Pomale Tamati has music in the blood, but it took him until high school to discover it. Hear him DJ during our Matariki hāngi lunchtimes.
Are you from Auckland? If not, where did you grow up?
I am a New Zealand-born Samoan, Tongan, Kiwi. I was born in Christchurch, but at a very young age I moved to Auckland, so my birthplace is Christchurch, but Auckland is home. Growing up, I was rich in loyalty and love and I would say I had the best childhood. I was always surrounded by family and was taught at an early age, the value of unconditional love through my family.
What do you do here?
Right now, I am a full time DJ here in Auckland. I DJ at clubs, bars, social events, parties and events.
How did you get into it?
My family have a passion for arts and people and I have quite a few family members within the New Zealand music scene currently. So I guess I inherited the passion for music from my family. One day in high school, I skipped my drama class to go join my friend’s music class and I decided to make some chord progressions and eventually a song. My friend's were shocked at how fluent I was with musical knowledge I unknowingly had, and encouraged me to take up music. My uncle, who is currently in the music scene, told me that I should go study at MAINZ [Music and Audio Institute of New Zealand] because his friend teaches there. MAINZ was great! I met a lot of different people, who were all like-minded in that we all love music. From there, I met people who have now gone on to contribute to the music scene and have created a platform for themselves. That's also one of my passions, to support other people's passions. So when my friends have a gig or are performing, I try my best to make it to their gig. It's really wholesome and I know as a DJ, I want my friends to support me, so I'm more than willing to go support them! But yeah, from there, it's just been gig after gig, contact after contact, and I've never stopped networking!
What’s your idea of fun?
I have the most fun when I'm with my family, because those are my people! I love to dance, I love going to gigs, I love DJing, I love music, I love supporting friends and family. Anything to do with those things will always be fun because that's what I love to do.
What’s something not many people know about you?
This is a hard one because I'm such an open book these days, but one thing people don't know about me is that I'm a feminist. I'm big on equality and fighting for people's rights.
You’re playing down in Takutai Square during our Matariki festivities next week, what tunes will you be playing?
For this Matariki event, I will be playing a lot of New Zealand music because you should anyway. As a Kiwi, I believe we have so much talent here in New Zealand and a lot of it doesn't get noticed. Also a theme I want to play is soul, as I can relate a lot of Māori music to general soul music.
Do you do anything to celebrate Matariki?
In all honesty, I don't really celebrate Matariki, even though I should. But last year, I DJed this event and I am DJing this year, so I guess you could say that DJing annually for this event is my way of celebrating Matariki.
Where do you usually play?
I have played at many venues, but the place I usually DJ is Cassette Nine. Cassette Nine is a club in town on Vulcan Lane and it's the club that I feel most comfortable DJing because I can pretty much get away with DJing all the music I like.
