Biography
Troy Kingi was born 1 June 1984 in Rotorua, [1] [4] and was raised in Rotorua, Te Kaha and Kerikeri. [3] Kingi is of Te Arawa, Ngāpuhi and Te Whānau-ā-Apanui descent. [3] [4] He began learning guitar at Te Aute College in Hawke's Bay, and formed his first band, Toll House, at Kerikeri High School. [3] Toll House entered the Smokefreerockquest, winning the regional Northland competition. [3]
Since the early 2000s, Kingi has lived in Kerikeri. [4] He studied at the Music and Audio Institute of New Zealand in Auckland, and on returning to Kerikeri fronted a number of short-lived bands, including Mongolian Deathworm, Kingkachoo, Troy Kingi and the Tigers, Full Moon Street and Typhoon Fools, [3] while also working as a scuba instructor and fruit picking in Kerikeri orchards. [1] Kingi's work with Typhoon Fools gained him more widespread attention, and led to him being cast in the film Mt. Zion (2013). [3] [5] Kingi also featured on the film's soundtrack, [6] and after the film's release, toured New Zealand with the film's lead actor Stan Walker. [7] Kingi released his first extended play in 2013. [7] His appearance in Mt. Zion led to further work as an actor, including The Pā Boys (2014) and Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016). [3] Kingi collaborated on the Stan Walker song "Aotearoa" (2014), a song created part of a Te Wiki o te Reo Māori project for a song sung in Māori language to reach number one in New Zealand, something that had not been seen since Pātea Māori Club's "Poi E" in 1984. [8] [9]
Kingi set himself the goal of releasing 10 albums in the span of 10 years, performing in 10 different genres. [3] [10] The first in this series was Guitar Party at Uncle's Bach (2016), a double album recorded live in seven days at Lyttelton, New Zealand. [3] At the Waiata Māori Music Awards, Kingi won the awards for best Māori pop artist and best solo male artist. [3] His second album, the soul-psychedelic Shake That Skinny Ass All the Way to Zygertron (2017), featured "Aztechknowledgey", which was nominated for the APRA Silver Scroll award. [11] Holy Colony Burning Acres (2019) was a political roots reggae album featuring songs that discussed subjects including West Papua, the Inuit, Hawaiʻi and Aboriginal Tasmanians, [3] [1] The album won the Taite Music Prize in 2020. [3]
In 2020, Kingi released The Ghost of Freddie Cesar, an album inspired by a cassette tape Kingi found in the belongings of his father, who disappeared in 2005. [2] The cassette tape since went missing, and the album was a re-creation of what Kingi remembered of the tape, blended with his own interpretations and original content. [2] The album was a commercial success, reaching number two on the New Zealand albums chart. [12] Kingi's 2021 album, Black Sea Golden Ladder, was written in four days at an apartment on Clyde Wharf in Wellington Harbour, as a part of the Matairangi Mahi Toi Artist Residency programme. [13] The album was co-produced with New Zealand singer-songwriter Delaney Davidson. [13]
Kingi plans to retire as a musician after releasing 10 albums, to become a music producer and a gardener at land he owns in Ōkaihau. [4]
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