An interdisciplinary project exploring music performed through minority and indigenous languages in Cymru and Aotearoa New Zealand has laid the foundation for a lasting international collaboration.
Music festival FOCUS Wales is set to host a powerful cultural exchange as three celebrated Māori recording artists take the stage at venues across Wrexham from 8-10 May.
The musicians from Aotearoa New Zealand will make connections with Welsh contemporaries and other artists from around the world where heritage languages are celebrated through music.
The featured artists are MOHI, who blends te reo Māori storytelling with contemporary urban influences; Jordyn with a Why, known for her bilingual compositions that bridge traditional and modern sounds; and MĀ, with a distinctly Indigenous blend of abstract down-tempo rap, D.I.Y neo-soul and lush ambient music.
Each will perform two sets throughout the three-day festival supported by band members and will contribute to a Cardiff University panel discussion exploring music as a platform for expressing language and culture.
The events at FOCUS are part of Prosiect Pūtahitanga, an interdisciplinary research project between Cardiff University's Schools of Music, Welsh, and English, Communication and Philosophy.
Pūtahitanga is a te reo Māori word that describes a community coming together to work together on a shared issue. This embodies the ethos of this research project, which seeks to identify and acknowledge points of connection between musicians using Cymraeg and te reo Māori in their work and explore how this usage impacts on their sense of identity, belonging, and engagement within music scenes in Cymru and Aotearoa.
The team's initial visit to Aotearoa in 2023, supported by the Cardiff-Waikato Seed Fund , laid the foundation for the Māori-Cymraeg Song Hub 2024 project, which took Welsh musicians including Georgia Ruth, Cat Southall, and Carwyn Ellis to Aotearoa New Zealand to collaborate with Māori artists.
Building on previous project activity and relationships with partners, the Prosiect Pūtahitanga team have worked with the British Council, Creative New Zealand, APRA AMCOS, Wales Arts International and FOCUS Wales to create new opportunities for knowledge sharing across these minority and indigenous language communities in Wrexham.
As part of this phase of the project, Cardiff University academics will also host a panel discussion at FOCUS, Prosiect Pūtahitanga: Reflections on Music and Language in Cymru and Aotearoa, which will include MOHI and Jordyn With a Why, alongside Welsh artist Talulah. The panel will explore topics including musical trends in non-English language music, questions of cultural authenticity, tensions around genre and language, and how language can transcend genre barriers.
The Aotearoa: New Zealand Networking Reception, hosted by Cardiff University's Prosiect Pūtahitanga at Hope Street Church on Saturday evening, will provide further opportunities for cultural exchange and professional connections.
The shared journey of revitalising Cymraeg and te reo Māori through music is a powerful reminder of how language and culture can thrive through creativity.
Ruth Cocks, Director, British Council Wales, said: "Events like FOCUS Wales break down borders-geographical and cultural-allowing artists to connect, collaborate, and inspire one another. We're honoured to welcome these remarkable musicians to Wrexham and proud to support the connections they'll make, not just between Wales and Aotearoa New Zealand, but across the global creative community."
Andy Jones, co-founder and music programmer for the FOCUS Wales showcase festival said: "Hosting these talented Māori artists at our festival is at the heart of what FOCUS Wales stands for-creating meaningful connections across borders through music. The Welsh and Māori languages have had similar journeys, and it will be great to see a celebration of this heritage and connection. We're thrilled to provide a platform at FOCUS Wales where these cultural conversations can happen."
Dr Elen Ifan, lecturer at Cardiff University's School of Welsh, said: "Prosiect Pūtahitanga is proud to be part of this collaboration and to host discussions that will deepen our understanding of language use in these contemporary contexts."
