From Aotearoa to Australia: Six60 draws on Aboriginal and Māori cultures

By Melissa Maykin, ABC

Aotearoa/New Zealand band Six60 kicked off its Australian tour differently to any other show back home.

As the thick bass line to Don't Forget Your Roots thumps, Nunukul Yuggera Aboriginal dancers emerge from the wings, becoming silhouetted against a red, smoke-filled stage.

The sound of the didgeridoo rings out, hauntingly, over a sold-out crowd of 10,000 as a Māori kapa haka group moves in.

Singer Matiu Walters begins - first in English, "don't forget your roots my friends, don't forget your family," before switching into Māori, "Kia Mau Ki Tō Ūkaipō."

Fans are frenetic as two cultures come together - Māori women skilfully twirling their poi (a light ball on a string) in unison, with style and grace.

The ensemble reaches a crescendo with a hearty display of the Ka Mate Haka.

It was an experience Nunukul, Jagera and Yamatji man Ashley Ruska won't forget anytime soon.

"Sometimes we might just get five minutes to jump on, do a sort of tokenistic performance, not being rude or anything, but that's the way it can be," he said.

"It's very rare that someone asks us to come and be involved in the show as well.

"They let us have the floor. It was just awesome to have a real organic experience."

For cultural coordinator Dre Ahipene, Māori and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures have similar "rules of engagement and understanding."

So platforming Indigenous performers alongside their own in each Australian city the band played to was a "no-brainer."

"We understand protocol. Tikanga is the name of the word for us in New Zealand," he said.

"I could see people of culture recognising themselves in what was happening on stage and claiming groups and family who were performing."

University of Otago to the world stage

The band that brought Ruska's dance troupe into their act in Australia, Six60, was born on the rugby fields of Otago University in Dunedin in 2008.

In between games and study, the 20-somethings - Matiu Walters, Eli Paewai, Ji Fraser and Hoani Matenga - entertained their peers with covers of Kiwi icons Kora, Katchafire, Shapeshifter and Fat Freddy's Drop.

"Being able to see brown people making music up on the stage really was inspirational to us," Walters said.

The students belted out bangers from the top floor of their 660 Castle Street flat, later adopting Chris Mac as their bass player and Marlon Gerbes who plays guitar, samples and synths.

'Joy and ease' is the goal

Walters joins the ZOOM call from an iPad in his Auckland living room.

"I need to get this camera going," he says.

Midway through the interview, a gleeful toddler pulls herself up beside the couch. He turns the iPad so one-year-old daughter Boh can say hello.

He is the unassuming frontman of a band which boasts 1.5 million monthly listeners on Spotify and yet, at same time, just a regular dad.

"This is about fun. That's how we started. And we want to go through our life with joy and ease," he said.

Humble and accessible, it's no wonder Aotearoa loves Six60. So do Australians.

Selling out shows but not selling out their values, the five-piece were determined to make it big under their own steam.

Since 2011, they have produced and released music under their own label, Massive Entertainment.

Their success is unparalleled by any other Aotearoa artists.

In 2019, they became the first New Zealand band audacious - and popular - enough to fill Western Springs Stadium, with 50,000 adoring fans turning out.

Previously, heavyweight international artists, such as the Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac and Eminem, were the only ones to achieve that.

"We're going through these experiences together and we're just lucky to have each other," Walters said.

'Feeling, finding belonging'

Nearly a decade after the release of hit song Don't Forget Your Roots, Six60 reinterpreted it as part of Māori language week in 2019.

The new version, Kia Mau Ki Tō Ūkaipō, urges Māori to hold onto their culture and connection to country, from wherever they are in the world.

But, Walters admits, it wasn't an easy process for himself or fellow Māori band members Eli Paewai and Marlon Gerbes.

"We didn't grow up with the language," he said. "For us, it was a strong personal journey of feeling, of finding belonging."

This disconnect is common, Walters said, but he hopes the music gives young Māori a sense of cultural pride and an eagerness to learn the language.

"I think we represent quite a lot of young Māori in the world now who struggle between where they stand in the culture and feeling quite shameful of being involved and speaking," he said.

"We're happy to take on the mantle to show other people it is okay and that it is cool."

While Te Reo (Māori language) will not feature on the band's forthcoming album, Walters said Te Ao Māori (Māori worldview) will be.

"Because we are Māori, we can't escape it. So, although the language isn't there, everything we do is Māori in a way."

Whānau above all else

Much has changed since their early days playing rugby and performing reggae covers while at the University of Otago.

"Now I have a young daughter and I have my own family, that's put a lot of things into perspective," Walters said.

Walters said fatherhood has "softened" members of the band.

"We think about [our children] and try to write for them and write lessons for them," he said.

It has also helped quiet the inner critic.

"I don't feel like I'm alone in this anymore and that's really helped ground me.

"There's something way more important and way cooler than being in Six60. So that makes things a lot easier."

"Whānau (family) has always been our cornerstone."

- ABC