Music to the ears of the Stoke community. That rang true at Whanake Youth Park on Sunday for the NelsonSon Dance & Entertainment hosted Stoke Music Day-Out with a multilingual, local line-up.
Nelson Intermediate School performing arts teacher Alvaro Moreno was one of those talented performers. With the absence of his band member, Chris Mulholland (also a Nelson Intermediate teacher), he went solo, showcasing its songs with Spanish and te reo Māori fusions.
Spaniard Alvaro says his and his colleague’s band Suena Oro, with suena and oro translating to sound in Spanish and te reo Māori respectively, combine the languages in their music due to its similar expression.
“We take some waiata or Spanish traditional music and we revisit them and redo it in a way that is our sound,” he says.
“Every time we play people seem to be very interested in what we do, maybe it’s something new that they are not used to, and we include a lot of improvisation.
“We already have done many, many gigs, some people are contacting us and trying to book us for festivals in Nelson, and we are working on getting our set together to hopefully record an album soon.”
Indonesian community band IndoNelson, Nelson-based South Korean rapper Pli-Z, and a local world music band with infectious rhythms and multicultural flair, The ImmigranNZ Collective also played.
Birchwood School kapa haka group Ngā Manu Tīoriori o Manukau and 23-year-old Tākaka-based songwriter Mihihea Rangihika, whose music incorporates te reo and RnB beats, completed the local score.
