June 16, 2022
Ruha keeps it natural as Matariki star rises
Award winning musician Rob Ruha says he wants to keep things natural.
Ruha picked up the supreme tohu at this year’s Whakaata Māori Ngā Tohu o Matariki Awards.
He pays tribute to performers like Moana Maniapoto and Herbs who showed the way Māori activism could be combined with popular music.
In songs like 35 and his recent release “That’s Where I’ll be” he celebrates identifiably Māori things.
“The opening lyrics say ‘wide open spaces, moko on faces, anywhere at home, that’s where I’ll be,’ just championing, naturalising who we want to be, who we aspire to be in our natural world,” Ruha says.
Rob Ruha and Kā Hao will join the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra at the Auckland Town Hall on June 23 for a special Matariki show Kā Pō Kā Ao.