Pan-Pacific rhythms and positivity aplenty With half-Tokelauan, half-Tuvaluan bloodlines, Te Vaka headman Opetaia Foa’i was born in Samoa, moved to New Zealand as a child, and is currently based in Australia. Te Vaka are truly pan-Pacific: other group members boast Maori, Cook Islander, Niuean and European ancestry. Since forming in the mid-90s, Te Vaka’s collective heritage has been one of the main reasons the group has been so successful in building an admirable reputation for presenting strong, energetic displays of Pacific culture. A creative ear for combining traditional styles with contemporary arrangements hasn’t hurt either, nor has the Foa’i family’s flair for savvy self-marketing. Haoloto (Free) follows the established pattern of Te Vaka’s other five releases, but the sound here is fuller, the log drumming is more urgent, the female voices are more assured and Foa’i’s songwriting is in top form. At times it’s very gentle, such as the tranquil ‘Mau Piailug’, where Opetaia pays tribute to the renowned Micronesian navigator of the song’s title and his Polynesian voyages. Sometimes it’s explosive, as it is on the percussive-driven ‘Tolu Afe’ and ‘Talanoa Te Pate’.  
Occasionally it’s mournful: ‘Toe Fetuaui’ grieves for those lost in recent regional earthquakes and tsunamis; ‘Haoloto’ is respectfully dedicated to the relief workers who helped out during those disasters.  Without a doubt Te Vaka’s warmest, most satisfying album to date, the only clunker is the English-language ‘Well…You Lied’, which sounds like a B-grade version of ‘I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For’. But that maudlin inclusion doesn’t dent the overwhelming positivity of this impressive Pacific release.

Seth Jordan
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Indigenous people of the earth share a special relationship with the land. In Pacifica, that bond extends to the sea that surrounds their paradise incarnate. It is with an abiding respect for the fragility of their islands and awesome power of the ocean that they approach life and love and music. Te Vaka’s sixth album, Haoloto is dedicated to the lost souls in the earthquakes and resulting tsunami that washed over Indonesia and the South Pacific islands of Tonga and Western Samoa in 2009, and to the relief workers who struggled to bring order out of the chaos. As in previous releases, songwriter Opetaia Foa’i eloquently explains the emotions he was feeling, which ultimately inspired this latest collection of sweet island pop and log-drum propelled chants. A singular voice makes its way to the fore in the mix courtesy of Neil Forrest. His wisps of flute flow through the album like a tropical breeze. And, the key flavours of Te Vaka’s sound continue to coalesce with time; the chants becoming more hummable and the songs impossibly more rhythmic. Haoloto means Free and sets the tone of joyous release that ironically has captivated their fans who will fall in love all over again with fresh tracks like Tauasa, Te Mavoega and Tui Moana. New ears could hope for no better a time to experience Te Vaka’s South Pacific fusion.
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