Although I have been aware of Ria Hall, she is seriously on my listening radar now as from within the chic surrounds of the Festival Club Spiegeltent, I feel enriched, humbled and empowered by what I am experiencing tonight.  

Ria Hall (Ngāi Te Rangi/Ngāti Ranginui) is an outstanding performer who takes complete control of the stage, her material, leading the brilliant band, her voice and her storytelling. 

She lives and breathes every song, every note, and Rules of Engagement is a true masterclass in the art of performance communication. She has complete conviction that through aroha and dialogue, acknowledging our historic and ancestral past, the rights and the wrongs, with truth and honesty, we can move to a place of unity, both collectively and personally.  

This album is inspired from a letter written by Henare Taratoa (Ngāi Te Rangi) to the Govenor of New Zealand, Sir George Grey, before the Battle of Gate Pā (Pukehinahina) in 1864 which outlined how both Māori and British should conduct themselves in battle. Anecdotal audio recordings in Te Reo Māori by Turirangi Te Kani from 1968 add to the layers and immersion in the narrative.

Her music is an intoxicating mix of hip hop, reggae, ragga and mesmerising melodic soul vocals woven together with lush harmonies from Mara TK who is also a collaborator on several songs like ‘Black Light’which is inspired by the artworks of Ralph Hotere.  

The mobilising slam poetry by Te Kahupakea Rolleston (‘In the Trenches’)andthe electric beats and groove from the phenomenally talented players in the three piece band The Nudge transport and inspire us. The silences between the beats speak to us just as powerfully.  

Ria Hall is not afraid to speak out and stand up for her beliefs, but does so with such inclusiveness and eloquence in her delivery that she makes us, the audience, feel welcome, safe and wanting to engage in the dialogue from whatever our standpoint or cultural background is.   

This is beautifully expressed in songs like ‘Hawaiki’,where she invites everyone to go to their own Hawaiki – a place of belonging – be it a quiet space to reflect and reconnect, a physical space like a beach to be one with nature, or your actual ancestral home. The haunting ‘Te Ahi Kai Po’(“the fire burning away the darkness”) expresses the anguish and despair when defeat seems imminent.

Rules of Engagement underlines the importance of knowing who we are, where we have travelled from and how to allow the past to be part of that journey – however painful – to shape us into who we can be.  

The lasting image I have is of a performer with a symbolic korowai (traditional cloak) flowing out behind her as she is wrapped in the aroha and history of her whanau. Ria Hall is an inspiration.

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