Taiaha aka Taiaha Ngawiki

Taiaha is Taiaha Ngawiki, an Adelaide MC and producer who describes himself simply as a master of ceremonies. The name belongs to a Maori weapon, and the culture runs right through the writing: waka, haka and bloodline all turn up in the verses. The catalogue is a good deal deeper than the single booking on record suggests. Nineteen releases sit on his Bandcamp, among them the Free Trub Mixtape, Writers On The Storm, Bury My Bones, Honour Is Forever and Jig. He produces his own material, working with William Formato on drum programming, Ben Quinton on the mix and Paul Fox on mastering. He turns up across the local scene rather than in one corner of it. When I'm Ere brought in Viliani, JLotu$ and EssBee, Zealous featured him on the tech trance cut Raise Up, and in March he took a slot at Club Deep in the Winston on a drum & bass bill led by Future Engineers and Dauntless from Melbourne and Sydney.