''Ardijah'' is a music group from
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
, New Zealand that formed in 1979.
History
Ardijah formed in 1979 and spent the early part of the eighties playing the Auckland pub and club scene honing their skills as a covers band. They released their first single in 1986, "
Give Me Your Number" which was followed in 1987 with "
Your Love Is Blind". This was Ardijah's introduction into the music industry where in New Zealand, their popularity was well received.
In 1987, Ardijah was able to record their debut self-titled album after winning the Rheineck Rock Award ($30,000 towards recording cost) which was released by
WEA
The Wea were a Miami-Illinois-speaking Native American tribe originally located in western Indiana. Historically, they were described as either being closely related to the Miami Tribe or a sub-tribe of Miami.
Today, the descendants of the ...
. From this album came the singles "That's the Way", "Give Me Time", "Time Makes a Wine" and "Jammin'". The style of the band's sound was funk rock/reggae, which was to change the music climate of the New Zealand music industry, launching the band's profile as one of New Zealand's first R&B acts.
A re-vamp of the 1st album came out in late 1988 titled ''
Take a Chance''. From this came the singles "
Watchin' U
"Watchin'" is a song by English dance music duo Freemasons. The song is a remake of Deborah Cox's "It's Over Now", from her 1998 album '' One Wish''. It was released as the second single from their second studio album ''Unmixed
''Unmixed'' i ...
" and "Which Way Is Up". ''Take a Chance'' held a top 20 position on the sales charts for four months and achieved platinum status in New Zealand.
In 1990, Betty-Anne (lead singer) and Ryan Monga (producer, musical director & bass) along with the band moved to
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
, taking their sound throughout the pubs and clubs of Australia.
In 1995, after an extensive touring schedule and some worldwide success with their song titled "Gimme Time" in the New Zealand film ''Once Were Warriors'', the band returned to New Zealand.
In 1997, Ardijah released their second album titled ''Influence'' on their own label PolyFonk Productions and was distributed in New Zealand on the Metro Marketing label. This was the band's small taste of independence.
1998 saw the release of Ardijah's cover version of the
Bee Gees
The Bee Gees
were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio were especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in the disco music era in ...
song "
Love So Right
"Love So Right" is an R&B ballad recorded by the Bee Gees. It was the second single released on the album ''Children of the World''.
Background
It was written by Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb early in 1976. Recording started on 18 January, ...
" which was voted the most played song on New Zealand radio that year. The sound was a mix of R&B and reggae which opened the flood gates for that style in New Zealand. It also secured a meeting for the band with the Bee Gees themselves.
In 1999, Warner Music NZ released Ardijah's third album ''
Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
' in November. Betty-Anne went on to win Top Female Vocalist at the 1999
New Zealand Music Awards
The Aotearoa Music Awards (previously called the New Zealand Music Awards), conferred annually by Recorded Music NZ, honour outstanding artistic and technical achievements in the recording industry. The awards are among the most significant that ...
.
In 2004, Ardijah released their fourth album, ''Journey'' on their independent label PolyFonk. The album went on to win the award for Best Album at the Pacific Awards in New Zealand.
Style
Ardijah call their unique style poly fonk and refers to their blending of Polynesian sounds such as Polynesian log drums and
ukulele
The ukulele ( ; from haw, ukulele , approximately ), also called Uke, is a member of the lute family of instruments of Portuguese origin and popularized in Hawaii. It generally employs four nylon strings.
The tone and volume of the instrumen ...
s with
funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...
and R&B.
Band members
* Betty-Anne Monga (vocals, ukulele & percussion)
* Ryan Monga (producer, musical director, drums, bass & vocals)
* Rico Tali (alto saxophone, flute, ukulele, guitar & vocals)
* Ryan "Kaitapu" Monga Jr (bass, drums & vocals)
* Phil Crown (keyboards & vocals)
* Karl Benton (keyboards)
* Kolo Hansen (keyboards)
Former members
* Jay Dee (guitar & vocals)
* Richie Campbell (drums)
* James Tuiara (lead vocals & percussion)
* Paul Drury (keyboards)
* Teina Benioni (guitar)
* Tony Nogotautama (vocals & guitar)
* Anthony Grey (keyboards & vocals)
* Adrian Grey (bass)
* Peter Hoera (bass)
* Brinnie Nepia (bass)
* Simon Lynch (keyboards)
* Daniel Waho (sax & vocals)
* Barbara Griffen (keyboards & vocals)
* Neville Schwabe (saxophone, flute, trumpet & electric wind instrument)
* Paul Norman (trumpet)
* Brent Turner (keyboards & sax)
* Anita Schwabe (keyboards)
* Trevor Collings (guitar)
* Louise Hughs (guitar)
* Kelly Kahukiwa (sax)
* Eddie Manukau (guitar)
* Glen Muirhead (keyboards)
* Tim Gaze (guitar)
* Chris Kamzelas (guitar)
* Nicholas McBride (drums)
* Dimitri Vouros (saxophone)
* John Carson (drums)
* Heba Ngati (percussion)
* Rick Robertson (saxophone)
* Saylene Ulberg (keyboards and vocals)
* Robert Wylde (keyboards)
* Mark Steven (keyboards)
* Waylon Toia (WayZ)(Rap/ Vocals)
* Phillip Davis (DJ Philly.D) (Rap/Vocals/DJ)
Discography
Albums
Singles
References
External links
Official siteMyspace profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ardijah
New Zealand contemporary R&B musical groups
Pacific Music Award-winning artists