The Long Song : Te Waiata Roa

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An international creative residency exploring the global and cross-cultural intersections of land, music and ancestry.

The Long Song project brings together indigenous Māori musicians from Aotearoa (NZ), Sámi artists from Norway, Welsh, Gaelic, and Scots artists to explore commonalities and differences, and stories told through generations, sung across time and space

Instigated by partners in Aotearoa-New Zealand, Alba-Scotland, and Cymru-Wales, this exciting cultural exchange will facilitate curated conversations in the sphere of music, culture, and language, raising awareness and building global alliances of indigenous creators and thinkers.

Māori musicians Huia Hamon and Rob Thorne will travel from Aotearoa to Scotland for the first time. They will be accompanied by Aotearoan cultural leaders from the Matariki Cultural Foundation and Creative Northland.

Norwegian Sámi artists Torgeir Vassvik and Kari Heiman, Scottish Gaelic singer Deirdre Graham, Scots singer Kirsty Law, and Welsh singer Eve Goodman will join the Aotearoans on the land at Knockengorroch farm – a once densely populated settlement, situated deep in the Carsphairn hills of South West Scotland. The artists will gather together for a residency the week before, then take part in Knockengorroch Festival 2025. 

Knockengorroch has always championed music about belonging, ancestry and place – and the land has always been integral to that work.  Through heritage activities, which bring to life some of the diverse stories of communities now gone, Knockengorroch aims to re-connect people, and inspire those to come. Connection improves wellbeing as well as inspiring a deeper concern and responsibility for the earth, essential at this time of environmental crisis. The Long Song featured artists all have these concerns at their core. 

During the residency, the international participants will share music and world views, exploring how culture interacts with land, languages, and identity. Further Scottish cultural leaders and producers will also be invited to take part in a conversation to discuss how our diversity strengthens traditional cultural identity and practice, both now and into the future.

The Long Song artists will also co-design and perform an opening ceremony to honour the land and kick start Knockengorroch Festival on Thursday 22 May.  Performances will take place during the festival, and festival goers will be able to take part in Sámi joiking, Māori poi and instrumentation, Gaelic, Scots and Welsh singing workshops from the artists.

The Long Song at Knockengorroch is the continuation of the project begun in March 2024 when Knockengorroch and Trac Cymru were invited to Aotearoa (New Zealand) by the Matariki Cultural Foundation to join other indigenous and international delegates for a conversation about a global indigenous music platform. 

Landing in Wales in early May 2025, the Aotearoan delegation will attend music industry event FOCUS Wales in Wrexham and the Great Escape festival in Brighton before travelling up to Knockengorroch in South West Scotland.

The The Long Song* project in the UK has been made possible thanks to funding from the British Council Connections Through Culture grant. The residency, collaboration and discussions on the land at Knockengorroch have been funded by Creative Scotland.

Our Project Partners

Since 2016, the Matariki Cultural Foundation has been present at international music expo WOMEX, scoping out how Indigenous and Pacific artists could find their place in the world music space. In 2018, WOMEX invited MCF to establish and coordinate the inaugural Pan Indigenous Network, which has since become a powerful platform for connection and collaboration.

Trac Wales, also known as Trac Cymru, is a leading organization committed to the promotion and development of traditional folk music and dance in Wales. Its mission is to preserve, celebrate, and elevate Welsh folk traditions, ensuring these cultural practices remain vibrant and accessible to people of all ages and backgrounds. 

Long Song participant biographies

Hinurewa te Hau (Matariki Cultural Foundation, Aotearoa NZ)

Hinurewa te Hau is a cultural practitioner with Māori, Samoan, and European whakapapa, who brings a Te Ao Māori philosophy to her work. As Director and co-founder of the Matariki Cultural Foundation, she is committed to the exchange of kaupapa Māori — Māori principles, values, and worldviews — in a way that respects and nurtures the integrity of Indigenous cultures. Her approach is centred on the belief that the sharing of cultural narratives, especially through music, is essential for preserving and strengthening cultural identities.

In the Long Song project, Hinurewa’s role is key in leading and guiding the exchange of cultural narratives between Māori and Celtic, with an emphasis on the pivotal role that music plays in safeguarding and revitalising cultural traditions. She facilitates a process where music is not only a medium for artistic expression but a tool for continuing the journey of cultural preservation across Indigenous communities, emphasising  the role of music in safeguarding heritage, land, and identity.

Katch Holmes (Knockengorroch, Scot)

Katch Holmes is a Scottish cultural leader and co founder of Knockengorroch, a pioneering platform of projects, residencies and collaborations, not least, Knockengorroch festival, a grassroots greenfield event, dedicated to celebrating and supporting land based music, culture and art, local and international, grassroots and indigenous perspectives. Under Katch’s guidance, Knockengorroch has become a key site for cultural exchange projects beyond the festival, offering artists and audiences a space to explore shared experiences, challenges, and inspirations. 

With a deep understanding of Scotland’s rich cultural heritage and the complexities of identity and mixed heritage, Katch has been instrumental in fostering cross-cultural collaboration, particularly between Indigenous communities and Scottish traditions. Katch’s work is rooted in the belief that music and culture are powerful tools for building connections and understanding between peoples, and in the importance of people and music’s connection to land.  She continues to advocate for Indigenous voices within the global music scene. 

Danny Kilbride (Trac Cymru Wales)

Danny Kilbride is a prominent Welsh cultural advocate and leader in the arts, with a focus on promoting Welsh music and cultural narratives. As a key partner in Trac Wales, the folk development organization that promotes and supports the traditional arts and culture of the country, Danny has played a central role in creating opportunities for Welsh artists to engage in international collaborations, with particular emphasis on relationships between Wales, Celtic communities, and Indigenous groups worldwide. 

His work highlights the shared histories and cultural expressions of Wales and other Indigenous communities, creating space for dialogue and mutual learning. Danny’s vision centres around nurturing the next generation of artists and ensuring that traditional cultural practices are celebrated while allowing for creative innovation. He is committed to strengthening global networks and fostering ongoing partnerships through arts and cultural exchange.

Olivia Garelja: (Creative Northland, Aotearoa NZ)

Olivia Garelja is a multifaceted creative professional based in Whangārei, New Zealand, serving as the Director of Creative Northland. She holds a First-Class Honours degree in Art and Design from Auckland University of Technology (AUT-NZ). ​ In her leadership role at Creative Northland, Olivia focuses on fostering cultural exchange, creative sustainability and strategic development within for Tai Tokerau. She is dedicated to helping individuals discover and embrace their creative calling, aiming to position Te Tai Tokerau as a leading centre in New Zealand’s creative sector from craft and folk art sectors and working on leading Whangārei to global recognition with Unesco in 2026.

Deirdre Graham (Scot)

Deirdre is a prominent singer and musician on the Scottish folk scene. Growing up in a musical family on the Isle of Skye, she was steeped in Gaelic culture from an early age. She studied at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland before moving to China and Malaysia, where she embraced the local music and traditions. Since returning home Deirdre has been active in promoting Gaelic music, taking a contemporary approach to Gaelic singing. Her acclaimed debut album, URRANTA, (bold, daring, intrepid) is a triumphant homage to the composers of Gaelic songs who spoke out boldly in reaction to war, political struggle, exile, and who championed female empowerment and love.

Through an expansive soundscape featuring strings, piano, percussion, and electronic elements, the songs are blended from their traditional beginnings into a fresh, contemporary sound.  Deirdre has performed across Scotland and internationally and undertaken numerous collaborative projects.  Her passion for songs resulted in her self-produced podcast series, Gaelic Song Stories, in which she interviews revered tradition bearers, historians, and local experts. 

Kirsty Law (Scot)

Kirsty Law is a Edinburgh based Scots folksinger, songmaker and storyteller who takes the tradition to as many new places as she can find. With every project she undertakes she challenges and explores what this means, engaging both with the ancient and vibrant material of the tradition and with the modern day and all it has to offer and present. Having learnt directly from tradition bearers such as Sheila Stewart, Margaret Bennett and Cathal McConnell she now works in theatre as well as music, visual artists, contemporary dancers, poets, storytellers and sound artists as she explores themes such as queerness, social commentary, sexual politics, landscape, hope and snow. Her work is always about joining the dots – between old and new, the personal and the political, the supernatural and the real, the ‘normal’ and the ‘other – in order to tell pertinent stories.

Rob Thorne (Aotearoa NZ)

Internationally renowned Māori anthropologist, taonga pūoro musician, and award-winning composer, Rob Thorne (Ngāti Tumutumu, Tainui) has been at the forefront of the revival and renaissance of traditional Māori instruments for over 25 years.

His groundbreaking 2014 debut album Whāia te Māramatanga (Rattle Records) was hailed for “successfully reimagining and reconstructing traditional Māori instrumental music for the 21st century” (NZ Musician), marking the start of a prolific career spanning six albums in ten years. Blending tradition with innovation, Thorne’s work crosses orchestral, electronic, jazz, and free improvisation, leading to solo and collaborative performances around the world.

His multimedia collaboration Earth Mother, Father Sky with Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Raven Chacon premiered at ISSUE Project Room (NYC) and was later shown at STUK (Leuven). Continuing to push sonic and cultural boundaries, Thorne’s performances offer a transcendent aural experience, deeply rooted in heritage yet strikingly contemporary.

Huia Hamon (Aotearoa NZ)

HUIA knows that her music breaks the silence… but not her silence…

Singing in te reo Māori (Māori language) breaks her ancestors’ silence and mends the threads.  It’s more than ‘singing a song in a language’ as music conveys messages beyond language, beyond borders.   That’s why this multi-disciplinary artist continues to share, travel and sing in the Māori language of her ancestors with a future-focused sound. An award-winning singer, songwriter, producer, and stage DJ, she delivers powerful, mana-enhancing music in te reo Māori and multilingual collaborations.

Her latest electro-Māori project, ‘KAWAKAWA’, is a year-long album journey, releasing a new song and video every six weeks. Having toured globally, HUIA has performed at WOMAD24, SXSW, WOMEX, and major festivals across Aotearoa, while her music is championed on local and international airwaves. HūHā Music, a Māori music showcase and collaboration portal, has allowed her to facilitate workshops, collaborations, and speak on panels about indigenous music futurisms at IIMS24 (Canada) SXSW24 (Au) and WOMEX24 (EU/UK).

Eve Goodman (Wales)

Eve grew up in North Wales, and has had a deep relationship with singing and sounding for as long as she can remember, writing and performing in both Welsh and English.

Weaving in the natural world and the beauty surrounding her, the clarity and truth in Eve’s voice and lyrics reveal a deep connection to what it is to be human in these troubled, inspiring times. Her second EP, Straeon I Ganeuon, a bilingual collection of English and Welsh songs was written in a caravan in Caernarfon. Curious locals and passers-by would be invited inside to tell their stories, which Eve wove into folk songs. The songs draw from the lives of the local people of the town, breathing new light into old tales or unspoken truths and echoing the ancient folk tradition of storytelling.

2024 has seen the release of Eve’s debut album, ‘Summer Sun, Winter Trees.’ The album is a personal meditation on grief and loss, and tracks the healing journey towards finding hope and joy again. In recent years Eve has also dived into a yearlong study of ritual singing and vocal improvisation, performed internationally, and featured on Bryn Terfel’s new album ‘Sea Songs’ with two duets in both Welsh and Breton.

Torgeir Vassvik (Norway)

Torgeir Vassvik – The Circumpolar Soundpoet – brings new visions to the animistic Joik tradition of the Sámi, the indigenous people of Europe. Blending vocal and percussion rituals with modern strings, his sound is deeply rooted in folk, classical, and improvisation, bridging tradition with bold experimentation. Performing his own compositions, Vassvik’s music resonates with playful, groovy, and experimental expressions on guitar, frame drum, electronics, Birbyne, and Munnharpe. His Joik reveals the deepest vibrations and richest overtones of the human soul, setting new trends on the global stage. While Sámi heritage runs through his veins, Vassvik’s music moves beyond the archaic, embracing boundary-pushing improvisation and sonic innovation.

Kari Heimen (Norway)

Kari Heimen is an artist, composer, percussionist, and joiker, performing both original and traditional North and South Sami joiks alongside the frame drum. Her distinctive, modern joik style draws from multiple musical traditions, blending Indian and Middle Eastern rhythmic techniques to create hypnotic and groove-driven performances.

With her band HEIMEN, she has released two albums—the latest exploring the impact of Norway’s forced assimilation of the Sami people. Kari always knew she is a Sami, however she grew up in the time of assimilation. She started digging more into her Sami heritage at an adult age and her music and the joik have been vital factors in her process of returning to and defining her Sami identity. Until last year she was chairwoman of the Sami Composer Association for a period of 4 years.

A fearless innovator, Kari brings joik to new sonic landscapes.