Each week we invite music lovers to share the songs that have soundtracked their lives. This week it's Māori music icon Moana Maniapoto, who will host brand new current affairs show Te Ao with Moana, premiering 8pm Tuesday on Māori Television.
E Ipo (Prince Tui Teka)
Our father, Nepia, wasthe soundtrack to our lives. He always had a guitar, he was an awesome singer - he and his brothers would sing all the time, their harmonies were quite outstanding and their centrepiece would be E Ipo. One of Dad's brothers would even do the whole thing in the middle, you know: "My darling Missy" - that was such a crack-up. That was evocative of the way that they would host people and entertainment was very much a part of that hosting. They would sing non-stop from the time visitors sat down for a kai at Waitetoko Marae until they finished. E Ipo was their showstopper.
When I grew up, I didn't hear Māori on the radio or see it on television so, like many of my generation, I gravitated to those we related to the most. As a singer, I wanted to be black. Chaka Khan was my girl. This is my favourite song of hers. I love the build in Ain't Nobody with that synth and the guitar riff. Her dirty, sexy vocals heading off into the stratosphere, soaring across those chord progressions – damn she can sing! Funky-as.
War (Bob Marley)
Bob Marley's been hugely inspirational to me. His was the first concert that I ever saw. My mate and I hitch-hiked from Hamilton to Auckland and got picked up in a very dodgy-looking car. The guys turned out to be Mormon elders so they weren't as dodgy as they looked. They dropped us off at the gate at Western Springs and then we got to see Bob Marley, and War was one of the songs that he played. The lyric of that is pretty much out of a speech by Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie, which he delivered to the United Nations - it's a very clever way of putting a speech to rhythm and keeping the sentiment alive.
Nga Iwi E (Hirini Melbourne)
When I was at university that was the time of the Springbok tour, so you know, I was part of the student movement. I was young and fresh and following along. My uni years were full of protest marches, rallies and sit-ins with "debriefings" at the Kiwi Tavern before we hit the clubs - where I'd sometimes be moonlighting as a singer - then a garage party. And Nga Iwi E became the protest anthem of all protest anthems, and at every decent protest I've ever been on since, that song is sung. That song defined those times for me. It's all about sovereignty, women standing up for their rights, unity and solidarity, so it's really cool.
Power of Love (Delle)
My band Moana & the Tribe have played alongside some massive acts across Europe and it was empowering to hear other bands fusing language, genre and culture - groups like Dub Incorporation. But Seeed (Germany) are hands down the most electrifying act I've seen live, with a cast of thousands on stage. I have their single Blink Blink on my party playlist. So I'm sneaking in Delle - one of the lead singers of Seeed - because his remake of this Frankie Goes to Hollywood classic is very cool.
The Great Divide (Jon Toogood)
I was part of Revolutions (Auckland Arts Festival) with Jon Toogood, Rob Ruha and Warren Maxwell. Each of us contributed songs of our own that had a political kaupapa. It was such an enriching, fun and challenging experience. Jon wrote this song after seeing the huge line-up of people outside the City Mission one night in Auckland. It's great when Shihad do it, but acoustically, it's even more lyrically and melodically haunting.
I Put a Spell On You (Alice Smith)
Nina Simone was a monster for so many reasons, an "artivist"; a complex creature full of passion and talent. I love the whole of the Nina Revisited Album/A Tribute to Nina Simone album. Thrash it. This version of one of her classics by jazz singer Alice Smith is absolutely sublime. I just think it's the most evocative kind of arrangement and her voice! It's not like there's a huge variation on the lyric but the way she delivers it, it's really emotional and heartfelt and I think there's a very simple kind of arrangement underneath that lets the voice come through. I think it's really clever.
