Moana (singer)
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| Moana | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Moana Maniapoto |
| Origin | New Zealand |
| Genre(s) | Pop |
| Label(s) | Sony BMG |
| Website | http://www.moananz.com |
| Members | |
| Amiria Reriti | |
Moana Maniapoto (also known as Moana) is a New Zealand singer, songwriter and documentarymaker.
[edit] History
As a performing and recording artist, Moana has consistently pushed the boundaries of Maori music with her unique blend of traditional Maori musical elements and contemporary western grooves.
Both her recorded and stage performances have seen the band, Moana & the tribe, tour throughout the world, performing over 120 international concerts since their formation in 2002 and cementing their reputation as one of the most successful indigenous bands to emerge from New Zealand.
The bands C.D Toru entered the European World Music Charts at 17. The CD was followed up a year later with the DVD Live & Proud (Pirate / SONY Records.). A one hour T.V special on Moana & the Tribe outrated Lenny Kravitz and Santana on a rival channel when Bavarian Television screened the bands Chiemsee Summer Festival performance. Moana & the Tribe represented New Zealand at the Cultural Olympiads in both Sydney (1998) and Athens (2003). In 2004, the group included Spain into European tour for the first time. The band headlined the Etnosur Festival in Jaen to an audience of 5000, where they appeared live on Spanish T.V news and received excellent reviews.
Described as ‘brilliant’ by The Beat (USA, 2004), ‘N.Zs most exciting music export’ (Marie Claire, 2002), ‘music of great depth and beauty’ (N.Z Herald, 2003) and gaining an unheard of two rave reviews from a reputedly scathing critic in Germanys largest daily newspaper (Suddeutsche Zeitung 2002, 2004), Moana has steadily developed her profile.
In 2006, Moana & the tribe completed a 25 gig tour of Europe and had the distinction of being the first N.Z band known to have performed in the former Soviet Union - playing at a private party hosted in Moscows hip First Club, then at the cool Le Club.
Moana is currently writing material for her new album Wha and planning performances for 2007.
