bReview: Boiler Room Aotearoa
Photography + Words by Nicholas Lindstrom
Te ao Māori had been answering questions all week. When the divisive Treaty Principles Bill asked questions about Māori sovereignty and Indigenous rights, Te ao Māori provided a definitive answer. Some estimate that over 50,000 pairs of feet hit the pavement on the last leg of the nationwide hīkoi. There seemed to be only one question left; What is the proper way to end such a momentous week for Māori? The answer was a different kind of feet hitting the concrete.
Nearly all movements for Māori rights have been led by women. Unsurprisingly, it was women who organised the unofficial hīkoi after-party. The world-famous and London-based Lady Shaka returned to Tāmaki Makaurau to present the second installment of Boiler Room Aotearoa.The event was a collaboration between musical collective Pulotu Underworld and international dance music giant Boiler Room. Lady Shaka has had strong ties to the iconic Boiler Room franchise with her most recent Boiler Room set amassing over 200,000 views on YouTube. It seemed only natural that Pulotu Underworld and Boiler Room would collaborate for the world’s first ever fully Māori Boiler Room. The introduction of Indigenous electronic and club music to the mainstream has been rapid, leaving little time to explore the fundamental features necessary for decolonising the dance floor. I was excited to be able to be a part of this historic event.
Perhaps, the first feature of Māori electronic music I noticed was an abundance of colour. The already kaleidoscopic Karangahape Road was flooded with red, black and white the night of Boiler Room Aotearoa.Tino Rangatiratanga flags adorned the nightscape; draped across bodies and hoisted on makeshift flagpoles. The line of Indigenous futuristic fits extended around K Road and down Pitt Street, shifting with anticipatory energy as we waited to enter The Studio.
Māori electronic music's most salient feature is, of course, the centring of Indigenous creatives. True to that ethos, this event featured a lineup of all Māori artists. Seymore (not Seymour) opened the night’s revelry with a set that included tastes of different genres, but it was his inclusion of Ardijah's 'Silly Love Songs’ that received the strongest reaction.
The Katayanagi Twins were second to take the stage. The sibling duo went back-to-back on the decks, and their infectious joy radiated out into the venue. Their set paid homage to African American musical influences that included Kanye West cuts and NERD mixes.
Hip Hop Collective MOKOMOKAI took to the Boiler Room booth next.The trio's performance was a love letter to Kiwi Hip Hop.The performance had cypher energy as multiple MCs took sovereignty of the mic. There was an unapologetic defiance imbued in the music as ‘TUMEKE’ proved to be a crowd favourite. The crowd’s excitement was rewarded by guest appearances from talented MC’s Brandn Shiraz and MELODOWNZ.
Poppa Jax took up the mantle fourth and guided the crowd on a sonic journey of club edits and reggaeton. However, it was the club edit of ‘Haere Mai ki a Maniapoto’ that elicited the loudest and most rapturous response. It was a surreal experience to hear a crowd sing along to a Reo Māori waiata while the Boiler Room logo glowed from above. This moment encompasses the other feature of Māori electronic music - sets that pay homage to the waiata that was created by Māori for Māori.
Caru embraced this feature to its fullest as he took to the ones and twos for a set that traversed the musical history of Aotearoa. The enigmatic and extremely talented DJ delivered a sonic sermon on the power of kiwi music with a set that included tracks from Scribe, Che Fu and many other famous Kiwi artists. He even slipped in his own remix of Lady Shaka’s anthemic song ‘E Tu’. It was a joy to see the smile on her face as the opening bars of the song ignited the dancefloor around the booth.
The focus then shifted from the traditional Boiler Room booth set up to the stage. There were yells of adulation as Te Kura Huia took to the stage in the sickest iridescent jumpsuit I had ever seen. She fully embraced the title of ‘Badmanawahine’ as she shimmered on stage.
Master of the underground MOKOTRON was up next. The centering of Taonga puoro made the set feel like a sonic baptism. Tracks from their forthcoming album washed over the crowd, delighting old fans and intriguing future fans.
ATARANGI was tasked with closing the night. A task they took to with no hesitation or fear. The Naarm (Melbourne) based DJ was surrounded by a community that had grown with them during their early stint as a feature of the Tāmaki electronic scene. It felt very special to witness Lady Shaka come out from behind the booth, taking in the final set with the crowd and celebrating the talent of the artists that Pulotu Underworld introduced to the Boiler Room platform.
Perhaps the defining feature of Indigenous electronic music is its fluidity. It feels wrong to try to distill its totality into any singular element. The diversity of the crowd is an indication that the movement encompasses more than just a certain group of people. Sonically, the night was emblematic of Boiler Room at its most eclectic. However, the common thread of proud Māoritanga that ran through each set, making this night a historical first in Aotearoa's club music history. Events like Boiler Room Aotearoa allow space for artists to help mold this musical movement, their touch leaving indelible marks that allow for future artists to be proud of their musical lineage. It is clear that the intention should always be a focus on Te Ao Māori. As MOKOTRON told me outside the venue “We’re not an afterthought, we are not the cherry on top of the cake. We are the whole fucking cake.”
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A special thanks to Boiler Room for having us along! Listen back to Nicholas' interviews with Caru & MOKOTRON on the night
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