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ROB RUHA – TOA O TE TOHU MAIOHA A APRA I NGĀ TOHU SILVER SCROLLS 

ROB RUHA WINS THE APRA MAIOHA AWARD AT THE APRA SILVER SCROLL AWARDS

I tēnei pō ka whakawhiwhia te Tohu Maioha a APRA ki a Rob Ruha, he kaitito-kaiwaiata nō Te Tai Rāwhiti, i tēnei te rima tekau mā tahi o Ngā Tohu Silver Scrolls a APRA i Tāmaki Makaurau. Pakō ana te ‘Kariri’ a Rob Ruha i te nguha a IHI (Thomas Rāwiri rāua ko Mokoia Huata) me tā rāua waiata ‘Mana Whenua’, i a Kirsten Te Rito me tana waiata ‘Tamaiti Ngaro’, he mea tito e James Illingworth rāua ko Joseph Te Rito. E whai wāhi ana a Tiki Taane ki rō ‘Kariri’, he mea hahu ake i ngā kōrero a te iwi Māori me tōna whawhai mō te Mana Māori Motuhake – Tino Rangatiratanga ki ngā ope tauā o Ingarangi i ngā tau 1850. Tērā te tohungatanga o Rob Ruha ki te whakairo i te mana, te wairua o te kupu ki te paeoro tākirikiri whatumanawa hei tohu i te kakari, te pōuri, te mate, te riri, te mārohirohi me te tūmanako. Tā te Tohu Maioha a APRA he whakanui i te kairangi o te waiata reo Māori, ā, ko te tuarua tēnei ka riro i a Rob Ruha, nāna hoki i toa i te tau 2014 mō tana waiata a ‘Tiki Tapu’. Nō Wharekahika (Te Tai Rāwhiti) tēnei poho kererū o Ngāti Porou me Te Whānau-a-Apanui, kua rongonui, kua tino kauanuanu a Rob Ruha i te Ao Māori me te ao waiata o Aotearoa. He pūkenga ahurei, he kairaranga, he kaitito waiata, haka, mōteatea, he mātanga kapahaka, he tupua ki te kōrero anō hoki. Ka rangona te waiata ‘Kariri’ a Rob Ruha i runga i tana kōpae roa tuatahi a PŪMAU, i whakaputaina i tēnei tau, ā, e tāpoi ana ia i Aotearoa ināianei tonu. I whakawhiwhia tuatahitia te Tohu Maioha a APRA i te tau 2003, ā, mai i tērā wā, kua tau a Te Ngore – te pakoko o te tohu Maioha i whakairotia ai e Brian Flintoff – ki roto ki ngā ringa o ētahi o ngā kaitito waiata tino kauanuanu o Aotearoa; pērā i a Ngahiwi Apanui - te tangata i whakawhiwhia tuatahitia ai ki te tohu, ki a Whirimako Black, ki a Ruia Aperahama, ki a Te Awanui Reeder, ki a Maisey Rika, ki a Vince Harder, ki a Troy Kingi rātou ko Stan Walker. I te tukuhanga o Te Ngore i tētahi kaitito ki tētahi, ka mahara tātou he mana tō te puoro hei whakakotahi, hei taunaki, hei whakaako, hei whakakori, hei whakaahuru, hei whakamārama, hei whakaawe anō hoki i a tātou. Ka riro mā te toa o te Tohu Maioha a APRA a Te Ngore e tiaki mō ngā marama tekau mā tahi, ā, ka whakawhiwhia te $3,000. I tū Ngā Tohu Silver Scrolls 2016 i te Whare Tapere o Vector, i Tāmaki Makaurau i te Rāpare 29 o Mahuru. Mō ētahi atu whakamahukitanga, me ngā toa katoa, tirohia www.apraamcos.co.nz He mea tautoko tēnei kaupapa nā Panhead Custom Ales.

East Coast singer-songwriter and musician Rob Ruha has won the prestigious APRA Maioha Award, handed out at tonight’s 51^st APRA Silver Scroll Awards in Auckland.

Rob Ruha’s dramatic waiata ‘Kariri’ faced fierce competiton from IHI (Thomas Rawiri and Mokoia Huata) with their song ‘Mana Whenua’ and Kirsten Te Rito with ‘Tamaiti Ngaro’, co-written with James Illingworth and Joseph Te Rito.

‘Kariri’, featuring Tiki Taane, is inspired by historical accounts of the Māori nations’ fight for sovereignty against colonial forces in the 1850s. Rob Ruha masterfully weaves together powerful and poignant lyrics with an emotionally charged soundscape that depicts war, darkness, loss, anger, resolution and hope.

The APRA Maioha Award recognises exceptional waiata featuring te reo Māori, and tonight’s win makes Rob Ruha a two-time recipient, after he was first awarded the prestigious accolade in 2014 for ‘Tiki Tapu’.

Hailing from Wharekahika (Te Tai Rāwhiti) and proudly Ngāti Porou and Te Whānau-a-Apanui, Rob Ruha is a well-known and highly respected figure in Maoridom and Aotearoa’s music scene. He is also an accomplished lecturer, weaver, composer of waiata, haka and moteatea, an expert in kapa haka and a legendary orator.

‘Kariri’ features on Rob Ruha’s award-winning debut album PŪMAU, released earlier this year, which he is currently touring around New Zealand.

The APRA Maioha Award was first awarded in 2003, and since then Te Ngore – the Maioha award sculpture carved by Brian Flintoff - has passed through the hands of some of Aotearoa’s most respected songwriters; including the inaugural recipient Ngahiwi Apanui, Whirimako Black, Ruia Aperahama, Te Awanui Reeder, Maisey Rika, Vince Harder, Troy Kingi and Stan Walker.

As Te Ngore passes from one composer to the next, it reminds us that music has the power to unite, bear witness, educate, agitate, comfort, illuminate and inspire us.

The winner of the APRA Maioha Award becomes guardian of Te Ngore for 11 months and receives a cash prize of $3000.

The 2016 APRA Silver Scroll Awards were held at Vector Arena in Auckland on Thursday 29^th September.

For more information, including all winners, visit www.apraamcos.co.nz