"On November the 3rd 2012, after many months of preparation, my whānau and friends came together to record and film my live album With Strings Attached (Alive & Orchestrated).
With the help of NZ On Air and TVNZ we were able to capture a beautiful and powerful moment in time that I'm so blessed to be part of – the performing together of my live band The Dub Soldiers, kapahaka group Te Pou O Mangatawhiri and a string orchestra in the angelic setting of the Old St Paul's Church in Wellington.
Stylistically we wanted With Strings Attached to cover a wide range of my music catalogue, choosing classics like solo acoustic number “Always On My Mind” then delving into an earlier ballad “Love Your Ways”, which I wrote in my Salmonella Dub days. We also included more atmospherically intense songs like “Tangaroa” and the opening dubstep song “Whakakotahi”, both of which performance wise, visually feature the power of Te Pou O Mangatawhiri Kapahaka.
For the musical score, I was very fortunate to work closely with two key members of the prestigious NZ Symphony Orchestra; Steve Bremner who arranged the music and Hamish McKeich who conducted the entire project.
With Strings Attached (Alive and Orchestrated)" could not have been possible
without the combined hard work and commitment of my band members – talented
Shapeshifter friends Pdigsss, Sambora, Nicky and Reno, Jason Johnston (Jakob),
and majestic vocalists Ria Hall, Tali and my Dad, Uekaha Taane Tinorau. I'm so
proud of this project and excited to release it for you all to hear. I hope you
enjoy this album as much as we did making it."
Tiki Taane