Music News - Aotearoa Music Web Series - Amplified - EP02 Leao
09 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 EP02, Jess catches up with David Feauai-Afaese of Samoan rock project Leao, about music as a form of rejoice, Leao’s famous high-energy live performances and what it means to “think Pacifically.”
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"I came across Leao on Student Radio when they released their first EP Ghost Roads (2019, Noa Records)," says Fu. "[I thought] is this from today? Or is this an artist from the 70's? I've never heard anything like that before - and I was completely blown away."
Feauai-Afaese’s music is influenced by the traditional Samoan-pop staples The Samoan Surfriders, Punialava’a and The Five Stars, with contemporary rock ‘n’ roll thrown in, inspired by themes of rediscovery, reconnection, and feeling outsider to one’s own culture.
Reflecting on how Leao came to be, Feauai-Afaese says "I'm not going to lie - it was just cool. It was really fun experimenting and creating indie pop music with Samoan tonalities. Trying to figure out what fa'asamoa, what being Samoan means for me."
Within the episode Feauai-Afaese describes Leao as "a project of alofa, a project of self love."
"But also love for identities that don't feel like they are connected to a community. Sometimes I feel like a lot of the expectations asked of Pacific youth are sort of colonial. Don't be flamboyant, don't be kaukalaikiki - which just perpetuates a really rigid way of living. Art, fashion, dialogue in music, being able to use those as vehicles to rebel, but also to be able to express oneself through joy. I think that's the thing I love the most about art - I find it quite radical."
Feauai-Afaese continues "Music is a form of transport. When I’m writing these Leao songs, they are transporting me to a space where I feel fully held within my culture, but also in myself."
At the end of the episode, Feauai-Afaese is joined by their live band featuring Larsen Winiata Tito-Taylor (Waiwhai fka Whyfi., Noa Records), Navakatoa Tekela-Pule (Schofield Strangelove, Erny Belle, Te Kaahu, Noa Records), and Levi Gemmell for a live rendition of Pua Maliu, the closing track to Leao's debut EP.
EP02 was directed by Litia Tuiburelevu, who recently created and directed Still Here 09, the television and online documentary series featuring Pasifika families still living in inner-city Auckland. In 2021 Tuiburelevu's debut short film Boy Eats God was funded through the New Zealand Film Commission’s Fresh Shorts initiative. Outside of film, Tuiburelevu is a professional teaching fellow at the University of Auckland’s Faculty of Law, overseeing the Pacific law students’ academic programme. She teaches an elective course titled “Pacific Peoples and the Law: Critical Perspectives”.
Photo Credit: Apela Bell
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