Maori Artist Rob Ruha to unveil waiata from SURVIVANCE in multi-cast live stream
TONIGHT, 11/21 @ 10pm PST:
Join us in supporting Rob Ruha - Maori tribal leader, composer, and musical visionary, and an honored guest at Wishtoyo Chumash Village with the Tuku Iho delegation last month - as he unveils waiata from SURVIVANCE in multi-cast live stream.
Iconic Kiwi artist Rob Ruha will reveal a selection of waiata from SURVIVANCE, his new album with The Witch Dr., in a live studio session streamed across partners tonight at 10pm PST. Link below!
The multi-cast live stream is an online community of host partners, where viewers can watch at 10.00pm. Host partners include Radio New Zealand Music, The Wireless, The Spinoff, Maori Television, The Iwi radio Network, (Tiare FM Tahiti - to be confirmed) and of course Rob Ruha Online Youtube and Facebook live.
Audiences around the world will get a sneak peak of SURVIVANCE, performed live at The Lab in Auckland and produced by Velvet Stone Media, ahead of its official release on Friday, December 1.
Co-hosted by Kirsten Johnstone (RNZ) and Darylene Rogers (Iwi Radio), the 35-minute online broadcast will include the album’s lead single ‘Kalega’, which is currently in Spotify’s NZ viral chart. Watch the video here. There will also be a live Q&A session, which audiences can participate in via Ruha’s official Facebook page.
One of Aotearoa’s foremost producers of powerful kapa haka traditions of song and indigeneity, Ruha launched his solo career in 2014 and gained international recognition for his unique style of music, which became known as ‘haka soul’. He went on to win countless awards, including ‘Best Māori Album’ (Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards 2014 and 2016), ‘Best Songwriter’, ‘Best Māori Song’, ‘Best Male Solo Artist’ (Waiata Māori Music Awards) and the prestigious APRA Maioha Award in 2014 and 2016 for his waiata ‘Kariri’ and ‘Tiki Tapu.’ This year, Ruha received the honour of being named as one of five Laureate Award recipients in the Arts Foundation Awards.
Now the esteemed artist from New Zealand’s East Coast has embarked on a collaborative project with some of the country’s finest musicians (Darren Mathiassen from Shapeshifter, James Illingworth from Bliss n Eso, Tyna Keelan from The Nok and Johnny Lawrence from Electric Wire Hustle) AKA The Witch Dr.
The results are the stunning 12-track bilingual album SURVIVANCE, which strikes at the very heart of issues faced by Ruha’s Māori nation, from a position of self belief and self reliance.
And in keeping with the album’s message, selected songs will get their first public airing in this Wednesday night’s live session. The broadcast will offer a ‘behind the scenes’ glimpse into what a studio session with Ruha and The Witch Dr. entails and serves as a way to unify diverse audiences from around the world - as they tune in, at the same time, in cyberspace!
“Our hope is that this collaborative content sharing experience will set a precedent for more future opportunities to share cultural perspectives, together forging the new ‘enlightened’ frontiers of our Aotearoa nation,” says Ruha.
Rob Ruha and The Witch Dr. – SURVIVANCE – released Friday December 1.