NOW AT GLEN EDEN BAPTIST CHURCH 97 GLENDALE RD, GLEN EDEN.
This will be the first time we’ve put on a concert for some time, but we’ve got some great guests, and a great support act, to make it all worthwhile.
Aro are a husband and wife duo, made up of Charles (Ngāpuhi, Te Rarawa, Ngāti Te Ata, Te Ati Awa) and Emily Looker (nee Rice). The pair met at Te Whare Wānanga o Tāmaki Makaurau (University of Auckland), both studying for a Bachelor of Music (Pop), and discovered that they shared a passion for the power of language and music to tell stories, create community and remind us of our cultural identity.
Love defines this jazz-pop-RnB, husband & wife pair, and harmony is their signature.
Their first single Kōtare is a showcase of the distinctive sound that Aro has become known for; a warm blend of pop, R&B, jazz, and taonga pūoro. The track is a jubilant guitar driven melody, inspired by the kōtare (kingfisher). The gorgeously harmonious dual vocals carry the song, Emily’s honey-voiced jazz blending with Charles’ full throated haka sound, allowing the poetic te reo Māori lyrics to truly shine. Punctuated with percussive clicks and joyful whistles, Kōtare is an uplifting and beautiful example of the energy of the manu.
“The musicianship throughout – haunting and interlocking vocals, stick percussion, evocations of taonga pūoro, touches of Latin rhythms – is clever and diverse”
– Graham Reid, Elsewhere – Manu album review
To open the evening local group HIGH, WIDE & HANDSOME will perform a selection of…
- Songs of the sea and songs of the land.
- New songs, old songs, that centuries span.
- Songs from all over, dusted out in the light.
- Songs of joy and despair, of love and delight.
- Stories of success and failure, some sad, some gloomy.
- Songs we will sing with you so glad and so groovy!
ADMISSION: MEMBERS $20, PUBLIC $25
