From Dust to Light

Four years on from her last ethereal album Tuia, New Zealand singer Ariana Tikao’s latest batch of Original songs is no less impressive – and with its equal mix of both English and Te Reo Maori lyrics, it’s perhaps even more accessible to a wider audience than its predecessor.

With half of Tikao’s repertoire rooted in the Western folk tradition (she also performs with Celtic-Maori quintet Emeralds & Greenstone), her acoustic dulcimer-based tunes ‘Something to Give’ and ‘Let There be Light’ are almost reminiscent of early Joni Mitchell. The latter song is an ode to her 2011 earthquake-stricken hometown of Christchurch/Otautahi, which is still recovering from widespread damage, and serves as the album’s main inspiration. She recently relocated to the capital city of Wellington and ‘Espresso’ documents Ariana’s own caffeine addiction, while other lyrics reference indigenous tui and titi birds and her heartfelt grief following a friend’s suicide. But Tikao’s Maori heritage is never far from the surface. Traditional taonga puoro instruments are discreetly employed on the haunting song-of-the-morning track ‘Te Haeata, while ‘Te Heke’ addresses whakapapa – the cultural concept of tribal genealogy and personal family lineage. Her use of the Kai Tahu dialect specifically identifies her as originally being from Aotearoa’s South Island (Te Waipounamu).

From Dust to Light demonstrates that the continuing strength of Maori culture in The Land of Long White Cloud is not only measured in its warrior imagery or ferocious haka chants, but also in the gentle inner power that artists like Ariana Tikao radiate.