In this series, we present our new composers. We are proud to introduce Mohi Allen
Please tell us about yourself and what you do.
Kia ora e te iwi,
He uri tēnei nō Te Tai Tokerau whānui, nō Tauranga Moana, nō Ngāti Kahungunu ki Te Wairoa.
Ko Mohi tōku ingoa. My name is Mohi. I'm a singer, song-writer, music artist, born and raised in Henderson, West Auckland.
By day, I'm a kaimahi at the Mental Health Foundation NZ.
Awards: APRA Maioha Award 2023
I've had a couple really cool concert experiences, one of those would have to be gigging over in Canada earlier this year. The Energy in the room, seeing an international audience rock to waiata Māori was pretty Unreal to see!
Fav Ninja Turtle: Probs Michelangelo ay, same vibes I reckon.
Please choose 2-3 of your works/albums and tell us about them.
"In 2022. I released my first EP project Moments. My friend Dan Martin produced this project with me and I worked closely with my sister Rukuwai on the waiata Māori in this EP. This was my first proper introduction I guess, into the Aotearoa music scene.
The project spans from songs I had written way back in kura to songs written within the year of release, a mix of Māori and English tunes within the Soul, Pop soundscape. "Moments" is such a wicked project that really kicked things off for me as an artist.
"Last year, I released my debut album "Elements of Aroha". With this project, I delved deeper into reo rua (bilingual) music, with these songs having both Te Reo and English components. The aim for this album was to weave Te Reo and kōrero tuku iho (ancestral storytelling) with urban music influences like Neosoul and Funk. Elements of Aroha was such a cool project to bring together, I got to work with so many incredible creatives on this album and have been able to take this album around the motu and the world over the last year. "
What are you working on at the moment?
I recently got to collaborate with my bro, the incredibly talented Chase Woods and we released our latest waiata "Hoki Mai Rā." Got to check it out fam:
I have a new single dropping in September. Can't share too much about it, but keep your eyes peeled for that one.
How can people connect with you?
Spotify
Insta
YouTube
Bandcamp
Facebook