Teenage indie band Moberf, from Kerikeri, performing at the Northland Smokefreerockquest competition.
Teenage indie band Moberf, from Kerikeri, performing at the Northland Smokefreerockquest competition.
Two of Northland’s best original bands are coming together for a night of “catchy melodic music” that will appeal to audiences across generations.
Four-piece veteran rock band Te Aroha and teenage indie band Moberf will play a one-off gig called Kāinga Tupu [home-grown] at the Turner Centre in Kerikeri on July 20.
Te Aroha’s Dave Nash, from Riverhead Records, has been mentoring the Moberf youngsters, all students from Kerikeri High School, since January.
“These guys are great at what they do, and many people think we’re pretty good too, and I thought, ‘Why not combine the two?’” Nash said.
“The two different generations, the youngsters and the older guys. We want to bring good catchy melodic music, to show original music is alive and well in Northland.
“There are a number of good songwriting bands here and it’s time to present them to the people.”
Te Aroha formed last year when Nash - an award-winning songwriter who has been recording music since 1995 and making music videos for 20 years - joined up with Cliff Royal on bass, singer-songwriter and guitar player Tony Harrison, and drummer Paul Lafotanoa.
Moberf - Ani Palmer on guitar and vocals, Luc Lawler on lead guitar, drummer Izzy Cannon and bassist Freddy Jarman - formed in 2022 to enter the Northland Smokefreerockquest competition.
After reaching the finals, they went on to win the People’s Choice Award at the Northland Battle of the Bands, then played on the main stage at the Whangārei Christmas in the Park event.
Te Aroha (pictured) are playing alongside up-and-coming band Moberf, made up of Kerikeri High School students, at the Turner Centre.
The band continued writing an impressive catalogue of original material, and their song Alone won Best Song at last year’s Northland Smokefreerockquest finals.
They subsequently made a studio recording of the track and released it on Spotify.
Earlier this year, Nash helped the band record their half a dozen songs live which led to thousands of streams of their songs Purple and Elephant with a Sword on YouTube.
Nash, a singer-songwriter who plays guitar, said he was impressed and inspired by the teenagers, and wanted to encourage them with the Turner Centre event.
“They deserve it. These guys blew me away. I thought it was a real nice idea, because you’ve got a cross-pollination both ways - they can learn from us, and we can learn new tricks from them too.
“There’s no ageism in art.”
At the upcoming gig, Moberf will play a full set of the original material they’ve been working on for the past two years.
Moberf will play a gig alongside Te Aroha at the Turner Centre in Kerikeri on July 20.
And 16-year-old Palmer, who writes many of the lyrics, described their music as “indie rock” and was looking forward to the concert.
“It’s pretty cool ... any gig is awesome,” she said.
Palmer said music was a great outlet for intense emotions.
“Music is an outlet for everything. We don’t try to go for a particular sound, we put together what sounds good.
“One of our songs can be the funniest,[most] random song ever, and the next can be devastating. It’s a rollercoaster, but it’s fun.”
Moberf placed third in the Smokefreerockquest regional finals at Forum North, Whangārei on June 8.
For tickets to Kāinga Tupu, click on Riverhead Records’ Facebook ads or visit www.turnercentre.co.nz.
Jenny Ling is a news reporter and features writer for the Northern Advocate. She has a special interest in covering roading, lifestyle, business, and animal welfare issues.
