Single/Video Review: Hei Kawe i a Au

Allana Goldsmith and Mark Baynes have worked together for a decade and form the creative heart of Goldsmith Baynes. They both have extensive experience in the international and local worlds of Jazz and have brought considerable skills and knowledge to this single Hei Kawe i a Au which is from their upcoming debut album E Rere Ra.

Right from the beginning there is established a musical context of jazz that is impeccably played and sung. The melodic work of Goldsmith, Baynes’ piano textures, and a sensitive, musically expressive rhythm section consisting of Hikurangi Schaverien-Kaa (drums) and Tom Dennison (Bass) are everything you could expect of a down- tempo jazz song. Added to that is the highly effective way Riki Bennett adds the element of Taonga Puoro- perfectly placed in the music in a way that subtly echoes Goldsmith’s vocal through the instrumental passages. It’s a gentle touch, and it adds a wonderfully expressive layer to the piece overall.

Goldsmith explains ‘The title, Hei Kawe i a Au is taken from the whakatauki ”Ma te pakihiroahei kawe i a ahau”” If that equates to the theme, then the piece develops those words and concepts in a way that correlates to a Jazz approach of musical and poetic extemporisation on the theme of being ‘carried away by the easterly breeze’- which is an approximate translation in English. Goldsmith delivers a compelling and evocative vocal throughout that evokes this idea almost programmatically, and Baynes’ piano work is both sensitive to the vocals and evocative in its own right.

The video itself is intelligently and evocatively shot at Te Henga, a beach on the west coast of New Zealand by Shivani Karan. In an unusual circumstance for a contemporary music video, Karan accurately captures the essence of the song in the visual interpretation- it’s extremely effective as musical imagery.

Hei Kawe i a Au is an ambitious piece, delivered with style and a compelling musical assurance.