23 November 2022 - 0 Comments

Hosted by DJ and music journalist Jess Fu, Amplified spotlights artists who use music to embrace, connect and explore their cultural roots. Over five episodes Amplified discovers the looping pop of Kōtiro, the joyful Samoan indie rock of Leao, the experimental hip hop of Phodiso, Samara Alofa’s soulful pop, and the electronic R&B of Imugi 이무기.

Through conversation with Jess, viewers will discover how each musician approaches their creative practice, revealing how identity is tied to, and reflected in their music. Kōtiro, Leao, Phodiso, Samara Alofa, Imugi 이무기 and Jess all speak to their cultural heritage, showing how it informs their artistic expression and music making.

Each episode of Amplified will feature unique live performances, deep diving into the musician’s mind’s eye and showcasing their talent in its truest potential.

In EP04, Jess grabs a drink with Samara Alofa (Ngāti Awa, Samoa, Tonga, German/Pākēha), a child of Te-Moana-nui-a- kiwa, to talk teen raves, liturgical singing and their brooding debut album Earth Punk.

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"I feel like the process of Earth Punk was a lot to do with healing some sort of void... it's like a diary entry," shares Alofa. "I have a love hate relationship with Earth Punk, there are a lot of stories in the songs that are birthed out of trauma, or things that are sad - it's emo."

Throughout the episode Alofa breaks down different songs from their catalogue, specifically 111, a song inspired by poetry and the destruction of family burial sites to build the Symonds Street motorway on ramp.

Fu asks about the future, with Afola reflecting "I'm moving more through electronic dance music. Because Earth Punk was so emo, I want to put something out that is more joyful, exciting, happy and gay."

EP04 is directed by Hash, a filmmaker who holds a Masters in Screen Production from the University of Auckland. Her Master’s thesis short film Not Like Her premiered at NZIFF and won Best Self-Funded Short Film at the New Zealand Film Awards 2017.

In 2021 she was selected for Script to Screen’s Film Up programme with producer Tom Hern as her mentor. She wrote and directed Vena, one of eight vignettes in anthology feature film Kāinga (NZIFF, MIFF 2022). She is currently in production on short film The Rat King which received the New Zealand Film Commission’s Women’s Horror Short grant in 2017.

Hash has recently been selected for Jane Campion’s competitive A Wave in the Ocean initiative, funded by Netflix. Hash will be writing and directing a short film under this initiative in 2023-2024.

Photo Credit: Apela Bell

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