AllGood Absolute Alternative Records, Lyttelton Records, Hongi Slicker Records
Musical artist
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.
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]
Personal life
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]
For "Shake that Skinny Ass", "Chronophobic Disco" and "Caught in the Rain": "Hot 20 NZ Singles". Recorded Music NZ. 21 September 2020. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
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