Holy Colony: Burning Acres

New Zealand Māori singer Troy Kingi has an ambitious idea of recording ten albums over ten years in ten different genres, and so far he's up to number three. Guitar Party at Uncles Bach in 2016 with his band The Electric Haka Boogie was a tribute to soulful blues. The backing group's name changed to The Galactic Chiropractors on 2017's Shake That Skinny Ass All the Way to Zygertron, a psych-funk exploration into Parliament/Funkadelic territory. Last year Kingi recorded this next, reggae-infused episode with the band transforming again into The Upperclass.

Like most Kiwi reggae, rather than imitating the Jamaican style, Holy Colony has a more laid-back Pacific-roots vibe – but it still addresses serious issues of colonisation and shared indigenous politics from around the world. Kingi is of combined The Arawa, Ngāpuhi and The Whānau-ā-Apanui descent himself, and tackles both Māori and global themes on tracks like ‘First Nation’, ‘Mighty Invader’ and ‘We Were Once Kings’. ‘Truganini’ specifically highlights the enduring spirit of Australian Aboriginal society, while ‘Bird of Paradise’ reacts to the ongoing suppression of West Papuan independence hopes. With seven more albums to go, Kingi's continued musical evolution promises to be full of more creative surprises.