Turning Up the Māori: The Showband Mix-O-Matic App

Abstract

Māori showband music is an important part of New Zealand’s musical past. Mostly ignored by scholars, Māori showbands were highly popular during the 1950s-1970s. The Māori showbands developed their particular form of entertainment in New Zealand, but toured extensively throughout Europe, Asia and Australia. They brought together elements of traditional Māori music, popular music of the day, and distinctive Māori humour to the world’s stages. This Masters in Studio Production exegesis develops the song ‘Poi Poi Twist’ by Rim D Paul and the Quin Tikis into an iPad application. ‘Poi Poi Twist’ was recorded by Eldred Stebbings for his Zodiac label. Zodiac released ‘Poi Poi Twist’ in 1963 as a b-side . This exegesis explains the development process taken to bring the Showband Mix-O-Matic iPad app to the prototype stage for testing. The prototype development process included re-recording the audio in the recording studio, as well as designing the app’s user interface and testing the app in a classroom context. The Showband Mix-O-Matic app uses re-recorded stems of the song ‘Poi Poi Twist’ for users to remix within the app. Users can manipulate the audio within the app, creating new music that still references the original song. The Showband Mix-O-Matic app engages and entertains users by bringing to life the Māori Showbands’ legacy for the touchscreen generation. It uses an iPad app to create a meaningful learning experience. This exegesis aims to highlight the need for Māori music resources apps and how harnessing current IOS technology can fill this need.

The Showband Mix-O-Matic will be available for downloading from the iTunes App Store from July 9th 2016. Email communication can be made at louise@maorigirlcreative.co.nz