How Samoan country musician TheWesternGuide made it in the mainstream

Aaron Pulemagafa, aka TheWesternGuide, at a music event in Tāmaki Makaurau. Photo / RNZ, Quin Tauetau

By RNZ

He grew up singing in church, found initial success with songs Pe Moni Ea and Siva Mai but now TheWesternGuide, AKA Aaron Pulemagafa, is a country star.

Tāmaki Makaurau musician Aaron Pulemagafa has explored a range of genres in his musical career but has found his niche in country.

“If it’s a love song, it’s easy to hear, you can hear everything they’re saying, and it’s right there, it’s not super produced.

“And I found when I started writing music like that, with that in mind, it’s got real good, so I just thought, wow, this is it. This is the natural place to be, to start making country music.”

The style sits comfortably within his vocal range, the Samoan-New Zealand musician told RNZ’s Music 101.

“I found country’s good for how I sing and how I write as well.”

The “three chords and the truth” at the heart of country music resonates with Samoan listeners, he says.

“A lot of our old classics, if we’re going even further back than Zipso, some of their stuff sounds quite country, it’s very much like a heavy guitar lead or something to drive the song, and then some lyrics, and they’re normally talking about their struggle or something that means a lot to them.”

Country artist Aaron Pulemagafa found his sound blending Nashville with Aotearoa. Photo / RNZ

His latest release is Dive Bar.

“I remember hearing the words dive bar in country music, and I was interested. I was like, what is a dive bar? So, I did a bit of research and they’re just small town pubs.

“And I thought to myself, that’s really funny, I’d be interested to know if there’s any dive bars in NZ , so I thought I’d just write a song about it.”

It’s a classic country heartbreaker, he says.

“But I think the song is more trying to deal with a heartbreak, and how you deal with that is by obviously masking your emotions with pints and spending some nights at a bar, I guess.”

Patumāhoe Rugby Club’s bar stood in for the dive bar in the video. It’s Pulemagafa’s local club and he knows the place well, helping out with promotions there.

“I was thinking about how I wanted it to look and feel. And I wanted it to be a little bit grubby, but also, I wanted to look like a bloke who’s at a bar just in Aotearoa.”

In the video his look is decidedly Southland rather than Nashville, he says.

“I didn’t want to wear the cowboy hat. I wanted to wear something a bit more visually relatable to us.

“So, we just wore a normal hat. And then, the shirt, just to feel like one of the blokes finishing a hard day’s work.”

There’s plenty more songs to come, he says, and he plans a more disciplined release schedule in future.

“This year, I think I’m going to focus on getting them out to the public to listen to, and maybe not visit so many sports bars, I guess.”

- RNZ