Brooke Fraser and Alien Weaponry.
The best-known include Douglas Lilburn,[7] John Psathas,[8] Jack Body,[9] Gillian Whitehead,[10] Jenny McLeod,[11] Gareth Farr,[12] and Ross Harris.
[14] The emotionally charged circumstances under which waiata were composed are reflected in their highly poetic language, which is rich with allusion, metaphor and imagery.
[15] SOUNZ Centre for New Zealand Music published a series in 2021 called He Reo Tawhito: Conversations about Mōteatea where Crystal Edwards interviewed various specialists including Te Ahukaramū Charles Royal, Hōhepa Te Rito, Hana O'Regan and Taiarahia Black..[16] Pre-Colonial instrumental music used taonga pūoro (Māori: taonga pūoro, lit.
[18] From the late 20th century Dr Richard Nunns (1945–2021), Hirini Melbourne (1949–2003), and Brian Flintoff revived the use of taonga pūoro.
[20][need quotation to verify] Māori also gravitated towards Hawaiian music from artists like Ernest Kaʻai and David Lucla Kaili that toured New Zealand in the 1900s to 1920s, leading the adoption of steel guitars pioneered by Eruera Mati Hita.
[21] In the mid- to late-20th century, Māori singers and songwriters like Howard Morrison (1935–2009), Prince Tui Teka (1937–1985), Dalvanius Prime (1948–2002), Moana Maniapoto (1961- ) and Hinewehi Mohi (1964- ) developed a distinctive Māori-influenced style.
The groups performed in a wide variety of musical genres, dance styles, and with cabaret skills, infusing their acts with comedy drawn straight from Māori culture.
[30] The advent of music television shows in the 1960s[31] led to the rise of Sandy Edmonds, one of New Zealand's first pop stars.
Later band members included Neil's brother Tim Finn and Americans Mark Hart and Matt Sherrod.
Originally active from 1985 to 1996, the band had consistent commercial and critical success in Australia and New Zealand[34][35][36] and international chart success in two phases, beginning with their self-titled debut album, Crowded House, which reached number twelve on the US Album Chart in 1987 and provided the Top Ten hits, Don't Dream It's Over and Something So Strong.
[39][40] Queen Elizabeth II bestowed an OBE on both Neil and Tim Finn in June 1993 for their contribution to the music of New Zealand.
[41] After the dissolution of his band DD Smash, singer-songwriter Dave Dobbyn began a successful solo career, writing the soundtrack music for the animated feature film Footrot Flats: The Dog's Tale in 1986.
The film yielded two hit singles: "You Oughta Be In Love" (1986) and the chart-topping "Slice of Heaven" (1986), recorded with the band Herbs.
After the release of the film, "Slice of Heaven" became one of Dobbyn's best-known songs, frequently used in tourism advertisements aired on Australian television that encouraged people to visit New Zealand.
During the performance, Ahmed Zaoui, who was appealing a security certificate issued due to alleged links to terrorist groups, appeared on stage with Dobbyn.
[43] In September 2013, 16-year-old singer Lorde (Ella Yelich-O'Connor) became the youngest solo artist to ever reach number one on the US singles chart with Royals.
[48] By the late 1970s, some New Zealand rock bands were finding national success, including Th' Dudes (whose guitarist Dave Dobbyn formed DD Smash in the 1980s), Dragon, Hello Sailor and Split Enz, fronted by Tim Finn, and later, his brother Neil Finn, who went on to form Crowded House.
The Clean from Dunedin was the first major band to feature on Flying Nun, releasing several hit singles inside New Zealand and touring internationally.
The distinctive jangle-pop and lo-fi sound was pioneered by bands such as The Chills, The Verlaines, Sneaky Feelings, The Bats and The Jean-Paul Sartre Experience.
The band found wide popularity in New Zealand over the following decade, playing a mixture of modern rock, post-grunge and pop-rock.
Phil Fuemana, Kosmo, Brother D and Pacific Underground played an important role in the growth of "Pasifika" hip hop.
OMC's 1996 single "How Bizarre" combined Pauly Fuemana's Nieuean background, a Pacific Island guitar style and hip hop beats to create a uniquely New Zealand-Polynesian sound.
In 2016 groove metal band Alien Weaponry, several of whose songs are in the Māori language, won Smokefreerockquest and Smokefree Pacifica beats.
The first American blues artist to make a big impact in New Zealand was Stevie Ray Vaughan in the early 1980s.
Other blues-related genres such as soul and gospel almost completely by-passed New Zealand audiences, except for a handful of hits from cross-over artists such as Ray Charles.
The formal traditions of European classical music took a long time to develop in New Zealand due to the country's geographical isolation.
[72] There are two twelve-month Composer-in-Residence positions available in New Zealand, the Mozart Fellowship at the University of Otago and the NZSM Composer in Residence in Wellington.
Prominent New Zealand musicians performing internationally include pianists Michael Houstoun, Jeffrey Grice, John Chen, and singer Hayley Westenra.
