STACK NZ February 2017 Issue 81

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T he brainchild of musician and
entrepreneur Maui Dalvanius Prime, the
groundbreaking mix of Te Reo Māori and
hip hop beats stayed in the NZ charts for 34
weeks and outsold smash hits like Thriller and I
Just Called to Say I Loved You. Poi E resonated
with young and old across the land, including
writer/director Tearepa Kahi (Mt Zion).
“I grew up in Papanui in
Christchurch, where there wasn’t a huge Maori
presence,” he recalls. “When I used to visit
the whanau in Pukekohe, that’s where I felt
strong and confident, but in Christchurch it was
a different feeling altogether. “But when Poi E
came out – I must have been 7 years old – I saw
this young boy dressed in his maro, standing
with his whānau doing those actions and
he looked so awesome! I felt like I saw
myself. And then, as the video clip
played on, I saw who I wanted to be:
Joe Moana on top of the waka doing
the bop. So, in this one video clip I
saw myself.”
Poi E the movie traces how the
iconic song came to be and mixes archive
footage and recordings of the late Dalvanius
with new interviews with musicians such as
The Topp Twins, Don McGlashan and Annie
Crummer, who talk about the influence of the
song on their lives and careers. There’s also
contributions from the likes of Taika Waititi, who
explains to Stan Walker what life was like back in
the ‘80s, and the Patea Maori Club themselves;
the song was released to aid a town devastated
by the closing of the local freezing works.
Kahi says one of the things he learned
in making this film is that the song wasn’t
manufactured, like a lot of today’s music. ”It
actually came from a real place and from real
people,” he adds. “This story is about a person
[Dalvanius] who is going through a huge identity
shift, dealing with the passing of his mother
and adjusting to returning home from the bright
lights overseas. And it’s these people who are
suffering economically and wondering what’s
the next step because the job that their families
have done for the last 40 years is over.
“So for me, it’s been getting to understand
each of these places and all of the people
involved that gives this song its place. It’s not
just a story about a chart-topper, the first Te Reo
Māori song that hit number one. It’s actually
a story about what happened when all those
people came together to create some magic.”
Poi E: The Story of Our Song is is due out on DVD on
February 15.
How the Patea Maori Club's 1984 hit became New Zealand's unoffial national anthem. Words Adam Colby
On paper, the idea of Flying Nun icons
The Bats recording at Ben Edwards’
noted Lyttelton studio – best known
as a home for country acts like Marlon
Williams and Tami Neilson – might seem a
little odd. But it actually kind of makes sense.
For starters, The Bats are based in the South
Island. And while they are usually classified
as an 'indie rock' act, there has always been a
distinct folk/country flavour to their work.
The Sitting Room’s laidback vibe has also
been a drawcard for other artists and The Bats
frontman Robert Scott agrees it was nice
place to record. "[Ben] has obviously done
good things with Marlon and the other people
he has worked with,” he told STACK. “Yeah, it
was pretty good there: it’s relaxing and there’s
a great view.”
Nevertheless, the new album The Deep Set
is unmistakably a Bats album, stacked with
their trademark jangle-y pop; as Scott notes:
“We don’t want to reinvent the wheel.”
Why would they? Formed in 1982 in the
aftermath of the first break-up of The Clean,
The Bats have quietly established themselves
as one of Flying Nun’s best known acts and
have retained the same line-up of Scott,
Kaye Woodward (guitar), Paul Kean (bass)
and Malcolm Grant (drums) throughout their
30-year-plus existence.
Like The Clean (who Scott continues to play
with), they not exactly prolific – The Deep Set
is only their ninth studio album – but that’s
probably one of the secrets to their success.
“We’re very good at making sure we have
lots of time off!” laughs Scott. “That definitely
helps. It means we are very fresh when we
come back for a project: it's been nearly five
years between this and the last one. We
definitely don’t live in each other’s pockets and
tour all the time like some bands do.”
However, Scott keeps busy during the
downtime. As well as The Clean, he has
released a number of solo albums, the latest
being The Green House (2014), which featured
a number of collaborations with Tiny Ruin’s
Holly Fullbrook.
“The solo stuff gives me the chance to
stretch out and try a few things that I wouldn’t
normally do,” he says. “I take more chances
with songs that won’t necessarily have to be
played live.
“I am looking at doing another solo record
because I really enjoyed that process. There
will possibly be some Clean action, but I can’t
confirm anything about that [laughs].”
The Deep Set by The Bats is out now.
RESITTING THE SOUND
POI E: THE STORY OF OUR SONG
The Bats' Robert Scott on recording their new LP The Deep Set at
Lyttleton's in-demand Sitting Room studio. Words John Ferguson
04 FEBRUARY 2017
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Poi E: The Story
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