Where The Asians At?! Palooza #1

WTAAA? Palooza • Chapter - The First One

Kia ora e te whānau – now that we're in Orange, let's get together IRL to share some food, music, art and ideas. The WTAAA‽ admins (Square, Sums, Eric, Dani and Mukukā) and Kiran Patel from MoveSpace would love to invite all Pan-Asian-Kiwi (PAK) musos and artists to the first ever WTAAA? Palooza at MoveSpace (473 Dominion Road, Auckland) on Sunday 22 May 2022 from 1pm (see programme below).

IMPORTANT: Vaccine pass required. Face masks encouraged.

Programme

From 1.00pm
Rooftop Terrace • Welcome to MoveSpace – Drinks
Creators Lounge • Jessie Kanji Exhibition

1.30pm–2.00pm
Rooftop Terrace • PAK Artist Talk with Jessie Kanji (30 mins)

2.00pm–2.30pm
Rooftop Terrace OR Creators Lounge (if rain) • 3lil.tigers music experiment (30 mins)
Umar Zakaria, Yifan Uya & Andi Liu
Fretless bass, traditional chinese instruments, percussions, DJ, vocals.

2.30pm–3.30pm
Rooftop Terrace • PAK Potluck: Bring Your Favourite Asian Noms (60 mins)
Let's have a kai and a kōrero.

3.30pm–6.30pm
Rooftop Terrace OR Creators Lounge (if rain) • PAK Muso Speed Dates (Open Mic Jams)

6.30pm–7.00pm
Creators Lounge • Wrap Up
Hear about the latest WTAAA‽ updates as well as Asians-In-Music (AIM) Conservatory's new project SYNERGISE (Clarissa Chai & Mia Caintic).

(Programme subject to change – see below for more details.)

PAK Potluck – Bring Your Favourite Asian Noms

Basically, show-and-tell us what your favourite Asian kai is. Bring enough to share. We'll put up some of our favourite kai and drinks as well (and eco-friendly plates, cups and cutlery). Buffet/home styles.

PAK Muso Speed Dates (Open Mic Jams)

Taking inspiration from The Community Cafe's Open Mic Jam sessions at Mangere Arts Centre, here's a call-out to all Pan-Asian-Kiwi musos up for a jam. Get stuck in, meet and collab with other Pan-Asian-Kiwi (PAK) musos. We'll have some backline at the ready (guitars, bass, keys, drums, PA, amps, mics, monitors etc.), but y'all are welcome to bring your own instruments – especially if you play a dope Asian instrument. We'll also have a core/house band ready to support anyone who needs it.

3lil.tigers Music Experiment

Jazz bassist Umar Zakaria, multidisciplinary artist Yifan Uya and folk instrumentalist Andi Liu join forces to present a unique combination of Asian folk music and improvisation. Drawing on Mongolian, Malay, Chinese and other influences, they traverse histories, spiritualities, and chaotic modernities through the medium of sound. Their performance will feature a variety of traditional instruments and musical styles from each artist’s personal background. The group hopes to promote awareness, accessibility, and diversity of Asian musical arts.

"The spirit of traditional music is moving, and looking for new ways of expression. We want to explore new expressions of traditional music in the modern world, based on the idea of borrowing fire from the Tiger to drive away bad things." – 3lil.tigers

Links:

•  Yifan Uya [collaborativevibration.com]: Shaman Briquette Animation – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1yGOlQ_HFI
•  Umar Zakaria [umarzakaria.com]: Senandung – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjp7prpa_Vw
•  Andi Liu [https://www.instagram.com/andisliu/]: – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykeoneBqp9g
•  Trio Improvisation: Run 1 – https://soundcloud.com/umar-zakaria/run-1-andi-liu-yifan-uya-umar-zakaria?si=ce6bb8f86e6344c4bee33891b0b596a3

About Jessie Kanji

Following the immigration of her grandparents from Gujarat, India in the 1940s, Jessie Kanji grew up in Wellington, Aotearoa. Inspired by mother nature, studies in physiology and indigenous cultures, she creates abstract forms. Catalysed by her journey on the West Coast of New Zealand, her art searches for the balance between order and chaos. Studying the interconnectedness of life through exploring the interplay of physiological processes, Jessie plays with the elements of connection, movement, space and colour.