A Tauranga based quartet band has become a hit on Facebook after posting a number of songs that celebrate the Māori language. Led by frontman Jeremy Hantler who has a background in country music and is also a school teacher says he was inspired by his Māori students and Māori songs The Harmonic Resonators are making waves in the Tauranga area with their version of the Tauranga Moana anthem. Jeremy Hantler frontman for the group says “I just heard from a friend if you put a video up people will see it so we started doing videos and I'm a teacher and I love songs in Te Reo they are beautiful to sing for the voice because you have got big open vowels and I teach a lot of Māori kids so it's cool to sing Māori songs with them and we decided to do Tauranga Moana one day and it was lit!” After posting 'Ka Pioioi' a classic Māori song on their Facebook page they have received 620,000 views, close to 4,000 comments have been posted all have been in support of what they are doing. Ngaronoa Reweti-Ngata, an elder of Te Wairoa Marae says “I would like to thank them when I heard them I turned to some of my relatives and they were clapping you know Māori it was like we were being awakened”. The band has only been going for a year but were invited to perform at Te Wairoa Marae in Tauranga this weekend which is the first time they have been welcomed onto a Marae in the area since the frontman of the band moved here 18 months ago from Hamilton. “Some of the kids saw it on the internet and showed some aunties I hear there was a tangi here and they put it on and showed all the nannies and they were stoked on the Tauranga Moana song in particular and they sent us a message and I said hey that awesome thank you very much and then they said "hey do you want to play at our Christmas party so here we are!” says Hantler. The band hopes to do an album next year that hopefully will feature Māori songs.
National | Ngā Manu Waiata