Ponguru

On the surface this may seem like an odd pairing, but the combination of New Zealanders Fraser and Boniface actually makes perfect musical sense. Researcher and musician Fraser has been studying the history, making and playing of ngā taonga puoro (traditional Maori instruments) for many years, and has worked closely with veteran musician and academic Richard Nunns who, along with colleague Hirini Melbourne, was credited with having revived the awareness of the old instruments from near obscurity. A 2016 Churchill Fellow, Fraser travelled to the UK and Ireland to research ngā taonga puoro collections held in museums there.

Boniface is a highly respected conservatoire-trained jazz bassist. The two first began performing together in 1998 as university students, but this current project is their first collaborative recording. Fraser's wide array of flutes and other instruments made from shell, stone, wood and grass provide a rich variety of organic sounds, and are underpinned by Boniface's deep, sonorous bass contributions, which are both bowed and plucked. Their dark, evocative and experimental musical landscapes create a modern context that both retains and expands the ambience of ancient Aotearoa.