Music News - Māori post-punk band Showcasing at FOCUS Wales 2023
17 March 2023 - 0 Comments
Half/Time is a Māori centred post-punk band from Aotearoa (New Zealand) featuring Wairehu Grant on guitar and vocals, Cee on bass and Ciara Bernstein on drums. Together they perform emotionally charged songs addressing decolonisation, structural racism and cultural resilience. Their music intertwines lyrics in English and te reo Māori (the Māori language) with heavy riffs and driving rhythms. Half/Time are officially showcasing at the 2023 FOCUS Wales, an international multi-venue-showcase-festival.
Since the cosmic hellscape that was 2020 has receded, allowing music conventions and creativity to once again take a physical presence, Half/Time is ready to venture out of Aotearoa, extending on their adventure in the northern hemisphere with multiple dates in the wider UK. As part of international solidarity on language revitalisation (due to the success of Aotearoa's revitalisation of te reo Māori), Wairehu and Cee will also be guest speaking at Cardiff University.
Their debut self-titled EP was released in 2021, their single Ōrākau featuring in the Student Network Radio Top 10 ‘Te Tohu Puoro o te reo Māori’ (Favourite Song featuring Te Reo Māori). Their new EP Scary Stories To Tell When You’re Dark is set for release in April 2023. Given the costs involved in going overseas, Half/Time has been proactive in fundraising and expanding their opportunities.
HALF/TIME UK FUNDRAISING EVENTS
UK Tour Fundraiser Show (Tāmaki) Auckland
UK Tour Fundraiser Show (Kirikiriroa) Hamilton
Wairehu Grant (Ngāti Maniapoto) is also a postgraduate researcher based in Kirikiriroa (Hamilton) Aotearoa (New Zealand). Having been involved in Aotearoa’s DIY music communities since 2014, his PhD research is centred on the ideological crossovers of te ao Māori and punk culture. Ciara Bernstein is the owner of The Vault - an all-ages venue, recording space and practice space in Central Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland). She is also instrumental to Girls Rock! / To The Front Tāmaki, recently becoming one of their kaitiaki (guardians). Ciara has played in over a dozen bands over the past eight years, giving her the opportunity to tour extensively in the US, Australia, South Africa and across her home country. Cee is a perpetually fuming takatāpui loud mouth. They are constantly striving for a kinder world, heavier music and total liberation for all.
FOCUS Wales is an international multi-venue showcase festival in Wrexham, North Wales, which places the music industry spotlight firmly on emerging talent alongside a selection of the best new acts from across the globe. Half/Time will join 250+ artists, across various spaces and music venues, using 20 stages, and host a full schedule of interactive industry sessions, arts events, and film screenings, throughout the festival.
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