Coburg 2017

It is impossible to deny the lure of Coburg. Every year the lucky folk of Europe get to haunt the same streets and meet new and old friends in one hedonistic three day samba-marathon. Unfortunately, for us, stuck on the other side of the planet, it's a minor miracle getting the band to plan, travel, pay for and organise such trips. So, to do it a second time is no mean feat and a massive amount of respect is due to Nigel for leading us to the hallowed land as a band a second time.

This year we decided to take the Maori influence of two years ago one massive leap further, and combine our very own eclectic take on samba with kapa haka. Our legendary shaker player, Ngawara, called in a family favour and asked Koro Tini to assist us take coburg by storm. He was amazing and it must be a world first combination - challenging the audience and menace the stage with his taiaha, while combining the rhythmic nature of the ritual with our performance. The dude is a massive professional and immediately knew where to add cultural gravitas.


The audience didn't know how to react. Being mostly used to scantily clad samba dancers with come hither stares, seeing Koro prowl through the band and with fierce pūkana certainly got their attention.

We were also joined by two dancers this year, which was awesome. Our repertoire is heavily choreographed for each of the different pieces, so it was great to have them work with Koro to make the spectacle even more magic.

Baking all that up with Tim G on directing duties gave the band the confidence to smash the living bejeesus out of our set. Bring on 2019!