Series Classification: PG
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By Breanna Tugaga-Rogers
Jess grabs a drink with Samara Alofa, a child of Te-Moana-nui-akiwa, to talk teen raves, liturgical singing and their brooding debut album Earth Punk.
Samara Alofa is a child of Te Moana Nui a Kiwa.
A disruptor of the conventional, Samara Alofa is an experimental artist of Tongan, Māori and Sāmoan descent. A heritage of which Amplified host Jess Fu says seeps into the creative’s songwriting.
Samara, who stands firmly in their indigenous roots, creates distinct sonic worlds birthed from pure experimentation. Watching the episode, you can see and hear that their whakapapa seeps into every aspect of their creative process.
Samara is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, producer and vocalist who released their independently-produced debut album Earth Punk in 2020, under Kuini Qontrol.
Samara Alofa. Photo: Vetiver Pictures, Apela Bell
The body of work draws inspiration from a transcendent space of spiritual and ancestral connection, creating an organic soundscape that tells stories of the past, present and future. All of which is specific to the lived experiences of those who dwell in Tāmaki Makarau.
“The process of Earth Punk was a lot to do with that, like healing. It’s like a diary entry, like an open letter buzz as well, and all of the experiences and the realities that exist in that storytelling is about Tāmaki, like Auckland.”
Samara opens up to Jess about the 9-track album, saying that they have a love-hate relationship with the project.
“There’s like a lot of stories and the songs that have been birthed out of like, trauma or things that are sad, you know, it’s emo, it’s emo music. Sometimes I just can't stand performing the songs, it’s just like that.”
One of the tracks, 111, was written in response to a poem they read by Samoan poet Ruperake Petaia that happened to be on page 111 of poetry anthology Whispers and Vanities: Samoan Indigenous Knowledge and Religion.
“We were doing a lot of research into one of my grandmothers and her grave being dug up to build the Symonds Street ramp, like the motorway. That’s why I named it 111. It's like people think it's about the police or something… maybe it is. I mean, it all does tie into the same source. We’re talking about colonisation.”
I feel the mamae through the screen as Samara tells this story and reads the poem aloud. I think, as fully realised descendents of Te Moana Nui a Kiwa, there will always be mamae with what has happened in the past. To see Samara explore this in a creative sense, and to come out with a body of work that draws from the narrative of decolonisation is a beautiful thing.
Samara Alofa and Jess Fu. Photo: Vetiver Pictures, Apela Bell
Samara, however, is now looking to the future as they reflect on the past.
“I’m moving through more like electronic dance music as well because purposely Earth Punk was so emo, so I want to put something out that is like joyful and exciting and happy and like, gay, I dont know.”
Samara gives Jess a cheeky smirk before the episode cuts to a scene of the two surrounded by Samara’s friends on a night out in Tāmaki, where one friend is voguing while the others erupt in cheers of support and encouragement.
The juxtaposition of sad, reflective moments then met with dimly-lit shots of Samara and their friends drinking, laughing and having fun at Wine Cellar really shows the importance of community and belonging, and is a testament to the direction of HASH (Kāinga, Not Like Her).
I’d like to give a special mention to the overhead shot of Samara and their friends walking on the checkered marble floor of the iconic St Kevins Arcade, a staple of Auckland’s Karangahape Road.
Throughout the episode, Samara talks about the roots of their love for music.
“I started getting into music when I was really young. I lived with my grandparents and my papa, he’s like a real amazing guitar player and he used to just jam out and shred in his room with like this little amp. I’d always just hear the music he’d listen to like Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Wonder and I’d just be like, buzzy old man.”
Samara Alofa is an experimental artist and a child of Te Moana nui-a-Kiwa. Photo: Vetiver Pictures, Apela Bell
A lot of their learning process happened in their early 20s, where they’d sit directly in front of a flatscreen TV with their computer plugged in, trying to figure out how to work the software to make music.
Jess says that Samara is never afraid to experiment with new ideas to create their own sound, which comes with the embrace of trial and error.
“Now I’m on this journey of learning all these different types of softwares and by collaborating with people as well.”
The episode ends with a smoky performance of one of Samara’s favorite songs, B.T.T.G.
When asked what the song’s about, Samara lets out a big “um” of a sigh before answering very simply with, “kissing”.
Director: Hash
Samara Alofa episode difrector Hash. Photo: Vetiver Pictures, Apela Bell
HASH is a filmmaker who holds a Masters in Screen Production from the University of Auckland. Her Master’s thesis short film Not Like Her premiered at NZIFF and won Best Self-Funded Short Film at the New Zealand Film Awards 2017.
In 2021 she was selected for Script to Screen’s Film Up programme with producer Tom Hern as her mentor. She wrote and directed Vena, one of eight vignettes in anthology feature film Kāinga (NZIFF, MIFF 2022).
She is currently in production on short film The Rat King which received the New Zealand Film Commission’s Women’s Horror Short grant in 2017.
HASH has recently been selected for Jane Campion’s competitive ‘A Wave in the Ocean’ initiative, funded by Netflix. HASH will be writing and directing a short film under this initiative in 2023-2024.
NZ On Air Photo: NZOA
