The Ruby Suns - Tane Mahuta

What this video is

Released in 2007–2008 as part of the album Sea Lion via Sub Pop (US/Asia), Memphis Industries (UK/Europe), and Lil' Chief Records (New Zealand), 'Tane Mahuta' represents a rare and deliberate engagement with Māori language and cosmology within the indie-pop format. The title references both a Māori god of the forest and one of the oldest living kauri trees in New Zealand's Waipoua Forest, a site of profound…

Why it matters

As a key track from Sea Lion — an album awarded 8.3/10 by Pitchfork and named a 'Best New Album' — 'Tane Mahuta' exemplifies the mid-2000s wave of antipodean psychedelic indie pop that drew on non-Western musical traditions. It is a document of the moment when New Zealand indie music achieved…

The director

Marco Viduarre is a New Zealand-based filmmaker and visual effects artist associated with the Auckland indie music scene, particularly through his work with Lil' Chief Records artists. He also directed the Ruby Suns video for 'There Are Birds.' His VFX…