Maori music artist Hina doesn’t need a fancy studio to produce great music

A shy pop and neo-soul artist, Hina has been producing music from the comfort of her bedroom for a while now and it’s been working so well that she doesn’t just release her own music to the public, she also manages to collaborate with other artists.

Hina – Photo provided

Christchurch indie-pop artist Bexy Shingleton is just one of them, and together they just released a new waiata called Done this way.

Hina, also known as Amy Boroevich, of Te Rarawa and Ngāti Raukawa descent, has a sensual voice steeped in jazz, soul, hip hop and R&B.

“I started writing songs when I was about 17, just guitar and vocals. But I was always too shy to sing in front of everyone.”

Bexy and Hina – Photo Provided

Hina and Bexy’s new waiata, Done this wayliterally emerged from fire and ice while at a writing camp in Palmerston North last year.

“We were brought together by producer Rory Noble who is an amazing producer, and Mikey Dam, an amazing songwriter…and the mixing board we were going to be working with, caught fire and smoked out the whole room, which was wild, and we ended up writing the song on deck in the freezing cold.

Hina explains that her new waiata is about “facing life’s uncertainties head-on because I guess there are two schools of thought where you can say we’re all going to die one day, life is useless, it sucks, or you can say, we are going to die one day, let’s make the most of this beautiful life we ​​have.

The multi-instrumentalist artist says it was his involvement in a Maori television series for young people called Pao, Pao, Pao this made him want to pursue his career in music.

“I had great mentors in pao pao pao who also inspired me a lot like Seth Hapu, Troy Kingi, Maisey Rika, Ria Hall, Tama Waipara and Teeks.

Photo provided

“I have two songs coming up. One is going to be the first single from my upcoming EP called Tararua. It is therefore anchored and centered on my maunga on my mother’s side.

Hina’s father is former All Black Kevin Boroevich and says her whānau loved the sound of her new waiata, especially her father whose musical tastes could be described as old school.

“He’s so funny. He likes to listen to the same music he listened to when he was 17 and he doesn’t really branch out. So the fact that I was on his “boroe-nator” playlist as he calls it. I’m quite proud to be there among the greats in his mind.

Hina has a few more waiata coming out this year and collaborations with other artists but, in the meantime, she’s working on her confidence to sing in front of the public as she fulfills a dream of touring Aotearoa.