Tūpiki (Vinyl LP)

"Whether it's the joyous hiko of Geneva AM's PIKIPIKI, or the immersive oro of Riki Pirihi and Abigail Aroha Jensen's Tūpiki, opportunities for ascension via music are endless in Aotearoa. On Tūpiki, ambient beds and field recordings meet taonga pūoro and spirited drum performances to breathe sonic life into a transformative journey rooted in Māoritanga - inspired by Māui's journey up the 12 stairs of heaven, Te Ara Poutama. Mauri maxxing energy." - Rosetta

Inspired by Maui's twelve-stair climb into heaven, Te Ara Poutama, this twelve-song collaboration between multi-instrumentalist and sound artist Riki Pirihi and multi-disciplinary artist Abigail Aroha-Jensen was recorded during a residency at the Audio Foundation, Tāmaki Makaurau's beating heart headquarters of sound and experimentation. Tūpiki's tracks are divided into four parts, dubbed in three, with each song exactly 3.33 minutes long. Incredible stuff. - Flying Out 

Tūpiki was recorded at Audio Foundation during the autumn recording residency in 2023.

The conceptual framework for the album is inspired by the journey Maui took to climb the 12 stairs of heaven, Te Ara Poutama. Each track covers a realm which Maui climbs to retrieve the baskets of knowledge. Each track is dubbed in three, and each track plays out to 3.33.

During its recording, the album was divided into four parts dictated by certain realms of the soul - Puku, Manawa, Korokoro and Ūpoko. These realms anchored a method of playing for both Riki and Abigail, introducing a connecting point in the philosophy of hauora and sound associated with The Four Doors of Oro.

Abigail had been researching this concept through the late Hinewirangi Kohu-Morgan. Riki suggested they integrate the four doors into the 12 steps. Matt the sound wizard set up our booth, they recorded and layered each track in threes and thus, Tūpiki was born.

Tracklist

1. Rangi-nui-a-Tamaku
2. Rangi-tamaku
3. Rangi-parauri
4. Rangi-mairekura
5. Rangi-matawai
6. Rangi-tauru-nui
7. Rangi-mataura
8. Rangi-nui-ka-tika
9. Rangi-te-wawana
10. Rangi-naonao-ariki
11. Tiritiri-o-Matangi
12. Te Toi-o-nga-rangi