Tiki Taane

Tiki Taane, born Nathan Glen Taane Tinorau, is a New Zealand musician, music producer, live engineer & Maori activist. He was a member of leading New Zealand band Salmonella Dub but left after 11 years on 1 January 2007 to pursue a solo career.^[1] His debut album, "Past, Present, Future", was released on 22 October 2007 in New Zealand and has gone two times platinum, achieving a number one single, "Always On My Mind", which is the most successful single of all time in New Zealand. Becoming the first digital single to reach platinum sales & also holds the record by staying in the NZ Top 40 Charts for 55 weeks. Taane is also the exclusive live sound engineer for New Zealand drum and bass act Shapeshifter since their first gig in 1999. Taane has also helped with co-production & dubs on their studio albums & mixed their live album which was recorded with the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra at the Christchurch Town Hall.

History

Taane was born on 17 December 1976.^[2] In 1996, Taane was asked to become live soundman to Christchurch band Salmonella Dub, who were becoming one of NZ’s most popular acts. Through this role, Tiki began to earn himself a reputation for his ability to bring a staggeringly powerful live sound to whatever equipment, venue or environment he was faced with. His time with his metal bands Cultivation & Braaspadeak had become minuscule and irregular, and while on tour with the Dub, Tiki had composed a dub-reggae track in his hotel room. Once he shared it with Salmonella, they recorded it straight away, and Tiki and his whanau and friends set to work making a music video featuring Tiki on tour at The Gathering that year. This track, "For the Love Of It", shot to the NZ charts & became a summertime anthem. And so he became faced with not only being soundman for the band, but also the public expectation that he perform his hit song at all their gigs.

In both 1998 and 1999, Tiki won the Best Live Audio Engineer award at the NZ bNet awards and though in popular demand, it was clear that Tiki’s success lay with his friends Salmonella Dub. Also winning an award for Best Song for 'For the Love Of It', Tiki’s confidence grew in his song-writing abilities and so he went on to create more hits. By 2000, Tiki was beginning to spend the majority of the Dub gigs mixing the first part of the set, then jumping on stage to perform. Salmonella Dub went on to tour extensively, mainly Australia, UK & Europe' cutting their way through festivals & sell out shows while setting up a touring circuit which would be later used by up & coming NZ acts like Fat Freddie's Drop, The Blackseeds & Shapeshifter.

Taane played his final gig with Salmonella Dub on New Year's Eve 2006.

Describing his decision to leave Salmonella Dub, Taane said, "I felt like I'd gone as far as I could with Salmonella Dub." He described his time since leaving Salmonella Dub as "very lonely" and "very intense".^[3] Describing the band in an interview after the release of his album, Taane said, "I have so much love and respect for (Salmonella Dub) because if it wasn't for them I wouldn't be where I am now. I wouldn't be here."^[3]

Past, Present, Future

His debut solo record "Past, Present, Future" was released 22 October 2007 and debuted at #9. The album's first official solo single, "Always On My Mind", was released 28 April 2008. The song has been certified 2x Platinum and made it to #1 in New Zealand, knocking Chris Brown off the top spot after a seven week reign. The song spent nineteen non-consecutive weeks in the top ten, including two weeks at number one, and a total of 54 weeks in the chart so far which holds the record for being in the charts the longest. ^[4] "Always On My Mind" has also become the most successful single of all time in New Zealand, landing at number one on the Best of All Time Singles Chart, a chart that has been tracking singles since 1994. The title was previously held by "Bathe in the River" by Hollie Smith.^[5]

Past, Present, Future has also been certified Platinum in New Zealand and peaked at number four. The album was certified 2x Platinum after fifty-five weeks, selling over 30,000 copies. It has so far spent over sixty-six weeks in the chart.

Use of music by Sea Shepherd

Before taking out his vessel Ady Gil on an anti-whaling cruise to the Southern Ocean with the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, Pete Bethune noted that he had installed a large set of speakers, and intended to play the songs like Tangaroa from Tiki Taane to the whalers, describing it as a "growling big sort of a song about the God of the Sea who looks after us".^[6]

Legal issues

On 10 April 2011, Taane was arrested on charges of "disorderly behaviour likely to cause violence to start or continue" while performing a rap song by American group NWA. He sang the song "Fuck the police" at a gig in Tauranga, claiming he was singing lyrics from N.W.A's "Fuck tha Police".^[7] On his web site, Taane posted the message, "Freedom of speech is a human right"^[8] Tiki later stated that he "loves police" and was "not angry with them" even though the arrest goes against The NZL Bill of Rights Act 1990 which Taane said is supposed to protect people from this sort of over zealous Policing. Taane said that "the song is about corrupt Police who abuse their position of power for their own agendas, and to be arrested for singing it is very ironic".^[9] On 13 April Tiki told Marcus Lush on Radio Live that the lyrics often feature in his performances and his arrest came as a complete surprise, considering there was no trouble or violence within the concert. .^[10] The arrest created a debate about freedom of speech that became political when Tauranga MP Simon Bridges said "Tiki Taane is a disgrace and I hope he never plays Tauranga again". Senior police stated they supported the arresting officers actions, and are confident they acted appropriately.^[11] But in early September, the charges against Taane were dropped by Police, calling the incident a "misunderstanding" after mediation; charges remained against promoter Patricio Alvarez-Riveros from the same incident.^[12] Taane later invited the Police to perform with him at the 2011 Vodafone NZ Music Awards at Auckland's Vector Arena, where he was nominated for three awards & won, but the Police declined. So instead Taane was given permission from the Police to borrow 4x Police issued uniforms to be used in his awards performance in which Taanes friends dressed up in to re-enact the controversial arrest. ^[13]

Music Timeline

Discography

Albums

Singles

References and notes

• Tiki Taane inthemix.com.au Interview
• Tiki Taane Bebo Fansite
• Tiki Taane Profile, Muzic.net.nz
• Past, Present, Future at Real Groovy

External links

• tikidub.com