Whaea Styles

Whaea Styles is an electric indie reggae artist from New Zealand.  Ngāti Tūwharetoa is her tribe,  8th generation descendant from the German poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.  She grew up in Whangaparaoa,  and has since lived in the Far North, Raglan, Australia & Wellington.

Started piano at six years old then later fell in love with electronica after discovering her nanas Casio keyboard.  After buying a Yamaha keyboard she started playing with bands in Hamilton, upgrading to an Alesis after joining the reggae band Boil Up, providing keys and back up vocals.

Whaea Styles studied Music at both Waikato and Victoria Universities gaining an Honors degree in Electronica, Composition & Film.  During those years she won the Lilburn Trust Student Composition Award with her electroacoustic composition Mourning, later renamed The Innocent.  She also got together with some friends and formed Spiralyrics which aimed to promote wahine songwriters by creating the CD compilation Wonder & hosting a performance night.

She has toured and recorded with reggae bands Cornerstone Roots and  Lost Tribe Aotearoa.  Some of the highlights whilst in these bands included performing at the reggae festival in Noumea, New Caledonia where she met Burning Spears and Toots & the Maytals, and attending the 2019 Vodaphone Music Awards as a finalist for Best Roots Artist.

Whaea Styles is currently working on her solo debut album and has been releasing singles. https://open.spotify.com/artist/34HTct9RI7U5oJtG3bSqAy