Aro - Manu Album Release Tour

Waitangi Day Celebration and 'Manu' album release by Aro

With the album, 'Manu', being a marriage of Māori and Pākeha, as are we, Charles and Emily (who make up Aro), we thought it would be fitting to have the release on a day that celebrates the coming together of these two cultures as treaty partners.

While the history of the treaty hasn't always been something worthy of celebrating, we reckon 'Manu' kinda is, and we see the stories and music of this album as a voice of hope for our country.

Join us for a night of stories and song at The Grey Lynn Library Hall on Waitangi Day- Weds 6th Feb.-
BYO drinks and nibbles (there'll be a few refreshments provided too).

Aro are setting off on their debut album release tour around the country from February to May 2019, following their official album release on Feb 15th. Aro's sound is distinctly Aotearoa/NZ pop, with a range of other influences including RnB, Jazz, and Kapahaka.

With 20 shows booked, the pair are taking their tunes from Whangarei to Rakiura/Stewart Island sharing their native bird inspired project titled ‘Manu’ (bird); a bilingual - te reo Māori & English 10 track album. The husband and wife duo, Charles and Emily (Rice) Looker, have toured the country finding inspiration and discovering stories to share within the album.

‘Manu’ was inspired, on Aro’s first nationwide tour in 2018, by the melodies, rhythms and stories of Aotearoa’s native birds, and plays on their characteristics and some of their significances for Māori to convey messages about life and identity.

The songs were written from their home on wheels they call ‘Jamba’. They have put together a unique tour, celebrating the release of this album and sharing the stories of our native manu with the people of Aotearoa.