With her sophomore album under her belt, Tokelauan singer songwriter Olivia Foai, opens up about what’s next in her musical journey.
Olivia Foa’i lives in Australia but the North Sydney based musician feels at home in Aotearoa, the country she grew up in.
“It’s such a funny feeling because you’re finally like, you’re like, ‘Ahh’. You kind of like, relax, in a way because you’re like, we’re here,” she says..
“Whereas you don’t realize over there (Australia) that you feel so different to everybody else, or that you may look different. So, it’s really nice.”
Foai was back in New Zealand last month for the Pacific music Awards where she was both nominee and performer. And while she didn’t pick up any gongs this time, she’s been a winner in the past.
This year she was nominated in two categories for her second album “Tumau Pea”, released late last year. And having written a number of new songs on it, Olivia says it shows a more mature and reflective side of her
“I am growing up; I’m trying to age gracefully. I think for me ’Tūmau Pea’ the album was kind of like trying to really still myself from the inside out.
“I think those are kind of the whole theme of the album and hopefully it shows, you know, it’s very wholesome music I would say,” smiles Olivia.
Her single ‘Tomorrow Can Wait’ highlights the importance of being present.
“It’s meant to feel like when you’re on the beach with your loved ones or, you know, with your family or your partner, whoever it is. And it’s just like tomorrow, it doesn’t matter, you know, just be here in the moment and enjoy the vibe.”
The new sound on her album was created with the help of a new producer.
“I wrote these songs. I had a new producer this time because usually Matatia Foa’i, my brother, the younger of the two, works on everything with me,” she says.
“He’s amazing at percussion and arrangements and everything like that.
“This time I was lucky enough to have (producer) Abraham Kunin come in as well and some of those songs we started together. You know, he would just play something on the guitar and then a new style would come out.”
For Olivia, she says it’s important to have her language intertwined with her music.
“For me, it’s just, it is music. Because obviously we grow up singing songs in various Pacific Islands languages as Pacific People,” she says.
“But also, it was my career as well. I sang for Dad’s band ‘Te Vaka’, so I always hearing the languages and, for me, music doesn’t sound the same without it.”
Music has always been a family affair, mentored and working with her father and brother, they are now working on the new soundtrack for ‘Moana 2’.
“Well, as always, I’m supporting Dad, my father Opetaia Foa’i, who is on the songwriting team for Moana 1 and Moana 2.
“And he keeps me and my brother Matatia very busy because Tia does a lot of percussion stuff, I do a lot of vocal stuff for it; that’s been so full on.
“Like, I can say one good thing about this new Moana 2, is that they really let us put in a lot of music and a lot of Pacific Islands influence, which I think is really nice, because it’s Moana you know, that should be ours,” Olivia says.
So, what’s next for the singer songwriter?
“Fortunately for me, even though I’ve been performing and making music for so long, I’m only getting more passionate about it. So that’s really good,” she says. .
“I’m really blessed and I’ve never toured my own show before, my own music before. I’ve only ever performed with ‘Te Vaka’.
“But I’ll be starting to perform, so I get to have this whole new chapter; I finally get to have, like, a new evolution as me! Which is really cool.”
