Aro Announce Nationwide 'He Wai' EP Release Tour

Inspired by their relationship to te taiao (our environment), Aro are celebrating their third EP He Wai with seven intimate shows at venues by bodies of water, from harbour cities to riverside towns. He Wai is out September 3rd, the day before husband and wife duo Charles (Ngāpuhi, Te Rarawa, Ngāti Te Ata, Ngāti Mutunga) and Emily Looker embark on the celebratory tour, coinciding with this year's Te Wiki o te Reo Māori and annual Māori language challenge Mahuru Māori. Aro continue to weave Te Reo into their songwriting on project number three of five, taking their electronic pop, RnB and jazz waiata to schools as an educational resource, with support from the NZ Music Commission. Join the Lookers this spring everywhere from Ōtepoti to Matamata, with a final stop at the 2021 Wellington Folk Festival...

Aro He Wai EP Release Tour

Tickets available HERE via UTR*

Set to the rhythm of their pēpi's (who's joining the tour!) heartbeat, watch the joyous clip for 'Baby Beat'...

Press release:

Bilingual duo Aro, are taking their music on the road this spring to celebrate and share the stories of our waters, in support of their latest project, & EP release ‘He Wai’. The tour intentionally coincides with Māhuru Māori and Te Wiki o te Reo Māori which celebrates the Māori language. Aro are performing across the whenua, throughout September & October, visiting coastal communities, big & small, and other intimate venues near bodies of water as part of their ‘He Wai’ National release tour.

During the spring tour, Aro will also continue on with their established education programme within schools around the country, proudly supported by the NZ Music Commission. ‘He Wai’ is the third major project out of five for Silver Scroll APRA Maioha Award and APRA Best Children’s Award Finalists – Aro. With each project featuring a new music release and utilising the waiata as an education resource & programme within schools. Husband and wife duo, Charles (Ngāpuhi, Te Rarawa, Ngāti Te Ata, Ngāti Mutunga) and Emily Looker, proudly share a passion for the power of language and music to tell stories and remind us of our cultural identity.

The moving new EP, ‘He Wai’ celebrates 5 waiata inspired and guided by our relationship to te taiao and what we can learn from it about ourselves and each other. ‘He Wai’, is the bands 3rd project, following Manu (2019) and He Manu Anō (2020).

The bands latest EP release features Aro’s signature playful and uplifting sound, using a plethora of instruments and taonga pūoro, including guitars, strings and saxophone. A multi- genre offering of storytelling pop, RnB, electronic and jazz, fusing vocals, tāonga puoro and chants, each song also thematically explores the ideas of kaitiakitanga and manaakitanga - looking after ourselves, looking after each other and looking after our environment.