Mitchell’s Plain Music Academy had the opportunity to engage with New Zealand musician and producer, Tiki Taane, about song and culture.
Mr Taane, 45, spoke to the academy’s music students on Saturday October 1 at a church in Woodlands.
He left school at 14, started a band at 15 and began touring the world at around 19.
“Music is a way to express myself and some of the trauma. I put it in music, explore and express it,” he said.
He does hip-hop, reggae, bass music and house music, among others.
“Indigenous cultures can connect and we believe in the spiritual world. We resonate with Bob Marley and his messages of the struggle. I wrote the song Music has saved me,” Mr Taane said.
There are also gangs in New Zealand – he got involved in this and involved in crime. Music was his way out. “I didn’t know how to do it but I knew music was the thing that would change my life,” he said.
It’s good for the community to keep going and do what needs to be done, he said.
He played the pūtātara, a type of trumpet used by the Māori people of New Zealand. At times it would be used to signal from one tribe to the next, also known as the shell-phone.
He also played the kōauau, which is a flute. It is a bone, made from a cow or even pigs at times. He played the female flute, which is usually played when someone passes away.
Music student, Dale Mellem, said he learnt a lot from Mr Taane and he will value the sounds shared by him.
Fellow student, Nathan Jacobs, said hearing the sounds from New Zealand was refreshing and in ways similar to South Africa’s. It was fun learning from Mr Taane, said Nathan.
Academy music instructor, Sherri Lavon Adams, said Mr Taane left them with a strong sense of recognition, respect and appreciation towards the power of music and the people who actively participate in the creation of it.
“Tiki was entertaining, approachable and relatable, not forgetting ultra cool. His stories of the importance of music in his life and Maori musical heritage was very interesting. His passion for music and love of the art form is so transparent and inspirational – he left us yearning for just a little more time with him and his music,” she said.
One of the longest and most respected cultural festivals WOMAD (World of Music, Arts and Dance), came to Cape Town this week. Founded 40 years ago, WOMAD brings together artists from all over the globe for a celebration of the performing arts.
For the first time in the event’s history, South Africans get to experience the cultural and music festival with the annual WOMAD South Africa Safari hosted in the Western Cape and Gauteng this October.
While the Cape Town leg of the WOMAD South Africa Safari took place on Saturday October 1 and Sunday October 2 with free live performances at multiple venues at the V&A Waterfront, residents of Johannesburg and Soweto will experience the festival with various activities this week, culminating in the final live performance of the WOMAD South African Safari at Johannesburg’s Paterson Park this Saturday October 8.
“Cape Town is a city with unrivalled culture and diversity, boasting a heady mix of old and new. Nothing speaks to this more than the city’s creative, arts and entertainment scene,” said Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis.
