Remastered reissue of seminal recording. Back in 1994, no one could have predicted the enormous impact Te Ku Te Whe (the Woven Mat Of Sound) was going to have on New Zealand music culture. Hirini Melbourne and Richard Nunns were already convinced by the importance and necessity of their quest to assist the revival of the hitherto buried treasure of te taonga puoro, but the extent to which their debut recording would have such wide and lasting influence remains unprecedented.
Te Ku Te Whe deserves its status as a watershed album in NZ music history. In keeping with Mäori spirituality, the music on Te Ku Te Whe takes the listener into an ancient world, structured by mythology, history, and the moods of nature. The sound and images have been chosen to evoke the closeness of Mäori music to the land, the sea and the wind. It has become the definitive recording of taonga puoro (maori musical instruments) since it was released in 1993.
Te Ku Te Whe reached gold status in 2002