Contributor
Reti Hedley
Performer, Māori Composer, Composer
Biography
Ngāti Tūwharetoa
Reti was mentored by his late mother Rangiiria Hedley. Rangiiria was a renowned taonga pūoro artist and lecturer at the university of Waikato. She passed on her cultural and practical knowledge of taonga pūoro and Te Reo Māori to Reti.
Reti Hedley is an experienced and established musician, composer and audio producer. He is most recognised as a key member of New Zealand bands ‘IA’ and 'Knights of the Dub Table'. Both bands have been nominated for Maori Music Awards. Reti is also a composer for screen and enjoys working with creative teams to bring visions to life.
Reti is exploring new frontiers with taonga pūoro creating indigenous soul music in the band IA. His compositions blend old with new and feature the voices found with traditional Māori instruments/taonga puoro.
The puoro voices are blended with modern instruments, ancient poetic writing style and modern soulful melodies. His composing style is unique, using taonga pūoro as the driving force in his creative process.