Moana Maniapoto Inducted Into New Zealand Music Hall of Fame

Moana Maniapoto Inducted Into the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame

The New Zealand Music Hall of Fame pays tribute to songwriters, musicians and acts that have made a significant impact on life and culture through their music.

Regarded as one of our most significant voices, Moana Maniapoto (Ngāti Tūwharetoa/Tūhourangi-Ngāti Wahiao) has been at the beating heart of the nation’s music scene for four decades.

A trailblazer and a self-confessed “political junkie” who has never shied away from pushing boundaries, she first rose to mainstream prominence in 1987 when Moana and the Moahunters released the song ‘Kua Makona’, blending the traditional with the contemporary.

The Invercargill-born singer-songwriter went on to form Moana and the Tribe in the early 2000s, shaping a unique fusion of waiata, haka and electronic-flavoured soul.

Since then, Moana Maniapoto and her band have played at hundreds of festivals and concerts around the globe. Their performances have been met with critical acclaim, helping to establish her and her music as one of New Zealand’s greatest musical exports.

It’s a reputation only strengthened by countless accolades and awards, including in 2004, when Moana Maniapoto was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit. In 2005 she was made a Life Time Recipient of the Tohu Mahi Hou a Te Waka Toi Award acknowledging her leadership and contribution to Maori art. And in 2008, she received a Music Industry Award at the Maori Waiata Awards for her positive contribution to Maori Music.

Moana Maniapoto continues to make music and perform in every corner of the globe. Her fifth album RIMA, produced by electronica whizz Paddy Free, was a finalist at all three major music awards in 2015 and named a Top of the World Album (Songlines UK).

The singer-songwriter has never rested on her laurels and continues to push boundaries through her music and contribution to New Zealand society. She is currently planning an ambitious international recording collaboration ‘Ono’ with female musicians from Canada, Scotland, Norway and Korea. And when she’s not on stage or making new music, she’s a documentary maker, a feature writer and an in-demand speaker at events around the world.

“Her achievements, which continue today, as an award winning writer, artist, film-maker, band member and activist, are many and varied – but the unifying strand that runs through all of them is music,” says Anthony Healey, Head of NZ Operations for APRA AMCOS. “She has shown people here that music is a language to unify, educate, advocate, understand, inspire, comfort and forgive – and she has taken that message around the world, leading the way for artists everywhere, encouraging and empowering them to do the same”.

The New Zealand Music Hall of Fame was created by APRA AMCOS and Recorded Music NZ in 2007, and has so far paid tribute to Jordan Luck, Johnny Devlin, The Topp Twins, Straitjacket Fits, Hirini Melbourne & Richard Nunns, Ray Columbus & The Invaders, The Fourmyula, Shihad, Hello Sailor, Dragon, Herbs, Toy Love, Dave Dobbyn, Shona Laing, Douglas Lilburn, Supergroove, Bill Sevesi and The Exponents.

Moana will be inducted into the NZ Music Hall of Fame at the APRA Silver Scroll Awards at Vector Arena in Auckland on Thursday, September 29.

RNZ Checkpoint host John Campbell is MC’ing this year’s ceremony, which will also be televised live thanks to a partnership between APRA AMCOS and RNZ. It will be broadcast free-to-air by RNZ on Freeview Channel 50. There will also be a live video stream of the ceremony on RNZ’s newly updated website http://www.radionz.co.nz/music

The awards are generously supported by Panhead Custom Ales.

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