Moana and the Moa Hunters: Moko (1998)

 |   |  <1 min read

Moana and the Moa Hunters: Moko (1998)

In the late Nineties, this song by Moana Maniapoto with her band the Moa Hunters was the Grand Jury Prize Winner in the International Songwriting Competition. It beat out over 11,000 other entries -- and, without hearing any of the others, we might say "rightly so".

It is a remarkable piece, not just in its low and powerful delivery by Moana and the haunting production by Simon Holloway, but for its timely message which contrasts European (and other) styles of tattoo with the Maori moko which is imbued with something much more deeply meaningful and culturally significant than a butterfly on your shoulder.

The spoken word at the start comes from Maori activist and artist Tame Iti, the low-slung groove hooks you in, and Moana's spoken word section is crystal clear in its delivery and meaning.

The refrain "Did you know that?" is a reminder of how important moko is . . . which might not be something you can say about the body markings people pick up on holiday in Bali or Thailand after a day in the sun and a night on the turps.

Not just an memorable piece of music, but an important one also. 

For more oddities, one-offs or songs with an interesting backstory check the massive back-catalogue at From the Vaults.

Share It

Your Comments

post a comment

More from this section   From the Vaults articles index

Brian Eno and David Byrne: The Jezebel Spirit (1981)

Brian Eno and David Byrne: The Jezebel Spirit (1981)

When the Brian Eno and David Byrne album My Life in the Bush of Ghosts appeared in 1981, the musical, social and cultural climate was very different. Hip-hop had yet to establish the widespread use... > Read more

Dion: Sisters of Mercy (1968)

Dion: Sisters of Mercy (1968)

Two parallel stories of birth here. Sisters of Mercy was on Leonard Cohen's debut album Songs of Leonard Cohen and thus was his birth – at 33 – as a recording artist. For... > Read more

Elsewhere at Elsewhere

RIP RIG + PANIC: GOD, CONSIDERED (1981): Post-punk demented dervish heart-attack jazz'n'rock funk

RIP RIG + PANIC: GOD, CONSIDERED (1981): Post-punk demented dervish heart-attack jazz'n'rock funk

When you name your post-punk debut after an album by the great jazz saxophonist Rahsaan Roland Kirk you have really upped the stakes and expectation. And when the band is formed around Mark... > Read more

Lyn Stanley: London Calling; A Toast to Julie London (CD Baby)

Lyn Stanley: London Calling; A Toast to Julie London (CD Baby)

Julie London – who died in 2000 age 74 – was what Hollywood folks used to call “a looker”. And she was. She went from elevator operator to the silver screen on the basis... > Read more