Ngahiwi Apanui


Ngahiwi Apanui emerged in the mid-1980s with Aotearoa, a band that championed te reo Māori in its songs (‘Maranga Ake Ai’) and actions. In the decades since, the roles Apanui has held have continued that vision, in broadcasting, the arts, music, education – and his own music making. Since 2015 he has been CEO of Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori, the Maori Language Commission.

Apanui (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Hine, Te Whānau a-Apanui, Ngāti Kahungunu, Tūhoe) was brought up by his mother on the East Cape, the youngest of several brothers in a large family. “She formed my idea of what strength and power was,” he told Yadana Saw of Radio NZ in 2019.

Radio with Pictures - 1985 reggae special with Aotearoa, Dread, Beat & Blood and Herbs. Aotearoa's set: from 1m40s to 13m19s.
He Reo Tawhito: a conversation about Mōteatea with Ngahiwi Apanui-Barr (2024)
Hugh Lynn's four-band tour in 1986, headlined by Herbs. Hugh Lynn was a driving force in the renaissance of Māori music in the 1970s and 1980s, with his Mascot Studios providing cheap recording time to the likes of Dalvanius, Prince Tui Teka and many others.
Ngahiwi Apanui, left, with Denys Mason, May 2018. 
Photo credit: Ngahiwi Apanui Collection
Aotearoa, He Waiata Mo Te Iwi (Jayrem LP, 1987). 
Ngahiwi Apanui (centre) and The Aotearoa Allstars. 
Photo credit: Ngahiwi Apanui Collection
Aotearoa, from Rip It Up, April 1987. Ngahiwi Apanui is second from right; Joe Williams is on the far left. 
Ngahiwi Apanui - Vision for contemporary Māori music (2019)
Ngahiwi Apanui in his role as CEO of Te Taura Whiri i te reo Māori – the Māori Language Commission –  photographed at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington, c.2019 
Photo credit: Rebekah Parsons / RNZ
NZ Student Arts Council poster for Herbs, Aotearoa and Dread, Beat & Blood, 1985.
Ngahiwi Apanui on what makes New Zealand music unique (2019)
Herbs, Ardijah, Aotearoa and Dread, Beat & Blood. Taken in Whangarei at the last gig of a national tour with all four bands on 29 July 1986. The promoter was Hugh Lynn.
Photo credit: Simon Lynch collection
NZ Student Arts Council poster for Aotearoa's Tihei Mauriora Tour, 1986.
Ngahiwi Apanui, Te Hono Ki Te Kainga (The Link With The Homeland) - Jayrem album, 1989
Ngahiwi Apanui - Kaupapa Māori and Reggae Music Part 1 (2011)
Ngahiwi Apanui on stage at a Waitangi Day concert, Okahu Bay, 2006.
Photo credit: Ngahiwi Apanui Collection
Ngahiwi Apanui - Kaupapa Māori and Reggae Music Part 2 (2011)
Ana Hī! - Ngā Taonga Mai Tawhiti (2016)
Ngahiwi Apanui, Tu Mai Ra (Jayrem 7" single, 1988)
Aotearoa - Maranga Ake Ai (live version, 1985)
Ngahiwi Apanui, second from left, with The Aotearoa Allstars, c.2019. 
Photo credit: Ngahiwi Apanui Collection
Aotearoa - Maranga Ake Ai (1985)
Ngahiwi Apanui, far left, performing with his band The Aotearoa Allstars at the Botanical Gardens, Wellington, New Years' Eve, 2019.  
Photo credit: Ngahiwi Apanui Collection
Ngahiwi Apanui, E Tau Nei (Jayrem CD, 2002)
Ngahiwi Apanui performing at Titahi Bay, 2015. 
Photo credit: Ngahiwi Apanui Collection
Ngahiwi Apanui: The Right to Language (2017)
Aotearoa Allstars performing Haruru Mai live at Ahi Ka/Matariki Festival (2021)
Aotearoa at the Musicians' Club, Auckland, 1987. In the centre, with guitar, is Ngahiwi Apanui; to the right of him is Moana Maniapoto; at bottom left is Kevin Hotu.
Photo credit: Ngahiwi Apanui Collection
Trivia:

In 2016 Apanui, with James Illingworth and Kirsten Te Rito, wrote 'Ana Hī!' to support NZ's Olympic Team in Rio de Janeiro. It was recorded by Wellington kapa haka group Ngā Taonga Mai Tawhiti with an all-star group of musicians.

Labels:

Jayrem

Funded by

Partners with