Top Pacific artists honoured at music awards

NEW ZEALAND – Te Vaka and Vince Harder have dominated this year’s Pacific Music Awards, which were announced at an event in Auckland on Thursday night.

Both the Best Pacific Song and Best Pacific Album awards were won by Te Vaka, a group who were founded back in 1995 and are now known as mainstays of the Pacific music and dance scene in New Zealand.

Songwriter and vocalist Opetaia Foa’i wasn’t in the building to accept the award; he had to skip the ceremony this year as he’s currently working on the soundtrack to Moana, a Disney film due out in November which was written by Taika Waititi.

The event, which was held at the Vodafone Events Centre in Manukau, also saw Vince Harder lock in three awards – Best Pacific Male Artist, Best Pacific Urban Artist and Best Producer. Harder said that winning the Best Producer award was huge for him.

During his acceptance speech he took time to acknowledge fellow nominee and former Illegal Musik labelmate, NOX, who played an immense role in helping to mentor Harder in the studio.

Other winners on the night included Annie Grace (Best Pacific Female Artist), Common Kings (Best International Pacific Artist), Sol3 Mio (Best Pacific Group), and Savage (Radio Airplay and Outstanding Achievement).

Local hip hop trio Team Dynamite – made up of Haz’ Beats, Tony Tz and Lucky Lance – also took out the Best Pacific Music Video award for Cosmos Re-Up, which was directed by local videographer Eddy Fifield.

Pacific Underground, the music and arts collective originally from Christchurch, were also honoured on the night with the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Formed in 1993, the group came together with the aim to tell stories from Polynesians living in New Zealand.

Long-time member Pos Mavaega told Sam Wicks he was shocked when he heard they would be honoured and he even considered turning down the award since there are so many other artists in the scene that he felt should be recognised.

“What changed my mind was looking at the history and looking at the people. Because when we talk about Pacific Underground members, they’re not members as such. It’s just everybody that we shake hands with; backstage, on stage, touring, wherever. If we’re working together, we’re family.”

Earlier in the evening, Pacific Underground took a moment to pay tribute to Bill Sevisi, an icon of Pasifika music who was inducted into the NZ Music Hall of Fame late last year and passed away just over a month ago.

With a career that spanned decades, the Tongan-born musician recorded a huge collection of songs and mentored many local musicians after entering the scene in the early-1950s.

Pacific Music Awards Trust chairperson Reverend Mua Strickson-Pua said that the nominees are a sign that Pacific music continues to lead the way in the local industry.

“While the legends of the genre such as Te Vaka and Annie Grace continue to make their presence known, it is equally satisfying to see relative newcomers such as Team Dynamite asserting their talent and influence.

“The mainstream appeal of many of our winning artists, too, is a credit to Pacific culture and its place in the broader New Zealand community and internationally.” - RNZI