Troy Kingi

Troy Kingi
Kingi at Government House, Wellington in 2021
Background information
Born	1984 (age 39–40) Rotorua, New Zealand[1]
Genres	Funk Psychedelic rock Psychedelic funk[2] Blues[2] Soul[3] roots reggae[3]
Occupations	Singer songwriter actor
Instruments	Vocals bass keyboards drums [3]
Years active	2013–present
Labels	AllGood Absolute Alternative Records, Lyttelton Records, Hongi Slicker Records

Troy Kingi (born 1984) is a New Zealand musician and actor from Northland, first receiving media attention when he appeared in the 2013 film Mt. Zion. Kingi is a multi-instrumentalist, is known for his 10/10/10 project: the plan to release 10 albums in 10 genres across 10 years.

Troy Kingi was born 1 June 1984 in Rotorua,^[1][4] and was raised in Rotorua, Te Kaha and Kerikeri.^[3] Kingi is of Te Arawa, Ngāpuhi and Te Whānau-ā-Apanui descent.^[3][4] He began learning guitar at Te Aute College in Hawke's Bay, and formed his first band, Toll House, at Kerikeri High School.^[3] Toll House entered the Smokefreerockquest, winning the regional Northland competition.^[3]

Since the early 2000s, Kingi has lived in Kerikeri.^[4] He studied at the Music and Audio Institute of New Zealand in Auckland, and on returning to Kerikeri fronted a number of short-lived bands, including Mongolian Deathworm, Kingkachoo, Troy Kingi and the Tigers, Full Moon Street and Typhoon Fools,^[3] while also working as a scuba instructor and fruit picking in Kerikeri orchards.^[1] Kingi's work with Typhoon Fools gained him more widespread attention, and led to him being cast in the film Mt. Zion (2013).^[3][5] Kingi also featured on the film's soundtrack,^[6] and after the film's release, toured New Zealand with the film's lead actor Stan Walker.^[7] Kingi released his first extended play in 2013.^[7] His appearance in Mt. Zion led to further work as an actor, including The Pā Boys (2014) and Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016).^[3] Kingi collaborated on the Stan Walker song "Aotearoa" (2014), a song created part of a Te Wiki o te Reo Māori project for a song sung in Māori language to reach number one in New Zealand, something that had not been seen since Pātea Māori Club's "Poi E" in 1984.^[8][9]

Kingi set himself the goal of releasing 10 albums in the span of 10 years, performing in 10 different genres.^[3][10] The first in this series was Guitar Party at Uncle's Bach (2016), a double album recorded live in seven days at Lyttelton, New Zealand.^[3] At the Waiata Māori Music Awards, Kingi won the awards for best Māori pop artist and best solo male artist.^[3] His second album, the soul-psychedelic Shake That Skinny Ass All the Way to Zygertron (2017), featured "Aztechknowledgey", which was nominated for the APRA Silver Scroll award.^[11] Holy Colony Burning Acres (2019) was a political roots reggae album featuring songs that discussed subjects including West Papua, the Inuit, Hawaiʻi and Aboriginal Tasmanians,^[3][1] The album won the Taite Music Prize in 2020.^[3]

In 2020, Kingi released The Ghost of Freddie Cesar, an album inspired by a cassette tape Kingi found in the belongings of his father, who disappeared in 2005.^[2] The cassette tape since went missing, and the album was a re-creation of what Kingi remembered of the tape, blended with his own interpretations and original content.^[2] The album was a commercial success, reaching number two on the New Zealand albums chart.^[12] Kingi's 2021 album, Black Sea Golden Ladder, was written in four days at an apartment on Clyde Wharf in Wellington Harbour, as a part of the Matairangi Mahi Toi Artist Residency programme.^[13] The album was co-produced with New Zealand singer-songwriter Delaney Davidson.^[13]

Kingi plans to retire as a musician after releasing 10 albums, to become a music producer and a gardener at land he owns in Ōkaihau.^[4]

Kingi's father disappeared around Christmas 2005, while driving between Rotorua and Auckland.^[2] Kingi has five children with his wife Huia,^[4] and works with the Raid Movement, a group combatting youth suicide in Northland.^[3]