The award winning, husband and wife duo 'Aro' is made up of Charles (Te Rarawa, Ngaapuhi, Ngaati Te Ata Waiohua, Ngaati Mutunga) and Emily Looker, who share a passion for the power of language and music to tell stories celebrating our cultural identity. Blending Emily's honey-voiced jazz with Charles' full throated percussive sound with shades of haka, Aro's performance adds up to a warmth of experience, wholly original, anchored in Aotearoa that leave all who are present with the feeling of having been let in on a special secret. The pair have become well known for their multi-genre offering of music & storytelling, exploring the ideas of kaitiakitanga and manaakitanga - looking after ourselves, each other, and our environment. Finalists for several NZ music awards, and last year winners of the Best Pop Album at the Waiata Māori Music Awards. Aro have also developed an education programme delivering workshops, informed by matauranga Māori of our natural environment in Aotearoa New Zealand, to schools and Kura Kaupapa Maori. They have taken this resource to communities around Aotearoa with their past projects, and will continue to build on this with each new album.
