Music News - Poi E - Patea Maori Club announced as recipient of Taite Music Prize: IMNZ Classic Record 2021
01 April 2021 - 0 Comments
Patea Maori Club’s Poi E lyrics were written by te reo advocate, linguist, and composer, Ngoi Pewhairangi (QSM) and music by Dalvanius Prime in 1983, to encourage rangatahi to be proud of being Maori. A simple song with a catchy beat sung entirely in te reo Maori Poi E has become Aotearoa’s unofficial national anthem, giving pride to generations of New Zealanders.
Recorded and released in late 1983, the single spent four weeks at number 1 and a further 22 weeks in the music charts, which was unprecedented for a song in te reo Maori. As well as being a sensation in Aotearoa, the Patea Māori Club received international recognition - touring the United Kingdom in 1984, playing at the London Palladium, the Edinburgh Festival, and giving a Royal Command Performance. Top British contemporary music magazine of the time, New Musical Express (NME), named Poi E its Single of the Week.
This week, group member Maryanne Broughton remembers, "The release of Poi E was a huge milestone for Maori music and was an extended dream of Dals’ and Aunty Ngoi's to get our language back out there, to encourage young Maori to be proud of being Maori. It actually wasn't popular with the older generation as it was not the traditional way of singing our songs but it was released at just the right moment, when young kids were learning and relating to te reo Maori via Te Kohanga Reo, and our teenagers were jumping on the break dancing craze. Singing Poi E meant the kids were using our language every day."
In 2010 Poi E was used in Taika Waititi's hit movie, Boy. This saw the song back in the New Zealand music charts. A documentary on the song was released in 2016, and in 2021 - 38 years after its release - Poi E is officially being acknowledged as an important part of our rich musical tapestry as the recipient of the 2021 IMNZ Classic Record.
The presentation of the Independent Music NZ Classic Record will be at
Auckland's Q Theatre on 20th April 2021.
The Taite Music Prize:
Presented by: Independent Music New Zealand (IMNZ)
Founding Partner: Recorded Music NZ
Official Partners: NZ On Air / The Taite Family
Award Partners: Auckland Live
Event Partners: Q Theatre / ACOM
Supporting Partners: NZ Music Commission / APRA AMCOS / Te Mangai Paho / College Hill Productions / Tone Deaf / Media Arts Lawyers / Red Bull Studios Auckland / Commotion Ltd. / McCarthy DesignMedia Partners: RNZ Music / 95bFM
Charity Partners: MusicHelps
Previous winners of The Taite Prize:
2010 - Lawrence Arabia - Chant Darling (Honorary Bedouin Records)]
2011 - Ladi6 - The Liberation Of (What? Music)
2012 - Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Unknown Mortal Orchestra (Seeing Records)
2013 – SJD - Elastic Wasteland (Round Trip Mars)
2014 – Lorde - Pure Heroine (Universal Music NZ)
2015 – Jakob – Sines (Shoot The Freak)
2016 – Silicon - Personal Computer (Weird World/Domino Recordings)
2017 - Street Chant - Hauora (Arch Hill Recordings)
2018 - Aldous Harding - Party (Flying Nun Records / 4AD)
2019 - Avantdale Bowling Club - Avantdale Bowling Club (Years Gone By)
2020 – Troy Kingi – Holy Colony Burning Acres (Triple A Records)
Previous Winners of the Independent Music NZ Classic Record:
2013 – The Gordons – Gordons (Flying Nun)
2014 – Various Artists – AK79 (Ripper Records)
2015 – Herbs – What’s Be Happen? (Warrior Records)
2016 – Upper Hutt Posse – E Tu (Jayrem Records)
2017 - The Clean - Boodle Boodle Boodle (Flying Nun)
2018 - The Headless Chickens - Stunt Clown (Flying Nun)
2019 - Moana and the Moahunters - Tahi (Southside)
2020 – Shona Laing – South (Pagan Records)
Previous Winners of the Auckland Live Best Independent Debut:
2017 - Merk - Swordfish (self released)
2018 - The Miltones - The Miltones (Self-released)
2019 - Alien Weaponry - Tu (Self-released)
2020 – Repulsive Woman – Relief (Independent)
Independent Spirit Award
2019 - Bernie Griffin
2020 - Murray Cammick
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