Te Vaka

Te Vaka star explores new music genre

Olivia Foa'i is the daughter of Te Vaka's lead singer Opetaia Foa'i and wife Julie Foa'i.

Her new single City Got Your Name On It is a new direction for the Te Vaka vocalist.

She says it's nerve-wracking tapping into a new genre, but she's passionate and is prepared to step out of her comfort zone.

"I'm super excited. It's a new adventure for me but I'm excited, I'm optimistic and it's basically a whole new world left to tackle so it's going to be fun," she says.

Another big win for Te Vaka singer

Te Vaka's Opetaia Foa'i, who last week won the New Zealand Music Award for International Achievement, was part of the team that composed the soundtrack for Moana.

Authenticity key to Moana movie soundtrack

Moana follows the adventures of a young Polynesian princess and navigator who is accompanied by the superhero-demigod Maui, but in the run-up to the film's premiere reaction has been divided between those who have praised its cultural inclusiveness and others who feared the potential for cultural appropriation.

RNZ reports Australian based band Te Vaka was approached by Disney to help write the soundtrack and its bandleader Opetaia Foa'i said despite the controversy, the filmmakers spent years researching to get the film right.

The making of Moana’s music [An interview with composer Opetaia Foa’i of Te Vaka]

Their stories were the kind the South Pacific music group “Te Vaka” wanted to tell when they first banded in 1994. This is the same story being told in Disney’s upcoming filmMoana, where a young teenage girl sets sail on a mission to save her people with the help of master way-finder and demigod, Maui. 

Disney can't get enough of Te Vaka

Te Vaka was founded by Samoan-born Opetaia Foa'i, who is Tokelauan-Tuvaluan and was raised in New Zealand.

NiuFM reports Julie Foa'i, band manager and Opetaia's wife, says the Moana soundtrack is loaded with Te Vaka.

"There's a lot of tracks written by Opetaia in there, and when you hear the movie you will hear a lot of his input into the soundtrack and into the songs. Put it this way - the movie opens with Te Vaka," says Foa'i. 

NZ: Polynesian band Te Vaka to join next big Disney movie

Te Vaka is a group of musicians and dancers from various Pacific Island backgrounds based in New Zealand.

Their unique music - a blend of traditional Island and contemporary tunes - has taken them around the world and they have a huge following around the Pacific region.