Blending Māori and English into music

Pukekohe band Aro mixes elements of English, Māori, jazz, folk, soul, and haka-based rhythm.

Aro is made up of husband-and-wife duo Charlies and Emily Looker, who started writing music together in 2016, after they met while both studying music at the University of Auckland.

“Music is something we really loved and wanted to pursue. I think after going through high school and really enjoying music, it was the thing that got me most excited.

“So, to be able to go and study at university was a really beautiful time, to just focus on the thing that I was most excited about in school,” Emily said.

While her husband Charlies is Māori and learned Te Reo Māori before he learned English.
Emily is a Pakeha who is learning Te Reo Māori to become fluent. As a result, their waiata (songs) are uniquely bilingual.

While they have lived in Pukekohe since 2019, they have been on the road for the last few months, travelling with their music, workshop skills, and writing albums.

For the Lookers, much of their inspiration comes from the environment and the people around them.

“For us, it’s about paying attention to people, the environment, and things we can learn and share with people.

“A lot of our music has been inspired by the te taia (the natural environment), so we learn a lot in the writing process of our songs by talking to a lot of tohunga reo (experts) and people who know the stories.

“Such as the birds or the trees, and the insects, then we write our waiata guided by what
we’ve learnt, and then we share it with the people at our shows. We love the conversation of music,” Emily said.

Now Aro are set to release their newest album titled Tāwauwau, which means “a place beyond perception.”

“It is a song they wrote while on the road in a caravan, and the songs were all inspired by the conversations and the environments we found ourselves in.

“This is the first album that’s been thoroughly inspired by the lifestyle on the road and watching our Tamariki play, and the different things we go through as adults wanting to find the magic that we once experienced as children.

“It’s kind of wanting to find that place as adults with all the baggage you kind of have from growing and being in the world, you know, the different heartbreaks and losses you go through in life that help to shape us as individuals.

“This album gone quite deep and personal, but we’re really excited about sharing it with the world in March,” Emily said.