Womad 2020: 10 Questions with Troy Kingi

Troy Kingi will be playing at Womad 2020. Photo / Supplied

Troy Kingi's distinctive sonic quality and soulful vocals saw him named Best Māori Artist and Best Roots Artist for 2019. We catch up with him ahead of his Womad 2020 performance.

1. Tell us who you are and where you're from.

Troy Kingi from the Bay of Islands

2. Describe your sound in one sentence.

Multi.

3. What do you think is the key thing Womad festival artists have in common?

Free spirits.

4. Which of your songs is your favourite to perform live and why?

Aztechknowledgey- it goes hard

5. What can the Womad audience expect from your performance at the festival?

A super sweaty Mr Kingi working his ass off

6. What was your first reaction to knowing you'd be playing Womad New Zealand?

*LOVE HEART EYES EMOJI*

7. What does success as a musician mean to you?

Being able to share your art and get paid for it (sometimes).

8. What would you tell a young person wanting to be a successful musician?

Find what makes you unique and hone your craft.

9. Who or what excites you most about music right now?

Creating, always been my biggest motivator.

10. You can only fit one album by another artist on your device — what is it?

Shuggie Otis - Inspiration Information

• Womad is a three-day festival of world music, arts and dance to be held TSB Bowl of Brooklands, Pukekura Park, New Plymouth, from March 13-15.

Artist performing (in alphabetical order:

Albi & The Wolves (Aotearoa/NZ), Blind Boys of Alabama (USA), Catrin Finch & Seckou Keita (Wales/Senegal), Destyn Maloya (Réunion), Ezra Collective (UK), Flor de Toloache (Mexico/USA), Hiatus Kaiyote (Australia), Hot Potato Band (Australia), Ifriqiyya Electrique (Maghreb/Europe), KermesZ à l'Est (Belgium), Kim So Ra (South Korea), King Ayisoba (Ghana), L.A.B. (Aotearoa/NZ), Laura Marling (UK), Liniker e os Caramelows (Brazil), L Subramaniam (India), Marina Sattir & Fońes (Greece/Sudan), Minyo Crusaders (Japan), Orquesta Akokán (Cuba), Reb Fountain (Aotearoa/NZ), RURA (Scotland), Salif Keita (Mali), Soaked Oats (Aotearoa/NZ), The Black Quartet (Aotearoa/NZ), Trio Da Kali (Mali), Troy Kingi (Aotearoa/NZ) Tuuletar (Finland), Ziggy Marley (Jamaica).