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HUI-A: Got to Live EP

Established in London in 2006, Hui-a meld traditional Maori instrumentation with dancefloor friendly rhythms. There’s a danger of replicating the ubiquitous mid-’90s ambient ethnic trance of Deep Forest with this approach and the EP does seem familiar in places. Watery keyboard washes usher in a new-age feel, but the ennui fades as rolling snares snap into action and fierce haka chants add bite. Jerome Kavanagh’s taonga puoro inject haunting and captivating textures and Ben Mullon’s production is slick, crisp and clear. The package has two parts, and a second remix disc offers the set’s most affecting piece, Hutia Te Rito, which wears a warm ambience gathered around some attractive acoustic guitar and plentiful hand percussion. This track appears to be constructed primarily with instruments comprised of wood, steel and skin, and breathes better than more heavily synthesised numbers. Some of the ‘singing treasures’ featured on the recording are now British museum pieces, so ‘Got To Live’ is subtly political, as well as a spiritually resonant work of aroha for its makers.

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