The Hongi Slicker - Falling Off

Описание: Mānuka Recordings is pleased to present our first offering in the Mānuka Special series; ‘Falling Off’ / ‘Do It Better (For Us),’ a collaboration with The Hongi Slicker aka Troy Kingi (Te Arawa, Ngāpuhi, Te Whānau-ā-Apanui), an award-winning, multi-genre Māori musician and actor from Rotorua and Te Kaha. Best known for his ongoing “ten albums, ten genres, ten years” recording project and his memorable acting roles in the local films Hunt For The Wilderpeople and Mt Zion, Kingi possesses a unique cultural currency that allows him to move freely between the mainstream and underground of Aotearoa New Zealand.

When our co-founder and in-house producer, Kenny Sterling, met Kingi for the first time backstage at an Avantdale Bowling Club show at Auckland Town Hall in 2022, he was already a fan of ‘Grandma’s Rocket Poem’ off his psychedelic funk album Shake That Skinny Ass All the Way to Zygertron (2017). Feeling a natural affinity with the song’s star-dusted ‘70s sensibilities, he approached Kingi about exploring that zone together further via some of his throwback productions.

For ‘Falling Off’ Sterling pulls in Julien Dyne (drums), JY Lee (horns), Cory Champion (vibraphone), Tiare Kelly (sitar) and Romi Wrights (backing vocals) to summon up a cruisy cinematic soul instrumental.

Mānuka Special is a new Mānuka Recordings series where we present leftfield collaborations with established artists from Aotearoa and beyond.

Credits:
Vocals, BVs & Lyrics: Troy Kingi
All Music performed by Kenny Sterling
except:
Drums: Julien Dyne
Additional BV’s: Romi Wrights
Horns: JY Lee
Sitar: Tiare Kelly
Vibraphone: Cory Champion
Mixed: Kenny Sterling
Mastered: Josh Llewellyn @ Downbeat Mastering
Cover Photography: Crystal Chen
Cover Design: Matt Hunter & Dylan Cook
Cover Typography: Leon Aoki