He Ingoa - The Album

He aha te tikanga o te ingoa?

He Ingoa is a bilingual musical exploring the significance and depth our names hold in indigenous cultures. It now arrives as a full-length studio album that captures the stories and sounds of our stage production.

- Raureti Ormond (Most Promising Emerging Artist Nominee NZ Fringe 2024, Most Promising Newcomer nominee Wellington Theatre Awards 2025)

- Parekawa Finlay (Most Promising Ngā Toi Artist nominee NZ Fringe 2026)

This funding is to go towards the recording of this album. The different aspects involved look like:

• Paying for studio time in a professional recording space
• Paying our musicians and vocalists
• Paying for rehearsal space
• Hiring a producer to oversee the sound
• Hiring sound engineers to mix and master the recording
• Hiring any additional recording / music gear 
• Covering any costs related to album art work / design

He Ingoa is a bilingual musical exploring the significance and depth of names in indigenous cultures. This whakaari, comprised of six characters from all across Te Moana Nui a Kiwa, takes the tones, colours and stories of their names and transforms them into waiata. Listen as they whisper, sing and scream them into the wind. 

Premiering as a stage production, the highly anticipated He Ingoa studio album will soon be arriving. This full-length recording will capture our body of waiata and be made available on streaming platforms. As we take this whakaari to different rohe, our audiences will be able to experience our offering long after the stage lights go down. This will be a place where rich vocals, textured sounds and resonant stories intersect. 

Premiering at the iconic Circa Theatre as part of Kia Mau Festival 2025, our show was received with incredible critical and audience response. Due to such resounding demand, we came back for a return season. We also received several nominations at the Ngā Whakarākei o Whataitai Wellington Theatre Awards, and were invited to perform at the awards the ceremony. 

But above any critical success, we are most proud of the kōrero we ignited. Hearing from our audience, their reflections upon their own ingoa - where their names come from and how they carry them. Each night, as the house lights lifted, we were met with an ocean of roimata. Tears reflecting the pain our people have endured; constantly having our names butchered, tormented and erased. 

For our audience, this show was rongoa. Medicine for our people’s hurting hearts. We believe that this album is a way to keep the flames of this kōrero burning, allowing access for listeners to engage with our stories outside of a theatre setting. Our mission is to spread our stories far and wide, so that we continue to grow connection and remind people of how much our ingoa carry.