The Aotearoa / New Zealand Six60 band began their tour of Australia unlike any other show in their home.
Key points:
- Six60 began as a student cover band at Otago University in Dunedin in 2008.
- Kia Mau Ki Tō kaipō urges Maori to maintain their culture and connection to the country
- Aboriginal and Maori dancers performed on their tour of Australia in an “amazing” show of cultural pride
As the thick bottom line of Don’t Forget Your Roots baptizes, Nunukul Yuggera Aboriginal dancers emerge from the wings, looming over a red, smoky stage.
The sound of the didgeridoo sounds, unsettling, over an exhausted crowd of 10,000 people as a group of Maori haka haka moves.
Singer Matiu Walters begins, first in English, “Don’t Forget Your Roots, My Friends, Don’t Forget Your Family,” before switching to Maori, “Kia Mau Ki Tō Ūkaipō.”
Fans are frantic when two cultures come together: Maori women deftly spin their poi (a light ball on a rope) in unison, with style and grace.
The ensemble reaches a crescendo with an abundant display of the Ka Mate Haka.
Dr. Ahipene says Maori understand indigenous protocols. (Supplied by: Ash Caygill)
It was an experience that Nunukul, Jagera and Yamatji, the man Ashley Ruska, will not soon forget.
“Sometimes we could have five minutes to jump, do some kind of symbolic performance, without being rude or anything, but that’s how it can be,” he said.
“It’s very rare for someone to ask us to come and take part in the show as well.
“They let us have the word. It was amazing to have a real organic experience.”
Ashley Ruska says acting alongside Six60 felt authentic. (Provided by: Matthew Clode / Ashley Ruska)
For cultural coordinator Dr. Ahipene, the Maori and Aboriginal and island cultures of the Torres Strait have similar “rules of engagement and understanding”.
Dr. Ahipene, Maori Cultural Coordinator. (Supplied by: Dr. Ahipene)
So making platforms for Indigenous performers alongside theirs in every Australian city the band played was a no-brainer.
“We understand the protocol. Tikanga is the name of the word for us in New Zealand,” he said.
“I saw people of culture recognizing themselves on what was happening on stage and vindicating groups and families who were performing.”
University of Otago on the world stage
The band that brought Ruska’s dance group to their event in Australia, Six60, was born on the University of Otago rugby fields in Dunedin in 2008.
Between games and the studio, 20-year-olds — Matthew Walters, Eli Paewai, Ji Fraser, and Hoani Matenga — entertained their peers with covers of the Kiwi Kora, Katchafire, Shapeshifter, and Fat Freddy’s Drop icons.
“Being able to see brunette people making music on stage really inspired us,” Walters said.
The band members gathered at 660 Castle Street while studying in Dunedin. (Instagram: @ Six60)
The students sang from the top floor of their apartment at 660 Castle Street, and then adopted Chris Mac as bassist and Marlon Gerbes, who plays guitar, samples and synthesizers.
‘Joy and ease’ is the goal
Walters joins the ZOOM call from an iPad at his Auckland salon.
“I need to get this camera up and running,” he says.
Halfway through the interview, a cheerful little girl stands by the couch. Turn on the iPad so your one-year-old daughter Boh can greet.
He is the modest leader of a band that has 1.5 million monthly listeners on Spotify and at the same time just a regular parent.
“This is about fun. That’s how we started. And we want to go through our lives with joy and ease,” he said.
(From left) Eli Paewai (drums), Chris Mac (bass), Ji Fraser (guitar), Marlon Gerbes (synthesizers), Matius Walters (vocals). (Instagram: Six60 / James Rua)
Humble and approachable, it’s no wonder Aotearoa likes Six60. So do Australians.
Selling shows but not selling their values, the five pieces were determined to make it big under their own steam.
Since 2011, they have produced and released music under their own label, Massive Entertainment.
His success is unmatched by any other Aotearoa artist.
In 2019, they became the first New Zealand band bold and popular enough to fill the Western Springs Stadium, with 50,000 fans.
Previously, heavyweight international artists, such as the Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac and Eminem, were the only ones to achieve this.
“We’re living these experiences together and we’re lucky to have them,” Walters said.
“Feel, find belonging”
Nearly a decade after the release of the hit song Don’t Forget Your Roots, Six60 reinterpreted it as part of Maori Language Week in 2019.
The new version, Kia Mau Ki Tō Ūkaipō, urges Maori to maintain their culture and connection to the country, wherever they are from the world.
But, Walters admits, it was not an easy process for him or his fellow Maori bandmates Eli Paewai and Marlon Gerbes.
“We didn’t grow up with the language,” he said. “For us, it was a strong personal journey of feeling, of seeking belonging.”
Matiu Walters says many young Maori struggle with their identity. (Provided by: Nathan Doran)
This disconnect is common, Walters said, but he hopes the music will give young Maori a sense of cultural pride and a desire to learn the language.
“I think we now represent many young Maori in the world struggling between their cultural situation and feeling quite embarrassed to be involved and talk,” he said.
“We’re thrilled to take on the mantle to show people it’s okay and it’s great.”
Although Te Reo (Maori language) will not appear on the band’s next album, Walters said Te Ao Māori (Maori worldview) will be.
“Because we’re Maori, we can’t escape. So even though the language isn’t there, everything we do is Maori in a way.”
Whānau above all
Much has changed since their beginnings playing rugby and doing reggae versions while they were at the University of Otago.
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“Now I have a little daughter and I have my own family, that puts a lot of things in perspective,” Walters said.
Walters said parenting has “softened” gang members.
“I think [our children] and try to write for them and write lessons for them, ”he said.
It has also helped calm internal criticism.
“I no longer feel alone in this and that has helped me a lot to ground myself.
“There’s something much more important and a lot more cool than being on Six60. That makes things a lot easier.”
“Whānau (the family) has always been our cornerstone.”