The Power of TONGA!

HuiMusic is always and will always be about music from Hawaii .  Either as a permanent resident, relations or ancestry, the spiritual impact of being Polynesian goes with you where ever you live.  In the mainland, there are countless bands and artists that have either originated from or have family roots from Polynesia .  One such band is Kontiki from Tonga .

The members of the band:

Voka Mataele       Lead and back up vocals, lead and rhythm guitar
Lucky Mataele Jr.  Vocals and drums (Rapper)
David Ha'unga      Lead and back up vocals
Alice Alefosio        Lead and back up vocals
Lovey Mataele      Back up vocals
Amani Alefosio      Percussion
Doug Kongaika     Lead keyboards
Vaiola Mataele      Rhythm keyboards
Tony Mataele       Bass guitar
Eniasi Kavapalu     Lead guitar

Though originally from Tonga, they now live in California.  Just take a look at their musicians’ line-up and you can tell that it is very family oriented (very tight).  Not only having family in Tonga, but there is plenty of family in Hawaii too.  But it is in the mainland where their getting much “love” for the style of music they bring from their soul. Not surprisingly, there is a strong vibe for Kontiki and other locals bands in the mainland due to not only “local” based communities on the west coast, but because the music is gaining popularity on it’s own merits.

With their Hawaiian Music Award winning debut cd called Stand Tall, they have been making an impression that deepens with every show they do.  The title "Stand Tall" came from tragedy however.  Stand Tall was a saying of Loma Mataele (older brother and cousin of Kontiki band members) who was tragically gunned-down in 1996 while in South Central Los Angeles. “We will never forget him in our lives. In our music we continue to strive to reach people with HIS message to always remain true and Stand Tall.”

Kontiki has been getting great support from radio in Canada and now stations in LA are starting to take notice and play the cd.  Their cd was produced in November of 2003 in Northridge, California at a studio called Diamond Mine and released for just under a year and it’s still proving the test of time.  At the head of production were Voka Mataele, Lucky Mataele Jr. and Carl MacGregor.  The style of music is home grown and truly represents the Polynesian contemporary music.

But even though their cd was recorded in California , the first release was concentrated in Hawaii through Pacific Hawaiian Music Distributions.  Along with the local release, Kontiki also gets strong support by local sponsors like Island Family, Polynesian Cultural Center, Mass Appeal Entertainment, Events International along with KCCN, and Dennis Bader of PHMD to name a few.

Kontiki is also showing it’s consistence with their touring/play schedule throughout the west coast and Hawaii .  They play roughly 80 to 100 shows a year. (Averaging 2 shows a week)  And they are steadily getting busier.  They’re playing at various festival, casinos, night clubs, bars, reggae boat parties and private yachts all over the west coast and northwest states as well as return trip to Hawaii .  The last two weeks of December they’re heading home to Tonga with a stop off in Hawaii and the first week of January in New Zealand .

Currently Kontiki is getting ready to release a new cd within a few months and their already planning shows out through the first half of 2005.  For what all that Kontiki has gone through and still manages to keep it all going, they have what it takes to continue to be life-long entertainers as well as embody the passion to do what Polynesia is love globally for………create music.