A sneek peak at Teeks
Rmike.alexander@fairfaxmedia.co.nz AS another New Zealand Music Month comes to an end, a young Kiwi artist will have more reason than most to remember the shake in shake, rattle and roll.
Soul sensation, Teeks, of whom highly respected music critic Lydia Jenkin wrote ‘‘when you’re lucky enough to hear him sing, your jaw will drop a little’’ had a milkshake named after him by Mt Eden, Auckland, boutique cafe Cereal Killa, who paid homage to three up and coming New Zealand artists.
‘‘It’s very rich,’’ he says. ‘‘I tried it while I was doing an interview and I got so distracted it melted so had to go back and try it again.’’ Teeks was born Tekarehana Toi. His dad is a Toi. Hismumis a Gardiner. Sometimes he hyphenates his surname but for now he’s Teeks, a nickname his friends gave him and ‘‘it just stuck’’.
‘‘I grew up most of my life up north,’’ the Auckland-based singer-songwriter says, ‘‘but I always went back to Tauranga where my mother lives as much as I could. I lived there for a while when I was young. That’s my second home. My dad’s whakapapa is from Hokianga. I try to cater for both.’’
With his Facebook friends including some of the makers and shakers in the New Zealand music industry, Teeks is about to reveal what all the fuss is about with his debut single If Only, which was released on May 26 and EP The Grapefruit Skies. The latter is set for release on June 23
‘‘I wasn’t always hard into music,’’ he says. ‘‘It was only when I was at high school that I discovered my passion for it. I joined the band – Aho Mairangi – and we entered competitions such as Rockquest and Pacifica Beats, which was really impactful as they steered me onto this path.’’
After Teeks left high school he moved to Auckland and studied music for two years at Unitech.
‘‘I knew I wanted to do music, I just didn’t know where to start. I was also part of a Maori mentoring programme in 2014 and attended a Songhubs seminar which gave me an introduction to different people in the industry.’’
Some of those connections, including the first person he regards as a mentor, Seth Haapu, gave him an introduction to people such as producers Jeremy Most and Aaron Nevezie, who hunkers down in The Bunker Room studios in New York.
‘‘I have been very lucky with the people around me and the network I have,’’ Teeks says. ‘‘Everything has just fallen into place.’’
The inspiration for the title of his EP The Grapefruit Skies comes from a difficult year in his life when he lost three people close to his family.
‘‘I kind of used the idea of sunsets as a starting point,’’ he says. ‘‘My sister lost her baby last year so when she looks at a sunset, which we both love to do, that is pink and multi-coloured and thinks about her baby it’s bittersweet like a grapefruit. I liked that as a metaphor for the album title and her experience helped inspire the song Never Be Apart.’’
Another song, Wash Over Me, is also tinged with sadness and, while Teeks is not particularly religious, water, in the Maori world view, is a cleanser and purifying substance.
‘‘People can interpret that song the way they want,’’ he says. ‘‘I wrote it after everything that happened last year. I just felt I needed to write something that would help me start anew. My grandfather passed away so it’s a dedication to him as well. When he was sick my dad asked me to sing a gospel song for him. I didn’t really have one so I thought I would write one for him.’’