Season 1, Episode 1

Moments in time

Sound of the Dawn Raids “In Tension”: Anonymouz  

A composer’s response to critical moments in time: The moments when time pivots and history changes course. Tau’ili’ili Alpha Maiava & Charlotte Wilson host this series about the music of Aotearoa New Zealand that follows moments in our history that have had an impact on us and changed or altered who we are.

In 2021, around two thousand people gathered at Auckland Town Hall precinct to witness a historic apology from Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, on behalf of the New Zealand government, for the inhumane and discriminatory implementation of immigration laws in the 1970s that led to the events infamously known as the Dawn Raids. During this dark chapter in New Zealand history, police and immigration officials, often accompanied by dogs, conducted a series of raids on the homes of Pacific families suspected of overstaying their visas and work permits. Residents were woken, removed from their beds, and brutally forced into vans to be taken into police custody for questioning and possible deportation.

In this episode of “Moments in Time”, Tau’ili’ili Alpha Maiava talks to soundscape artist Anonymouz (aka Faiumu Matthew Salapu), who was commissioned by the Ministry for Pacific Peoples to recreate, through sound, the Ifoga (forgiveness) process that was used as the framework for the Dawn Raids Apology event. Alpha also speaks with researcher and fangufangu (Tongan nose flute) performer Hūfanga-He-Ako-Moe-Lotu Dr. ‘Okusitino Mahina about the effect that the Dawn Raids had on the Pacific community in the 1970s.

Interwoven with sound recorded live at the event, Anonymouz describes how he utilised personally meaningful sound recordings to convey the chronological events of an early morning dawn raid, crafting a soundscape that aimed to bring a sonic snapshot of time, place, and intent to the Auckland Town Hall and encourage healing through the conduit of sound.

Host: Tau’ili’ili Alpha Maiava
Guests: Anonymouz (aka Faiumu Matthew Salapu) & Hūfanga-He-Ako-Moe-Lotu Dr ‘Okusitino Mahina

Soundscape excerpts:
“In Tension” by Anonymouz (aka Faiumu Matthew Salapu)
“Raiding the Dawn” by Anonymouz (aka Faiumu Matthew Salapu)

Links & Resources
Link to video of Dawn Raids Apology Event held on 1 August 2021
(Ifoga ceremony commences around 12 minutes into video)

 This episode was brought to you by SOUNZ Centre for New Zealand Music.

Production team

  • Executive Producer: Diana Marsh
  • Producer: Roger Smith
  • Sound Engineer: Phil Brownlee
  • Production Assistant: Nina Lesperance
Special thanks to RNZ for providing audio of the Prime Minister’s apology.

This podcast is supported by funding from The Stout Trust.

Host

Tau’ili’ili Alpha Maiava
Alpha is an international entertainer who moved back to NZ in 2019. He is the recipient of 3 international music awards and has appeared in international films and TV commercials. He has hosted TV shows aimed at the Pacific community in NZ and abroad and was a host for Radio Samoa and 531pi Pacific Breakfast.

Pacific music history is a passion of Alpha’s, he researches and curates many of the interviewees for his Radio shows.

Alpha is a well-known MC in the entertainment and corporate world. He has hosted many events as well as the Pacific Music Awards and has appeared in online and traditional media shows in NZ and abroad.

He is a highly-accomplished integrated marketing and business development communication professional with a 20-year career in the Middle East and throughout Australasia. Being multilingual he is at ease and respectful in complex cultural spaces with community, industry, and cultural leaders.

Guest

Anonymouz (aka Faiumu Matthew Salapu)
Of Sāmoan descent, Sound, Music & Video Producer Anonymouz (aka Faiumu Matthew Salapu)’s work spans traditional music composition and production through to experimental avant-garde sound art. His thorough approach to research, engagement and innovative application means his skills are in high demand in both the traditional and wider creative industries.

In 2013, Anonymouz was appointed Music Director for the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra’s “APO Remix” programme and in 2014, he was commissioned by NZ’s flagship Pacific Radio stations Radio 531 PI & NIU FM to create their rebranded imaging music which still plays every four minutes to this day. In 2016, Anonymouz was one of 20 Pacific artists who attended the 2016 Festival of Pacific Arts in Guåhan (Guam) as part of the Aotearoa delegation, premiering an original 20 minute audio soundscape work at the Guam Museum created exclusively out of audio samples recorded around the island. The work premiered at the Guam Museum as part of the 2016 Festival of Pacific Arts, at the Auckland Art Gallery, Mangere Arts Centre and at Nga Taonga Sound & Vision, Wellington.

In 2018, Anonymouz was commissioned by the internationally acclaimed, leading Pacific Dance company ‘Black Grace’ to create a 30 minute sound work which premiered as part of the inaugural Guerilla collection at the ASB Waterfront Theatre. Anonymouz was also one of three Pacific composers commissioned to respond to the work of Len Lye – Tusalava. The work was presented at the Mangere Arts Centre in 2014 along with Len Lye’s film and featured again in 2018 as part of Te Papa’s Len Lye at ‘Toi Art’.

In addition to his work in the music industry, Anonymouz’s skills have also been commissioned for major projects for many other non-profit, corporate and creative institutions such as Auckland Museum, Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, Auckland Art Gallery, Auckland Theatre Company, Auckland Libraries, Auckland Transport, Auckland Council, Royal NZ Ballet, Aganu’u Fa’asāmoa 101, PIPA, Black Grace, DB Breweries, Vodafone, Mackie Research, Massey University and many others. In 2015 he was appointed by Auckland City Council to oversee the production of permanent soundscapes built into the exterior roof soffit of the new Glen Innes Music and Arts centre facility “Te Oro”. Unveiled a year later, it was the first time a non-physical public art work had been commissioned by a local authority in New Zealand.

Guest

Hūfanga-He-Ako-Moe-Lotu Dr 'Okusitino Mahina

Learn more about Dr ‘Okusitino Mahina here.