Auahatia!

Songwriting is one of those things that seems magical. The process of writing a song can be a transformative thing.

Partly, this is because songs make us feel things. They become the soundtrack to our lives in so many ways helping to express ideas in a way that connects with our hearts and minds and senses. But the process of inventing a song that combines words, rhythms and melodies can seem so mysterious. 

How do you write a song? How can a group of people come together to utilise words and melodies to express a shared idea?

Many well-known songwriters talk about the power of writing songs. From Dolly Parton who said songwriting is “like putting something in the world today that wasn’t there yesterday that will still be there tomorrow”;

to Taylor Swift who knows “A good song transports you to your truest feelings and translates those feelings for you. A good song stays with you even when people or feelings don’t. Writing songs is a calling and getting to call it your career makes you very lucky”;

to Stan Walker who said “My job as an artist, as a person who people look to as a storyteller, is to bring hope, life, healing and joy to empower people.”

But while songwriting as a creative process is theoretically something that anyone can engage with, not everyone may feel they have the chance or the tools or the confidence to express themselves through music. Sometimes we need an opportunity or a guide to help us flex those musical storytelling abilities. 

Having a creative navigator can be so vital in supporting people to find the creativity that lives within them. Shining a light on the artistic expression that exists within everyone. Connecting artists with communities can be magical.

The Auahatanga ki te Kāinga project has been focussed on bringing a range of different creative activities to communities in Hamilton South and Fairfield. This has included different performing arts, visual arts, craft, te whare tapere and more. Showcasing this creativity on stage demonstrated how much joy could be found in performing and singing together. Group singing helps to build positive community bonds. 

We know that accessible creative activities support wellbeing, and that having things for multiple generations is important as engaging with the arts can have a positive impact on family life. We know that this project was helping to connect communities and to express themselves in different ways, but there seemed to be an opportunity emerging in this project to encourage the creation of an original waiata. 

To work with the community to share their stories and feelings through a musical expression. And, to capture that moment through recording a song and making a music video. 

So, with the support of the Wintec School of Media Arts, we were given access to the recording studio for a Saturday and arranged to bring together around 30 tamariki, rangatahi and supporters to attempt to write, perform and record an original song in about 6 hours. 

Bringing together a group of people with a broad range of ages, confidence levels, and experience in writing songs and performing, to shape something that felt like it belonged to the group. Something that expressed their thoughts and ideas in a way that made everyone feel heard and seen. 

The process started with building a level of comfort in the studio space through sharing key words that felt connected to the kaupapa. Words like auahatanga, whānau, community, kotahitanga, inspiration, and a vision for the future. This became the basis for working in small groups to write ideas for the hook and chorus. This built momentum with different ideas weaving together to have a chorus that shared rap vocals and sung vocals. 

Auahatia!

Inspiration takes over the mind

Creativity lets us shine

Kotahitanga!

In Unity we will rise

Change the station, here comes the voice of a new generation

From there participants were encouraged to write their own verses to express different ideas around this core theme. The creativity flowed quickly and a song emerged with amazing clarity for a group who had only really come together for the first time, in an unfamiliar environment, to engage in an unusual activity. This was a joyful and powerful celebration of the artistic expression that can emerge when the supports are in place and the doors are open. 

The next weekend we had everyone come to Dailies Studio to work with 2113 Creatives to make a music video. Another jam-packed day to bring the song to the screen with joy and a range of new experiences for everyone involved.

All this results in:

Thanks to everyone who supported the creation of this song and music video, and thanks to the community who shared their creativity and passion to bring this waiata to life!

Please watch and share this video, and also check out the song on various streaming services. Help spread the joy of this community song!