Upper Hutt Posse Announced For Hoki Mai Ki Te Hihiri

After the gut punch last minute cancellations of all four Pōneke acts due to perform at Te Hihiri Matariki last month, 1:12 Records have gifted Hoki Mai Ki Te Hihiri - Return To The Spark. Restoring their headliner spot in the lineup are Aotearoa hip hop legends Upper Hutt Posse, alongside five freshly announced acts Memory Foam, Whyfi, Hagseed, Half/Time and returning champ Roy Irwin. If you had your heart broken by missing Dartz at the Matariki edition of Te Hihiri, that heart can be mended in Tāmaki this Saturday at Deep Dive festival.

Hoki Mai Ki Te Hihiri will be lighting up Whammy Bar in less than two weeks, with Rob Tuwhare (Ngā Puhi) returning to host the evening and share readings of his father's writing, poet Hone Tuwhare. Guarantee your spot at another vibrant evening highlighting "Māori identity, independent creative spirit, manākitanga and whanaungatanga". Tickets here...

Hoki Mai Ki Te Hihiri – Return to The Spark
Saturday 17th July - Whammy Bar, Auckland
Featuring... Upper Hutt Posse, Memory Foam, Whyfi, Hagseed, Half/Time & Roy Irwin
Tickets available HERE via UTR

Imagine seeing this stone cold classic performed live...

Whyfi aka the coolest band in Tāmaki as demonstrated by their video for 'Theme Song'...

Press release:

Today, 1:12 Records and Whammy Bar present Hoki mai Ki Te Hihiri – Return to The Spark, feat. performances from Upper Hutt Posse, Memory Foam, Whyfi, Hagseed, Half/Time and Roy Irwin.

Whammy Bar, 17 July 2021 Tickets onsale today from undertheradar.co.nz.

Fair to say 1:12 and Whammy were devastated when Te Hihiri headliners Upper Hutt Posse were forced to withdraw from our 25th June Matariki show due to Wellington, Wairarapa and Kāpiti Coast being put in alert level two on the eve of Te Hihiri.

Fortunately, the kaitiaki group have rallied and we have been able to reschedule Upper Hutt Posse for a new Auckland date on 17 July, opening the way for a second very special night celebrating Māori independent rock’n’roll and featuring an all-new lineup of fantastic bands 1:12 and Whammy are excited to present Hoki Mai Ki Te Hihiri – Return To The Spark, a showcase of Māori identity, independent creative spirit, manākitanga and whanaungatanga.

In Tāmaki Makaurau a kaitiaki group of Māori band members from the 1:12 / Whammy community developed the kaupapa of Te Hihiri - a Māori kupu (word) for “the spark”. In this case the spark is an idea, the idea of bringing Māori musicians who play loud, rebellious music together to celebrate Matariki. Contact was made with fantastic bands in Poneke and Ōtaki who have strong Māori identity and the spark grew.

6 bands, 1 night, hosted by kaumātua Rob Tuwhare.

Rob Tuwhare (Ngā Puhi) Rob is the son of poet Hone Tuwhare. As the Hone Tuwhare Charitable Trust chair, Rob is a passionate kaitiaki of his father’s creative legacy. Rob is a member of the project’s kaitiaki group and has generously agreed to oversee the night's event as MC. Music performances will be interlaced with Rob’s readings of his father’s poetry.

Upper Hutt Posse (Raumati) We are super psyched to have rescheduled Aotearoa music royalty Upper Hutt Posse (Poneke) to headline this event. In November 2018 Upper Hutt Posse were inducted into the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame | Te Whare Taonga Puoro o Aotearoa. Their pioneering hit E-Tū was a game-changer for the 1:12 whanau. Fiercely political and always ready to rock the party, their hybrid of rap/reggae is a rare treat for Tamaki audiences.

Memory Foam (Tāmaki Makaurau) One of the best live bands tearing it up in Tamaki Makaurau, Memory Foam is our dirty cities' own missing link between German ‘kraut rock’ royalty Neu, American ‘stoner rockers’ Fu Manchu and ‘space rock’ pioneers Hawkwind. Singer Yuko Miyoshi’s presence is commanding, the band solid yet unpredictable. Punk attitude with bi-lingual songs about cat food and aliens.

Whyfi (Tāmaki Makaurau) Larsen Winiata Tito-Taylor AKA Whyfi is the initiator, in-house producer and a recording star for Noa Records, our favourite Tāmaki Makaurau record label that is not 1:12. His soulful, free-ranging, approach makes him hard to pin down and he’s all the stronger for it. His 2020 album Trash 2 brings to mind vintage superfly era Curtis Mayfield one minute and Alan Vega’s Suicide the next. Thrilling!

Hagseed (Tāmaki Makaurau) As tough as reinforced concrete, Hagseed are absolute wāhine toa. Caitlin (bass) and Cee (drums) bring the rumble, whilst Alanna provides the attack. A band to be feared and loved for all its raw beauty.

Half/Time (Kirikiriroa) The solo project of rock’n’roll musicologist and doctoral candidate Wairehu Grant, Half/Time brings the post-punk goth glamour to our line-up. Choppy rhythms and space echo guitar with docu=drama vocal delivery. Time to invest in some hairspray and dye your hair black again...

Roy Irwin (Tāmaki Makaurau)) Roy Irwin is a star. The one-man garage-punk hit machine has released somewhere in the vicinity of 8 LPs in the last 10 years. His first 1:12 LP S.O.D.A featured Spotify hit 'Demons Cave', a track that clocked up millions of plays and rightfully introduced him to the larger world outside his bedroom.

Artwork by Huriana Kopeke-Te Aho