Te Tiriti-Based Duo Aro Step into the Unknown With Their Uncharted Concept Album, Tāwauwau
Te Tiriti-Based Duo Aro Step into the Unknown With Their Uncharted Concept Album, Tāwauwau
March 20th, 2026
Some worlds cannot be charted – they must be felt. Before completing their ambitious four-album exploration of Aotearoa’s natural heritage, award winning Te Tiriti-based duo Aro, step boldly aside to enter Tāwauwau: an uncharted, fantastical realm where imagination and reality intertwine.
Written while living full-time on the road with their tamariki, Tāwauwau is a musical exploration of spaces that feel both beyond and within reach. Here, songs shimmer with wonder, pulse with rhythm, and carry the intimacy of family, journey, and whenua. Where Aro’s previous albums traced the known markers of land, sky, forest, and water, this collection ventures into new, imaginative territory – a world felt in the blood, where goosebumps and awe are never far away.
From the glimmering hope of first single ‘Puna Ora’ to the restless tension of ‘Mundane’, Tāwauwau moves fluidly between the magical and the real. It’s a body of work that invites listeners to rediscover beauty, faith, and wonder within the ordinary – to glimpse the light that flickers through life’s complexity.
Tāwauwau is not a detour, but a necessary leap – the space between what has been and what is yet to come. It is a moment to breathe, to dream, and to present music that is fantastical yet grounded, intimate yet expansive. Every song invites listeners to wander, to marvel, and to dwell in the wonder of an unknown world waiting to be felt.
For Aro, Charles (Ngāpuhi, Te Rarawa, Ngāti Te Ata Waiohua, Ngāti Mutunga) and Emily Looker, Tāwauwau is deeply personal. These songs carry the hum of family life, especially from during 2025 while living full time on the road in their caravan, the laughter and quiet of raising children amidst mountains, coastlines, and open skies. It is a story of faith, whānau, and finding home – wherever the journey leads.
Following its release, Aro will share Tāwauwau with audiences across the motu on a nationwide tour running from late March through early May 2026. Travelling with their tamariki in their Rugged Kiwi caravan, the tour will weave through communities both large and small – inviting audiences to step into Tāwauwau through immersive storytelling, bilingual lyricism, and soulful connection.
Their live performances – rich in warmth, harmony, and heart – have captivated audiences nationwide, from major festivals to intimate community venues. and are known for their uniquely immersive live performances that celebrate connection, language, and place.
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Aro, Charles (Ngāpuhi, Te Rarawa, Ngāti Te Ata Waiohua, Ngāti Mutunga) and Emily Looker, are a multi-award winning Te Tiriti-based duo whose artistry blends te reo Māori and English, weaving together jazz, folk, soul, and RnB influences. Their work is anchored in the values of kaitiakitanga and manaakitanga – caring for ourselves, each other, and the natural world.
Over Easter 2025, Aro, stepped into a new chapter of their lives, packing up their Pukekohe home and moving into their custom-fitted Rugged Kiwi caravan and hitting the road with their two tamariki to live a life centred around whānau, community, bicultural connection, adventure, and legacy.
It was during this time, often in the quiet of the night, while their tamariki slept, where ideas that had sprung to mind during the day, at play, in Aotearoa’s magical outdoors – that these new creations began to come to life.
With their signature blend of contemporary indie-folk, soul and haka-infused motifs, Aro invite listeners into a soundscape that feels both magical and grounded – a glimpse of the fantastical world of Tāwauwau – a place beyond perception.
Their forthcoming concept album, Tāwauwau, is a body of work inspired by life on the road with their young whānau, and the wonder, weight, and yearning that travel stirred up.
At the heart of it all is whānau. Their 4 year old daughter, and almost 2 year old son travel with them, making Aro as much a story of family as it is of music. Their songs carry that sense of intimacy — a reminder of the magic glimpsed as children, and the responsibility of carrying it forward for generations to come.