An interview with King Kapisi, Awanui Reeder and Ryan Monga
Riffing on Pacific festivals and the notion of 'Pacific music’
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/prbt.v16i1-2.28465Keywords:
New Zealand, Pacific festivals, Pacific music, festivalization, popular music, identityAbstract
In this Riff article, Jared Mackley-Crump speaks to three prominent New Zealand musicians with various Pacific ancestries: King Kapisi (real name Bill Urale) of S?moan descent, Ryan Monga (of the band Ardijah) of M?ori/Cook Island/Tahitian descent, and Te Awanui Reeder (of the group Nesian Mystik) of M?ori descent. The interview sets out to explore their experiences performing in Pacific festival spaces and their perceptions about the importance of these spaces. It provides first-person perspectives on how they view their music performances as situated within spaces where the politics of cultural representation are heightened. In doing so, they touch on the ongoing debate about ‘Pacific music’ and what constitutes this label.
References
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Buch, T., S. Milne and G. Dickson. 2011. ‘Multiple Stakeholder Perspectives on Cultural Events: Auckland’s Pasifika Festival’. Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management 20/3-4: 311–28. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19368623.2011.562416
Cattermole, J. 2004. ‘The Routes of Roots Reggae in Aotearoa/New Zealand: The Musical Construction of Place and Identity’. Masters thesis. Dunedin: University of Otago.
Gershon, I., and S. Collins. 2007. ‘Outspoken Indigenes and Nostalgic Migrants: M?ori and S?moan Educating Performances in an Aotearoa New Zealand Cultural Festival’. Teachers College Record 109/7: 1797–1820.
Goldsworthy, D. 2001. ‘“Whose Song is this Anyway?”: Issues of Song Authorship, Accreditation, Appropriation and Identity in Cook Islands Popular Music’. In Musical In-Between-Ness: Proceedings of the 8th IASPM Australia–New Zealand Conference, ed. Denis Crowdy et al., 35–46. Sydney: University of Technology.
Henderson, A. 2010. ‘Gifted Flows: Making Space for a Brand New Beat’. The Contemporary Pacific 22/2: 293–315. http://dx.doi.org/10.1353/cp.2010.0021
Kopytko, T. 1986. ‘Breakdance as an Identity Marker in New Zealand’. Yearbook for Traditional Music 18: 21–28. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/768516
Kornelly, S. 2008. ‘Dancing Culture, Culture Dancing: Celebrating Pasifika in Aotearoa/New Zealand’. PhD thesis. Philadelphia: Temple University.
Mackley-Crump, J. 2012. ‘Some Thoughts on the Significance of Otago’s Polyfest’. Scope: Art & Design 7: 115–20.
—2013. ‘The Festivalization of Pasifika Cultures in New Zealand: Diapsoric Flow and Identity within Transcultural Contact Zones’. Musicology Australia 35/1: 20–40. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08145857.2013.761098
—2015. Negotiating Place and Identity in a New Homeland: The Pacific Festivals of Aotearoa New Zealand. Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press.
Mitchell, T. 1998. ‘The Proud Project and the “Otara Sound”: M?ori and Polynesian Pop in the Mid-1990s’. In Sound Alliances: Indigenous Peoples, Cultural Politics, and Popular Music in the Pacific, ed. Phillip Hayward, 158–74. London and New York: Cassell.
Pearson, S. 2004. ‘Pasifik/NZ Frontiers: New Zealand-S?moan Hip Hop, Music Video, and Diasporic Space’. Perfect Beat 6/4: 55–66.
Talo, R. 2008. ‘Festival of Fusion: The Celebration, Representation and Identification of Pacific Cultures at Auckland’s Pasifika Festival’. Masters thesis. Auckland: University of Auckland.
Tapaleao, V. 2012. ‘Chart-topping Siblings Farewell Eldest of Trio’. New Zealand Herald. Online: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10782773 (accessed 3 November 2015).
Zemke-White, K. 2001. ‘Rap Music and Pacific Identity in Aotearoa’. In Tangata O Te Moana Nui: The Evolving Identities of Pacific Peoples in Aotearoa/New Zealand, ed. Cluny Macpherson et al., 228–42. Palmerston North: Dunmore Press.
—2002. ‘Reverse Resistance: Pacific Engagement with Popular Music in New Zealand’. In Pacific Art Niu Sila: The Pacific Dimension of Contemporary New Zealand Arts, ed. Sean Mallon and Pandora Pereira, 117–31. Wellington: Te Papa Press.
—2005. ‘Nesian Styles (Re)Present R’n’B: The Appropriation, Transformation and Realisation of Contemporary R’n’B with Hip Hop by Urban Pasifika Groups in Aotearoa’. Sites, New Series, 2/1: 94–123. http://dx.doi.org/10.11157/sites-vol2iss1id54
Zemke-White, K., and S. Televave. 2007. ‘Selling Beats and Pacifications: Pacific Music Labels in Aotearoa/New Zealand/Niu Sila’. New Zealand Journal of Media Studies 10/2: 107–129. http://dx.doi.org/10.11157/medianz-vol10iss2id68
Buch, T., S. Milne and G. Dickson. 2011. ‘Multiple Stakeholder Perspectives on Cultural Events: Auckland’s Pasifika Festival’. Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management 20/3-4: 311–28. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19368623.2011.562416
Cattermole, J. 2004. ‘The Routes of Roots Reggae in Aotearoa/New Zealand: The Musical Construction of Place and Identity’. Masters thesis. Dunedin: University of Otago.
Gershon, I., and S. Collins. 2007. ‘Outspoken Indigenes and Nostalgic Migrants: M?ori and S?moan Educating Performances in an Aotearoa New Zealand Cultural Festival’. Teachers College Record 109/7: 1797–1820.
Goldsworthy, D. 2001. ‘“Whose Song is this Anyway?”: Issues of Song Authorship, Accreditation, Appropriation and Identity in Cook Islands Popular Music’. In Musical In-Between-Ness: Proceedings of the 8th IASPM Australia–New Zealand Conference, ed. Denis Crowdy et al., 35–46. Sydney: University of Technology.
Henderson, A. 2010. ‘Gifted Flows: Making Space for a Brand New Beat’. The Contemporary Pacific 22/2: 293–315. http://dx.doi.org/10.1353/cp.2010.0021
Kopytko, T. 1986. ‘Breakdance as an Identity Marker in New Zealand’. Yearbook for Traditional Music 18: 21–28. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/768516
Kornelly, S. 2008. ‘Dancing Culture, Culture Dancing: Celebrating Pasifika in Aotearoa/New Zealand’. PhD thesis. Philadelphia: Temple University.
Mackley-Crump, J. 2012. ‘Some Thoughts on the Significance of Otago’s Polyfest’. Scope: Art & Design 7: 115–20.
—2013. ‘The Festivalization of Pasifika Cultures in New Zealand: Diapsoric Flow and Identity within Transcultural Contact Zones’. Musicology Australia 35/1: 20–40. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08145857.2013.761098
—2015. Negotiating Place and Identity in a New Homeland: The Pacific Festivals of Aotearoa New Zealand. Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press.
Mitchell, T. 1998. ‘The Proud Project and the “Otara Sound”: M?ori and Polynesian Pop in the Mid-1990s’. In Sound Alliances: Indigenous Peoples, Cultural Politics, and Popular Music in the Pacific, ed. Phillip Hayward, 158–74. London and New York: Cassell.
Pearson, S. 2004. ‘Pasifik/NZ Frontiers: New Zealand-S?moan Hip Hop, Music Video, and Diasporic Space’. Perfect Beat 6/4: 55–66.
Talo, R. 2008. ‘Festival of Fusion: The Celebration, Representation and Identification of Pacific Cultures at Auckland’s Pasifika Festival’. Masters thesis. Auckland: University of Auckland.
Tapaleao, V. 2012. ‘Chart-topping Siblings Farewell Eldest of Trio’. New Zealand Herald. Online: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10782773 (accessed 3 November 2015).
Zemke-White, K. 2001. ‘Rap Music and Pacific Identity in Aotearoa’. In Tangata O Te Moana Nui: The Evolving Identities of Pacific Peoples in Aotearoa/New Zealand, ed. Cluny Macpherson et al., 228–42. Palmerston North: Dunmore Press.
—2002. ‘Reverse Resistance: Pacific Engagement with Popular Music in New Zealand’. In Pacific Art Niu Sila: The Pacific Dimension of Contemporary New Zealand Arts, ed. Sean Mallon and Pandora Pereira, 117–31. Wellington: Te Papa Press.
—2005. ‘Nesian Styles (Re)Present R’n’B: The Appropriation, Transformation and Realisation of Contemporary R’n’B with Hip Hop by Urban Pasifika Groups in Aotearoa’. Sites, New Series, 2/1: 94–123. http://dx.doi.org/10.11157/sites-vol2iss1id54
Zemke-White, K., and S. Televave. 2007. ‘Selling Beats and Pacifications: Pacific Music Labels in Aotearoa/New Zealand/Niu Sila’. New Zealand Journal of Media Studies 10/2: 107–129. http://dx.doi.org/10.11157/medianz-vol10iss2id68
Published
2015-12-17
Issue
Section
Riffs
How to Cite
Mackley-Crump, J. (2015). An interview with King Kapisi, Awanui Reeder and Ryan Monga: Riffing on Pacific festivals and the notion of ’Pacific music’. Perfect Beat, 16(1-2), 87-99. https://doi.org/10.1558/prbt.v16i1-2.28465
