Otautahi outfit Dillastrate intend their mahi to be a “movement to uplift and amplify Te Reo Maori and Te Ao Maori through music using a unique blend of genres.” They wear their kaupapa on their sleeve in the writing of their new album Nga Pounamu.

The duo Henare 'H' Kaa (lead vocals/drums) and Tim Driver (keyboard/bass synth/loops/vocals) go head-to-head to produce deeply memorable high energy live performances. As musical heavy weights they’ve toured internationally and locally with some of the best artists in the world (including members of The Rolling Stones) and are in high demand as session musicians for stage and studio.

Tim Gruar called up Tim Driver to have a bit of a korero about the new album, learning Te Reo Maori and applying a bit of jazz music theory.

Kia ora, Tim. Kei te pehea koe? Korerohia mai mo to roopu.

Dillastrate is effectively me and ‘H’ (Henare Kaa, drums, vocals).We first started playing together at Jazz School, in Otautahi (Christchurch). Then we were playing on each other's projects, and it just kept building up, we developed a real rapport.

AHoriBuzz was the first big sort of first thing that launched us not only together, but as individual musicians, working alongside the late, great Aaron Tokona.

How did you come to play with Aaron?

From memory, Aaron moved to Otautahi around 2008 (or thereabouts). Aaron was so effective in the way he operated. He always sought to bring together like-minded musicians to work together. H got to know Aaron through Christchurch music circles, so he joined the band first then brought a whole bunch of our fellow Otautahi compatriots into the fold.

I was the second to join him in AHoriBuzz, one of many in a whole bunch of other great local musicians that were brought into the band at the time. Both H and I had done quite a bit of session work around the country already at this point, but the band had people coming and going, recommendations, collaborations. So that’s how it came together.

Aaron’s kaupapa was collaboration. It was very kind of collective environment.

I think the first time I saw AHoriBuzz play was at Splore Festival. It was the final day and Aaron had invited most of Fat Freddy's Drop plus quite a few of the other acts onto the stage with him – about 20-25 musicians - ridiculous! I think he must have seriously panicked the sound engineer – they must have been scrambling around, trying to find enough lines for everyone to run through the PA.

And when you moved on from AHoriBuzz?

H and I started jamming together - but we were also songwriters for another band called Soulsystem – a sort-of roots/rock/electronica kind of outfit. From our past history we already knew that we worked together really well musically. So, we thought why not pare this back?

To do this, H started singing lead as well as drumming, and I started playing the bass with my left hand and the keys with right, so between us we had the core rhythm section down. (That also makes it a lot easier to travel around the country!)

We just started writing more, working together more, and we discovered this thing really worked. But it kind of ruined us for a lot of other bands because it was just working so well as a unit. In the really early days we recruited our “third band member”, sound engineer Jamie Thompson - he’s a really a central component. And so, between us, we have been performing and recording music and travelling around the motu up to present day.

Dillastrate’s first album was 2019. So, when did that start?

The band evolved naturally out of us two just working together and writing. And of taking Aaron's approach: just get this thing on the road, don’t overthink it. So initially we’d get out there and play anywhere that needed a support act. If we knew someone locally, we’d be like “Yeah, we’ll jump on that!” And that’s how we started operationally.

And the name, where did that come from?

The name itself has had a few interpretations. But essentially it combines the words ‘demonstrate’ with “illustrate’ – as in that we want to demonstrate and illustrate our particular approach to music. Plus, there’s a bit of IYKYK to it – it’s a hat tip for the heads who will know exactly who the name references. It’s nice when someone recognises this aspect of the name – like, “hey, this guy’s on the level”.

In the video Ko Te Tatou Te Ahi, ‘H’ introduces us to himself and growing up in Hakatere (Ashburton), finding himself, identifying as Maori in a place and a time that was not as accepting or aware as we are today. And was it that experience that informed the song Holding On?

Obviously, I don't want to speak for him. I’m also Tangata Tiriti, so it’s not my place to talk to a Maori experience. I would say that I’m sure that this would have fed into the richness of his experience and what it’s like to grow up in a colonised space. And I think a lot of that has probably influenced his approach to songwriting too.

As you say, there’s a similar message running through the waiata Holding On. This is a song for tane, for Maori men, promoting their strength and resilience. It has this message that if you are ever in a place where you feel like things are really spinning out of control and you don't have a firm hold on aspects of your life, then you can look to your tupuna for strength and guidance and find your strength in the roots. If you're grappling with those traditional values, then let the tupuna guide you.

This song, Holding On, how did it come about?

It was a collaboration between us, Chase Woods and Te Naawe Tupe. We recorded it at Roundhead Studios in Tamaki Makaurau.

Their publicity says that the track features a pedal steel guitar, a first for Dillastrate. They drew on a wide range of musical inspirations from The Eagles and Garth Brooks, to Shaboozey and The Teskey Brothers. This mash up of genres and styles also embodies the direction of the album, Nga Pounamu, which resulted from their ‘journey with recording music’ throughout the last year.

For Nga Pounamu, we recorded all over the place, including some in Hakatere (Ashburton) where H was originally from. One of the best studios we worked in was for our waiata Ko Tatou Te Ahi (also the Official NZ Cricket Song), which was recorded at Nga Hau e Wha Marae in Otautahi, and co-released with Tiki Taane. That was a magical, spiritual experience recording there. You really got the sense of wairua of the space. The song is a tribute to our home – a thank you to iwi to allowing us to being in this place, and a song about turangawaewae (having a place of your own that you can call home).

I mean, it was very touching, and I think you can hear that in the music. Even now, when doing press, I struggle to find the exact words I need to describe it….

Also, in the documentary Ko Tatou Te Ahi, H talks about his upbringing, his dyslexia and overcoming those challenges. He also talks about his journey with re reo Maori. What about your journey?

I’ve been learning Te Reo Maori for the last 3 years. What I really love about it is that when you learn Te Reo Maori, you learn about Te Ao Maori. I really believe that you can learn about what is important about a culture by learning the language, what is considered important and how prominent different concepts are when spoken. I’m deeply obsessed with learning all of this because I find it so beautiful.

In terms of the songwriting process it’s so beautiful to produce an album that has waiata in both English and Te Reo Maori. And part of that as a musician, producer or songwriter is that if gives you a different lens to work with.

I feel that English can be very reductionist, very prescriptive. You can break things down a bit too precisely for what you want to say - which is great for poetry and things like that. But Te Reo Maori has a way that’s incredibly holistic. Elements of metaphor, and elements of connectivity, which just can’t be captured in English.

Our core matanga reo is Hemi Hoskins, who has been incredible to work with over the years. In the writing room, we might bring our own reo Maori ideas to the table, but he is really good at capturing the essence of what we are trying to say. From an artistic perspective, it’s such a versatile language. I love it.

Many of the songs on this album, like Holding On and Ke Whati Te Marama, or I’m Crazy sound like they are destined for big party events like Electric Avenue, RnV or Splore. Was that intentional, that big event sound?

Thank you. Well, yes and no. It wasn’t a strategic move to get placement in those or any specific festivals. But we do have a lot of genres that inspire us, but it’s not really a deliberate move to write in a particular style. We operate with a kaupapa of honouring the song. So, if you write something and it’s emerging into a certain shape and it needs a certain flavour, we generally have trained ourselves to let that happen. Ko Tatou Te Tahi, for example. When we wrote that, we asked “What does this feel it wants to be?” As the song was coming to fruition, it just happened to be DnB. This was twice as good in this instance, as the song is partially a tribute to Otautahi, which was at one point the Drum & Bass capital of the world. There’s a few like that on the album. Ke Whati Te Marama is another track that became DnB. But others found a different voice. Yeah, it’s all about honouring the song - how it wants to feel.

Because we are also session musicians, we’ve played across so many different genres. So, in Dillastrate, it’s a chance to just play with stuff. But we’ve got that experience there and these things just kind of emerge. So, it’s not strategic. We write a thing and see what comes out.

We talk about the origin of Reggae in Aotearoa, and how suited it can be to Maori waiata.

True. But there’s a place for Maori waiata and Te Reo Maori in all styles of music. The fact that there’s been a massive emergence, recently, of different genres using Te Reo Maori, for its lyrical content and storytelling is testament to that. Massive potential for export and to be celebrated around the world.

You are jazz trained. Have you had an opportunity to bring any of your ‘Jazz Heroes’ into your music?

Always.

Who do you draw on. Who’s your Jazz ‘spirit animal’? Ha ha!

Ha ha. My ‘spirit animal’ – many! As a keys player, I’m always drawn towards harmony. That’s my thing. In that sense, I’m a massive fan of Bill Evans.

Generally, when you’re playing a chord, you’d be building on a triad, it’d be a 1, 3 and a 5. But Evans would play a 1, 4, and a 7 or something. What that meant was that the underlying chord structures became a bit ambiguous.

And that’s sort of an approach I like to apply in Dillastrate, particularly because there’s a practical side to it. I play two keyboards – right hand playing chords, left hand playing bass. Left hand has to be a little bit more active, getting around the bassline sometimes. If you can minimise that while singing, then that’s ideal. If you listen to tracks like Taku Aroha, the chords and the chorus in that song stay very much grounded. There are three different chords in that chorus, but I use exactly the same voicing for every single one of them, just changing the bass line.

I think we’ve both got aspects of that in our training and our heroes from becoming jazz trained. These things naturally slip into what you do. That’s what I enjoy about bringing our different and varied influences to Dillastrate. Just chuck them in the pot and stir it all up. See what happens. That’s true across the genres we play and the practical approach to how we write and perform.

And it’s been picked up and celebrated by the Waiata Anthems project. Such as your tune Taku Aroha. How did that come about?

Like any creative community it’s all based on the relationships you make. As we were starting to write waiata in Te Reo Maori, we started to get in touch with people and circles of influence in that community in Aotearoa. Our first album and EP were entirely written in English. So, we were naturally emerging into Te Reo Maori as we went (on this creative journey).

We developed a close relationship with (2024 NZ Music Hall of Fame inductee) Dame Hinewehi Mohi, who has been incredible support and advocate for what we have been doing over the last five years, at least. We reached out and asked if it could be considered for inclusion in Waiata Anthems. And she was just incredibly supportive and a massive force for Waiata Maori. Extremely thankfully for us, she came on board. And from there we developed so many other relationships in the industry off the back of these relationships.

One piece of advice: Get out, let people know what you are doing. Because one thing I’ve learned about the waiata reo Maori community is that they are incredibly supportive.

So, what’s next and when can we see you and this album live?

The first collab project is producing a track with an upcoming Otautahi artist KEI, a track called Freak. She’s an incredible emerging artist. No doubt, we will be out and about around the motu. We are putting our summer schedule together now. Keep an eye on the socials, etc. Watch this space!

• 1
  Head Like A Hole
• 2
  Horror Story
• 3
  Fraser Ross
• 4
  Fur Patrol
• 5
  Michelle Rounds
• 6
  L.A.B.
• 7
  Devilskin
• 8
  Coridian
• 9
  The Boondocks
• 10
  Late to Chelsea

• 
  LOST BiRD @ Space Academy, Christchurch - 15/12/2024
• 
  Just Janie @ Space Academy, Christchurch - 15/12/2024
• 
  Dream Chambers @ Meow Nui, Wellington - 14/12/2024
• 
  The Phoenix Foundation @ Meow Nui, Wellington - 14/12/2024

• 1
  APT.
  ROSÉ And Bruno Mars
• 2
  DIE WITH A SMILE
  Lady Gaga And Bruno Mars
• 3
  BIRDS OF A FEATHER
  Billie Eilish
• 4
  TASTE
  Sabrina Carpenter
• 5
  I LOVE YOU, I'M SORRY
  Gracie Abrams
• 6
  ESPRESSO
  Sabrina Carpenter
• 7
  SAILOR SONG
  Gigi Perez
• 8
  LOSE CONTROL
  Teddy Swims
• 9
  A BAR SONG (TIPSY)
  Shaboozey
• 10
  GOOD LUCK, BABE!
  Chappell Roan

• Privacy Policy
• Disclaimer
• Copyright Statement

• Contact
• Advertising
• About Us