Tradition and tech merge in new library soundscape

As taonga pūoro artist Komako Silver (Ngāpuhi) stepped into the centre of a crowd and began swinging a poi āwhiowhio, the soft, bird-like whistle emanating from the instrument signalled the launch of a new work in the University’s art collection.

Kōriporipo is a sound installation, which launched at the University’s General Library on 8 October with a live performance of the work that blends traditional Māori musical instruments, voice and technical wizardry.

It is the third composition designed for Karanga, a soundscape artwork commissioned for the library’s entrance.

The soundscape consists of two main elements: the instrument, which is made up of software, CCTV cameras and speakers; and a composition, which combines sounds with an algorithm that controls those sounds using movement data.

The algorithm for the instrument and the original composition for Karanga were created by computer scientist and former School of Music academic Dr Fabio Morreale. They were designed to respond dynamically to the movement of people coming and going from the library, captured through camera sensors, and to align with the changing nature of our environment, such as tides and lunar phases.

Fabio’s original 2024 composition, Astrolabe & Anthropocene, was followed by Hokinga Mai, composed by Dr Luk Vitk and Allana Goldsmith (Ngāti Porou, Ngāi Tai) in 2025, but the latter played on a loop, as the ‘instrument’ lapsed when Fabio left the University.

Kōriporipo, however, has rebuilt this technical side of the work, explains co-composer and School of Music lecturer Dr Andrea Young. She created the soundscape alongside Komako and co-composer John Kim, who rebuilt the instrument.  

As a new resident (originally from Montreal, Canada), Andrea says she wanted to create a collaborative work specific to New Zealand. After meeting taonga pūoro artist Komako at a composers’ workshop, she decided to create a work combining voice and traditional Māori musical instruments.

Andrea and Komako shaped the material and the concept behind the work, while John, who is a School of Music senior technician, rebuilt the instrument to shape how the material is processed and behaves in the space. 

The result is what Andrea describes as an ‘electronic abstraction’ of taonga pūoro and voice elements, which, thanks to the instrument, respond dynamically to people moving through the library’s main entrance.

The sound this system creates helped inspire the composition’s name, Kōriporipo, which means to swirl, or eddy.

“When someone enters the space it triggers this blending, or smearing of the sounds. Then when someone enters the space from the other side, their sound mixes with this smearing and you get a sonic ‘eddy’ – a little pool of sound that’s created and left behind,” explains Andrea.

“Conceptually, the name carries a sense that wherever we go we leave a residue of ourselves, of our energy, behind us.”

Before the live performance that launched the work, Komako explained how different taonga pūoro are associated with various rituals and practices and create associated atmospheres and energies. The composition – playing daily from 9.30am to 3.30pm – conveys this by featuring different taonga pūoro each hour.

Andrea, who has since gained funding to continue her research into the use of taonga pūoro in her composition, says the idea that we leave an impact on each other through our interactions was also reflected among the collaborators on the project.

“I learned so much about how these sound worlds work together through my collaboration with Komako, and John is a genius. He figured out technical details, when I wouldn’t have even known where to start. I have been in awe of my teammates on this project.” 

- Caitlin Sykes