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National | Auckland

Te reo electronic band signs with Kartel Music Group (UK)

Acclaimed New Zealand alternative electronic band SoccerPractise have signed with Kartel Music Group (UK), continuing the trend of te reo Māori artists thriving in the global music scene.

Kartel is home to Fatboy Slim, Peaches, Morcheeba and Fat Freddy’s Drop.

Auckland-based SoccerPractise have consistently topped NZ alt radio charts, shared stages with the likes of Underworld and Aldous Harding and captivated audiences with their exhilarating live show, rising to national attention with their tribute to Moana Maniapoto at the 2016 Silver Scroll awards.

2018 has seen the band embark on a new album project.  The first single from the project, Kaua E Mate Wheke, is an indigenous hip hop and r'n'b influenced slice of smoked-out defiance, based on a Māori whakatauki (proverb).

'The whakatauki 'Kaua e mate wheke, mate ururoa' popped up one day as I was working on lyrics," says lead singer Geneva Alexander-Marsters.

"Translated it says 'Do not die like an octopus, die like a hammerhead shark'.  Octopuses are typically easy to kill once they're caught, in comparison to catching a hammerhead shark- even in death the filleted flesh quivers as if it is still alive."

Listen to Kaua E Mate Wheke below: