Hirini Melbourne & Richard Nunns with Aroha Yates-Smith: Te Hekenga-a-rangi
By Tony Parker
'Te Hekenga-a-rangi' is the follow up to 1994's 'Te Ku Te Whe', the groundbreaking album from Melbourne and Nunns that consisted of music made entirely on taonga poüro - traditional Maori instruments. But whereas 'Te Ku Te Whe' was an album of songs that were raw and masculine, this is a gentler work where instruments have been layered, sounds have been looped and tracks generally run into each other. This sees the duo, plus vocalist Aroha Yates-Smith, exploring the sonic potential of the instruments in a manner that often dispenses with traditional song structures and gives the feel of one continuous piece of music. The overall effect is almost ambient without resorting to new ageisms and is at times haunting and extremely moving. Elegantly packaged as are all Rattle releases, this CD also comes with a DVD of footage shot during the recording and is a fitting celebration of the life of Hirini Melbourne who died shortly after recording finished in January of this year. Haere ra Hirini.
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