Salient

Tahuna Breaks

By Tania Sawicki Mead | 18 Feb, 2008

\Deemed this year’s NZ Campus Activities Network ‘Emerging Artist’, Auckland-based Tahuna Breaks are bringing their earnest funk sounds to the windy city for Orientation 2008. With recent album release ‘Reflections’ under their collective belt and recent stage support for the ever-popular Fat Freddy’s Drop, Concord Dawn and dDub, the band are surely on the proverbial rise.

Based in Auckland, Tahuna Breaks derive their name from the fertile ground of street names – more specifically, the back alleyway on which they thrashed out their sounds in the days of anonymity. After meeting at high school, the breeding ground for so many potent musical adventures, bassist James and drummer Tim ‘G’ joined up with Marty as their vocalist and chief lyricist, later adding saxophonist and all round classy lady Kelsey. With a second Tim ‘B’ on trumpet and keys and guitar support from Tom, the soulful sound machine was complete. Singer Marty emphasizes that as with most groups that fit under the broad popular genre, they aren’t “strictly dub… our sound is very mixed up.” Their sound, as with so many successful ventures, is “born from the jam” notes Marty. “We just wanted to have impromptu, lazy jams on a Sunday” and the end result “just sounded alright I guess.” Fans would beg to differ, especially the enthusiastic dancers who have populated the Breaks’ gigs over the last two years.

Being part of the Orientation Tour will see the band tour around the country playing to a happy melee of first year students and dub enthusiasts, including the toga party that no doubt is a must on the Canterbury social calendar.

At Lincoln University the band will find common soulful ground with the enigmatic Anika Moa, then continue on to Dunedin to rock the after party of New Zealand’s most luxuriously haired export, The Datsuns. Marty reckons that the band will have no trouble matching the furious energy of the main act – “we like to rock it up as well… as long as we make some noise everyone will be sweet!” In continuing with this diverse range of tour partners, Tahuna Breaks will then open for Tiki Taane in Wellington at Union Hall.

The band is “pretty stoked and very grateful” to be offered such an opportunity, noting that Tiki has done “a lot of hard yards bringing the genre to the forefront.” Apparently the feeling is mutual - “Tiki is stoked to have them as support” said Victoria Activities Manager, Dusty Peru.

Hard yards ahead too for the band, who follow the Orientation tour with another whirlwind national tour in May, revisiting some old haunts and adding some new notches on their proverbial belt. Activities Manager from Lincoln Uni Jo Meyer recommends the band as a worthy live gig, finding herself “blown away by their energy on stage… a must see act this Orientation.” Attendees are sure to witness an energetic combination of dub, funk and the soulful musings of Marty with classy support from Kelsey Seargent on the saxophone, most notably on the first single ‘Voodoo’, which owes the catchiness of its intro to her tuneful dexterity. With such a hectic schedule ahead the band are planning to take it easy for the rest of the year, retreat to their den and start unleashing their collective creative musings once more.