Nature Knowledge: WAI and "Matauranga"

Our random song for today is called Matauranga, and is performed by New Zealand band WAI. WAI was started in 1999 by Mina Ripia and Maaka McGregor, and they released their debut album in 2000. They were immediately hailed in New Zealand and beyond as groundbreaking and bringing a new sound to music from the Pacific Rim. In 2007, the duo went on hiatus to focus respectively on having a family and to work on new songs for an album. They have since evolved into a five piece outfit that sings in Maori, and uses traditional Maori music as a base to create what they call Maori electronica roots world music which also is infused with jungle, funk, reggae, hip-hop and deep house. You can find Matauranga on their 2000 debut release, WAI 100%. The song's title refers to the Maori knowledge of flora and fauna in their environment.

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Source: http://www.kapa-productions.com/wai/