Al Fraser's latest album Toitu Te Pūoro takes as it’s starting point the realm of primal, elemental energy or latent being, where all created things originate.
One of the most critically acclaimed and prolific performers of nga taonga pūoro of his generation, Al Fraser is a
player who has gone from strength to strength in the past ten years or so - as a player and instrument maker. He is reaching deeper into these instruments - making, composing and playing - and also into the knowledge and worldview that originally saw their creation.
Al Fraser Photo: 2017 Ben Woods
Al says that his point of departure for his fifth solo album Toitu Te Pūoro was ‘Te Korekore’ the realm between being and non-being.
"This is the realm of primal, elemental energy or latent being. It is here that the seedstuff of the universe and all created things gestate. It is the womb from which all things proceed." (Rev. Māori Marsden The Woven Universe)
Some believe that Te Korekore is where the ultimate reality can be found. Others think that it is where Io, the Supreme Being, dwells. With Te Korekore as a point of departure, the music in Al's album moves through to Te Pō - form, darkness, night - and then explores entities within Te Ao Mārama, the world of light.
Porotiti Takiwai by Al Fraser - Tim Fraser Photo: Tim Fraser
Te Korekore serves as a metaphor for both Al’s approach to music making and composition and the whole contemporary revival of taonga pūoro, the creation of a new tradition of which Al Fraser is an exponent.
"It entails a ‘subtle searching’ for the instruments themselves and their music. Taonga Pūoro are mysterious and deep. They are voices and energies recovered from dormancy and brought back to life. They have been sounded again and they draw us into a deeper experience of life in these islands. Because they are made of the very materials of this land - pounamu, pakohe, rimu, kohatu, kōiwi (human bones) - they ground us into the whenua ever more deeply and powerfully. And hence their voices are ‘Ngā Reo o te whenua’ the ‘voices of the land’."
"The voices of ngā taonga pūoro remained largly silent for many generations. The taonga languished in museums, many abroad, nearly entirely silenced by the heavy blow of colonialism. The sounds of their voices remained in peoples memories and in kōrero. Some traditions were passed down and the voices were cherished. Over the last few decades the voices and forms of nga taonga pūoro have been carefully nurtured and uncovered. The gradual process of reviving the voices is ongoing, but the pūoro remains, intact and complete."
Toitu Te Pūoro is an atmospheric blend of Maori instruments, voice and electronically manipulated sound and has been been described as occasionally reminiscent of Lilburn’s electroacoustic experiments of the 1970s. Al feels that his track Chrysalis is one that particularly captures the sound and essence of the album.
Al often performs his music live. Here he joins us in an RNZ studio with an array of beautifully carved instruments, a looping pedal and fx pedals.
Another important part of Al's musical output is his collaborations with other musicians, performing works by other composers. Here is is with Stroma rehearsing Gillian Whitehead's Hineraukatauri.
Toitu Te Puoro has been released on Rattle Records. All compositions and performances are by Al Fraser and the track Hıkoi features vocals by Ariana Tikao.
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