WOMAD 2009 Featured Artist: Moana and the Tribe

WOMAD 2009 Featured Artist:
Moana and the Tribe (NZ)

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Moana has consistently pushed the boundaries of Maori music in both her recordings and live performances, fusing taonga, puoro, haka, chants with soul, reggae and classical influences ‘to produce her own blend of traditional and contemporary styles without compromising either. She draws on her identity as a Maori woman, with a background in traditional performing arts, to write songs that still manage to resonate with global audiences.

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Moana and the Tribe formed in 2002 and quickly cemented their reputation as one of the most successful indigenous groups to emerge from Aotearoa and a regular feature on the European festival circuit. They have played around 150 concerts all over the world.

The Tribe is a fluid group of talented performers, filmmakers and managers. Usually it consists of eight on stage performers, a team of two working on the video projections and management.

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In 2004, Moana became the first non-American to win a major U.S.A songwriting contest with her song Moko. Moana beat over 11,000 compositions to win the Grand Jury Prize of the International Songwriting Competition.

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