Poi E (album)

{{Use New Zealand English|date=January 2025}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

{{Infobox album

| name = Poi E

| type = Album

| artist = Pātea Māori Club

| cover = Poi e.jpg

| alt =

| released = 1987

| recorded = April 1983-December 1987

| venue =

| studio =

| genre = Māori music, hip hop

| length = {{Duration|m=47|s=29}}

| label = WEA/Jayrem Records

| producer = {{hlist|Dalvanius Prime|Dave Ginnane|Dave Hurley|Henare te Ua}}

| prev_title = Music of the Maori

| prev_year = 1976

| next_title =

| next_year =

| misc =

{{Singles

| name = Poi E

| type = studio

| single1 = Poi E

| single1date = September 1983

| single2 = Aku Raukura

| single2date = June 1984

| single3 = Hei Konei Rā

| single3date = December 1984

| single4 = E Papa

| single4date = November 1985

| single5 = Ngoi Ngoi

| single5date = 1988

}}

}}

Poi E is an album released by New Zealand Māori music group the Pātea Māori Club. In 1984, the Māori language title track "Poi E" topped the New Zealand pop charts for four consecutive weeks, and was that year's biggest selling single - outselling all international recording artists.[http://www.digitalus.co.nz/poi/ Poi E - the history] The album also produced three other charting singles in New Zealand (Aku Raukura, Hei Konei Rā, and E Papa) but did not chart itself until nearly three decades after its original release.

Dalvanius Prime, the album's producer and leader, was known for merging the styles of traditional Maori show bands and more recent Maori hip-hop.

Later, in the early 1990s, Poi E was produced as a Māori musical with additional songs, and in 2000, selections were performed in Sydney, at the Waitangi Day Concert.Mitchell, Tony. "Kia Kaha! (Be Strong!): Maori and Pacific Islander Hip-hop in Aotearoa-New Zealand." In Global Noise: Rap and Hip-Hop Outside the USA, ed. Tony Mitchell, 280-305. Middletown: Wesleyan University Press, 2001

Development

Poi E was recorded almost entirely at Mascot Studios in Auckland over a four-year period from April 1983 ("Poi E") to December 1987 ("He Tangata Tini Hanga," "Ngakau Maru," and "Parihaka - Tewhiti - Tohu - Tawhiao"). The only exception was "Ngoi Ngoi," recorded at Marmalade Studios in Wellington.{{cite AV media notes |others=Patea Maori |id=MAUILP 14|title=Poi E |year=1987 |type=booklet |publisher=Maui Records, WEA Records NZ}} Prime self-produced the album, financially supported by businesses in Pātea, after being rejected by record labels across New Zealand.{{Cite web |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/te-manu-korihi/472784/patea-gathering-as-poi-e-turns-40-it-was-a-blessing-it-was-a-privilege |title=Pātea gathering as Poi E turns 40: 'It was a blessing, it was a privilege' |last1=McCaull |first1=Ashleigh |last2=Tahana |first2=Jamie |date=13 August 2022 |website=Radio New Zealand |access-date=1 November 2024}}

Many of the album's songs are collaborations between Prime and lyricist Ngoi Pēwhairangi. The two began a musical partnership in 1982 after a meeting at Pēwharaingi's Tokomaru Bay home that was initially intended to last a day or two but ultimately went on for weeks due to the pair's songwriting chemistry.{{cite magazine |date=1 December 1983 |title=The search for the sound of young Polynesia |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/periodicals/tu-tangata/1983/12/01/7 |magazine=Te Tangata |publisher=New Zealand Department of Māori Affairs |access-date=1 November 2024}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.audioculture.co.nz/profile/dalvanius |title=Dalvanius |last=Cammick |first=Murray |date=29 May 2013 |website=AudioCulture |access-date=1 November 2024}} "Ngoi Ngoi" - the opener of the second half of Poi E - is a tribute to Pēwhairangi written after her 1985 death, while the album's first side ("E Pa To Hau" to "Hei Konei Rā") traces the history of the iwi of Taranaki.{{cite magazine |last=Walker |first=Piripi |date=1 February 1988 |title=Records |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/periodicals/RIU19880201.2.32 |magazine=Rip It Up |access-date=1 November 2024}}

Track listing

{{Track listing

| headline = Poi E – original release track listing

| title1 = E Pa To Hau

| writer1 = Traditional

| length1 = 1:02

| title2 = Ko Aotea

| writer2 = Traditional

| length2 = 0:53

| title3 = Taranaki Patere - Kahuri

| writer3 = Traditional

| length3 = 2:59

| title4 = Parihaka - Tewhiti - Tohu - Tawhiao

| writer4 = Dalvanius Prime

| length4 = 4:13

| title5 = Nga Ohaki

| writer5 = {{hlist|Prime|Ngoi Pēwhairangi}}

| length5 = 2:21

| title6 = Ngakau Maru

| writer6 = {{hlist|Prime|N. Pēwhairangi}}

| length6 = 2:59

| title7 = Hei Konei Rā

| writer7 = {{hlist|Prime|N. Pēwhairangi}}

| length7 = 3:13

| title8 = Ngoi Ngoi

| writer8 = {{hlist|Prime|Lee Fox|Martha Fox|Tui Fox|Ada Haige|Ngaro Herewini|Ara Kopua|Wikitoria Matahiki|Taite Pēwhairangi|Noel Raihania}}

| length8 = 4:25

| title9 = He Tangata Tini Hanga

| writer9 = {{hlist|Prime|N. Pēwhairangi}}

| length9 = 2:28

| title10 = E Papa Waiari

| writer10 = Traditional

| length10 = 4:15

| title11 = Aku Raukura

| writer11 = {{hlist|Prime|N. Pēwhairangi}}

| length11 = 4:01

| title12 = Poi E

| writer12 = {{hlist|Prime|N. Pēwhairangi}}

| length12 = 3:51

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Poi E – reissue bonus tracks

| title13 = Haeremai

| writer13 = Tuini Ngāwai

| length13 = 2:52

| title14 = Kua Makona

| writer14 = {{hlist|Prime|Ngamaru Raerino}}

| length14 = 2:51

| title15 = Paikea

| writer15 = T. Pēwhairangi

| length15 = 2:19

| title16 = Anei Ra Overture & Aria

| writer16 = {{hlist|Prime|Raerino}}

| length16 = 5:27

}}

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Poi E.

{{col-begin}}

{{col-2}}

Musicians

  • Brent Black Music Co-Op – arrangements (10)
  • Ruka Broughton – vocals (4)
  • Gary Byrd – vocals (8)
  • Greg Carroll – beach recordings (1), rākau (10), poi piu percussion (12)
  • Waimarie Cassidy – poi piu percussion (12)
  • Annie Crummer – vocals (8)
  • Huia Davis – poi piu percussion (12)
  • Willie Dayson – slide guitar (10)
  • Fred Faleauto – rākau (10), timbales (12)
  • Dale Ferris – vocals (8)
  • Victor Grbic – rākau (10)
  • Hoani Heremaia – vocals (4)
  • Dave Hurley – arrangements (2, 3)
  • Gordon Joll – Drumulator (5, 11), drums (7)
  • Maggie Kahu – lead vocals (2, 3, 12), poi piu percussion (12)
  • Steve 'Foot' Kanuta – rākau (10)
  • Wiremu Karaitiana – Emulator II synthesizer (4, 6, 9, 10), arrangements (9, 10)
  • Dilworth Karaka – guitar (6, 10)
  • Carl Levy – arrangements (10)
  • Hohepa Malcolm – kōauau (1)
  • Moana Maniapoto – vocals (8)
  • Pātea Māori Clubhaka (4)
  • Bill Millett – rākau (10)
  • Les Palmer – arrangements (10)
  • Dave Parsons – arrangements, Drumulator (8)
  • Stuart Pearce – arrangements, keyboards (5-7, 9-12)

{{col-2}}

  • Kara Pēwhairangi – vocals (8)
  • Dalvanius Prime – arrangements (1-12), lead vocals (7)
  • Haami Prime – lead vocals (5)
  • Miri Prime – poi piu percussion (12)
  • Pauline Prime – poi piu percussion (12)
  • Timothy Prime – lead vocals (11)
  • Tama Renata – arrangements, guitar (11, 12), Syndrum (12)
  • Alastair Riddell – Drumulator (12)
  • Aunty Lil Rongonui – karanga (5)
  • Don Selwyn – narration (2, 3)
  • Clarence Smith – kōauau (4)
  • Ropata Smith – keyboards (4, 8), arrangements (8)
  • Henare te Ua – arrangements (1, 4)
  • Rob Winch – arrangements, guitar (8)
  • Adele Yandall – vocals (7)
  • Mary Yandall – vocals (7)
  • Pauline Yandall – vocals (7)

Technical

  • Dave Ginnane – engineering, mixing, production (8)
  • Victor Grbic – mixing (10)
  • Dave Hurley – production (2, 3, 5-7, 10, 12), engineering (5-7, 10, 12)
  • John Jones – engineering (1)
  • Dalvanius Prime – production (1-12)
  • Henare te Ua – recording (1), production (1, 4)
  • Phil Yule – recording (10)

{{col-end}}

Charts

class="wikitable"
Chart (2016)

! Peak
position

New Zealand Aotearoa Albums (RMNZ){{cite web|url=https://aotearoamusiccharts.co.nz/archive/aotearoa-albums/2016-08-19|title=Official Top 20 Aotearoa Albums|publisher=Recorded Music NZ|date=19 August 2016|access-date=1 November 2024}}

| style="text-align:center;"|8

References

{{Reflist}}