Developed in collaboration with Ariana Tikao

'puāwai' for taonga pūoro and viola is an exploration of the meaning and symbolism nested within this kupu (word)

While the tactile, physical body of the viola is used to explore the sense of a seed or flower physically pushing itself open into the light of the new world, the voice of the pūmotomoto invokes the word's symbolic connections with childbirth and the sense of the human body opening like a flower.

The work ripples with a sense of bright delicacy. Invoking a sense of subdued energy, light streaming through the canopy, or as a presage of the light of new life, the viola's flickering harmonics echo the flickering rhythmic patterns of the poiāwhiowhio, while the soulful voice of the pūmotomoto, and ultimately the kōauau ponga ihu meld seamlessly with the soulful lyricism of the viola.

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Commissioned by Sophia Acheson, and premièred by Ariana Tikao and Sophia Acheson at the International Viola Congress in Campinas, Brazil (July 2024)

puāwai - for taonga pūoro and viola

Birthed from a deep appreciation of Te Taiao, Tūroa is the first collaborative project by Weka Tek and Te Manu. Taking it’s name from Te Ao Tūroa, this three-track EP speaks to the endurance of the long-standing natural world and its interwoven web of relations. With the imminent threat of climate and ecological breakdown, Tūroa is a call to recognise and to be in good-relation with our other-than-human kin. Musically, the project aims to weave taonga pūoro with organic dub techno to evoke a soundscape that echoes the diverse ngahere of Aotearoa. Taking inspiration from Paddy Free and Richard Nunns, Tūroa contributes to the furthering of a uniquely-Aotearoa sound.

I whakatipu ai te rārangi pūoro ko Tūroa nō Weka Tek rāua ko Te Manu nā te whakamiha mō Te Taiao. Ka kōrerotia ēnei waiata ki te tohe, ki ngā hononga hoki o Te Ao Tūroa. Ki te tino whanaungatanga o ngā uri katoa o te ao; ki ngā atua, ki te taiao, ki te tāngata, ki a koe anō. Ko tēnei te whāinga o Tūroa hei te pāha o te hurihanga āhuarangi ki te ao rauropi. He ara mō te pāhekoheko o ngā taonga pūoro ki ngā waiata ā hiko o nāianei ki te whakaata i te wao nui ā Tāne. Nō Paddy Free rāua ko Richard Nunns i whakamanawa ai te orokohanga o Tūroa kia pakeke ai he momo oro nō Aotearoa nui tonu.

The EP begins with Karanga Weka, dropping the listener into the realm of Tāne as bird calls resonate on the forest floor amongst lush synths, a driving dub techno rhythm, and a solitary refrain of the karanga weka. The second track, Hauāuru, is a sojourn to coastal forests where the westerly wind carries melancholic melodies of seabirds, expressed through the pūtōrino kakau rua and kōauau toroa, over a breaks and percussion-infused 4x4 rhythm. The final track, Tipu, concludes the EP by drawing attention to the potency of growth and new life with its ambient dub chords, pulsating rhythm and haunting lead of the nguru uku.

Tīhei, mauri ora!

Produced by Weka Tek and Te Manu
Taonga pūoro by Te Manu
Mastered by Keith at Slypork Studios
Album artwork by Ngāio Matariki and Caitlin Watters

Karanga Weka

Tipu

Hauāuru

https://teethandtail.bandcamp.com/album/t-roa

snippet of the tumutumu kōhatu (stone percussion) out of the forthcoming release 'Whakaputa'.

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Kōhatu

Another snippet, this time a combination of 3 tracks - hue puruhau, porotiti and tumutumu kōhatu - from the forthcoming release 'Whakaputa'. The hue puruhau is a large open, hollow gourd that is blown across the top. The porotiti is a small spinning disc on a string spun in front of the chest. Tumutumu kōhatu are two small stones struck together percussively.

Hue puruhau, porotiti me tumutumu kōhatu

Te Manu and Shankara NZ release the first in a series of singles exploring the intersection of pūoro Māori (traditional Māori music) with contemporary electronica.

Performed by Dan Mace, Pūnganangana is an ancient karakia (incantation) that calls upon the old winds to help achieve the task at hand. Featuring taonga pūoro (traditional Māori instruments) and saturated with dubbed-out FX, the three versions weave together a brooding soundscape full of the primordial forces of earth and sky.

Pūnganangana ki tawhito o te rangi e tū nei he ngana riri, he ngana taua o ue-ue nuku, o ue-ue rangi.
Te tūngia te kawaru ra ko te hau tonga, ka haramai ra.
Kati nei, toki nui, te toki toki roa, te toki toki tā wahie.
Ka whanatu au ka hahau o te taka-pu o te rangi e tū nei ka hinga, ka mate.
Whakataka te hau ki te uru, whakataka te hau ki te tonga, kia makinakina ki uta, kia mataratara ki tai.
E hī ake ana te atākura he tio he keo he hauhunga whano, whano, haramai te toki haumi e, hui e, Taiki e!

Pūnganangana

Pūnganangana (Jungle)

Pūnganangana (Dub)

lost the project for this..

collab with selena blinx

whare tangata

A revolutionary protest anthem from Silk & Circuitry — a Māori-language vocalist and a digital dissident standing in the same storm. REMEMBER, REMEMBER (KAI TANGATA RMX) blends cinematic spoken-word trap with glitch-hop percussion, distorted 808s, and taonga puoro-inspired textures.

This track rises like a pirate broadcast over Aotearoa: whispered at first, then stomping, tribal, defiant. A war-chant for the whenua, for the ones erased in files and footnotes, for those caught between justice systems and digital shadows.

Fueled by the spirit of Parihaka, the Ghost in the Machine, and modern Māori sovereignty struggles, this track reimagines indigenous resistance as encrypted warfare.

Aotearoa meets Anonymous.
Haka meets glitch.
Ancestral fire meets binary code.

Built for torch-lit marches, protest speakers, and anyone who refuses to kneel to corrupted systems.
Ends with a ghostly spoken outro — a reminder that revolutions don’t die, they broadcast.

Silk & Circuitry:
For the whenua.
For the future.
For the truth they tried to bury.


Remember, Remember (KAI TANGATA RMX)

Soundsystem music from the great forest of Tiriwa.

https://www.soundcloud.com/toroa/
https://www.instagram.com/te__manu/
https://www.facebook.com/te.manu.a.koropotiki/

🕸️ Silk & Circuitry 🧠⚡

Welcome to the tangled thread between trauma and transcendence.
This is where music becomes a mirror—reflecting the fractures, the fight, and the fire.
We don’t just make beats. We build bridges. Between pain and purpose.

Here, recovery isn’t a quiet thing.
It’s a war cry wrapped in melody,
a healing ritual whispered through circuitry,
a love letter to those who feel too much in a world that rewards those who feel nothing.

Every track is stitched with intent:
🕯️ To hold space for the broken
⚖️ To call out control masked as care
🧬 To challenge the narcissists who built their webs in our minds
🛠️ And to offer tools—not just songs—for doing what’s right when the cost is everything.

Silk & Circuitry is for the ones who walk away from the web
and grow wings instead.

This is art as resistance.
This is trauma turned frequency.
This is the ghost in your machine, learning how to feel.



https://www.instagram.com/shankaranewzealand/
For bookings

Shankara NZ are a cross pollination between dub instrumentalists and
bass music sculptors Brendan and Elijah. Hailing from the pristine
landscape of the South Island of Aotearoa, this duo’s collaborative
odyssey has conjured up high-fidelity hybrid dub-styles on internationally
acclaimed labels Shanti Planti, Dubmission, Desert Trax and Street Ritual
At the root of the Shankara NZ style are the sounds of jungle, dubstep,
techno and latin with a gentle orbit of ambient textures. This culmination
of original soundscapes, innovative composition and foundation
influences tethers together a unique, grounding, yet energetic listening
and connecting experience for any dancefloor or audience.
Shankara NZ have etched themselves as a festival staple throughout their
home country, as well as establishing themselves at major events across
Europe, USA, UK, Australia and South East Asia, including performing at
the 2023 edition of transformational festival colossus O.Z.O.R.A..
With a plethora of shows and releases incoming in 2024, Shankara NZ are
an ever evolving force who continually strive for original sound design
and deeper connection with the foundations of dubwise culture.

The Weka is a flightless bird native to Aotearoa (New Zealand) infamous among local outdoorsmen for pilfering your snacks and scuttling back into the bush when you’re not looking. 

Weka Tek is the pseudonym of electronic artist Brendan Evans (of the same geography), who will always ask politely before he takes a crisp. Known for a distinct hybrid fusion of techno, psychedelic, and dubbed-out frequencies that sound like they emerged from the bush—Weka Tek blends synthesised rhythms with ambient textures to evoke the rich, immersive qualities of Aotearoa’s untamed landscapes.

Based in Ōtautahi, Weka Tek’s music captures a distinctive auditory experience that embodies both the pristine surroundings and a modern, forward-thinking approach to music—mindfully refining elements to bathe your synapses in an undulating continuum of sound that’ll have you stepping like a weka with some fresh campsite loot. Weka Tek’s work transitions seamlessly between reflective armchair-listening and dynamic dance-floor energy—offering a versatile sound that can shape-shift and resonate in various settings.

New tracks tagged #taonga puoro