Bay talent wanted for summer single

HUNT FOR LOCAL TALENT: Award-winning musician Tiki Taane is looking for a youth choir from the Bay of Plenty to feature in his upcoming summer single. PHOTO/SUPPLIED

Chart-topping Bay musician Tiki Taane is reaching out for some young local talent for his upcoming single expected to be released this summer.

The award-winning musician is on a mission to find a Bay of Plenty youth choir to feature in his song, No Place Like Home, which will be released in January.

Taane has called the Bay home for the past five years and his new single will be created with the help of musicians from the Bay of Plenty.

"I just wanted to sing about this area and try to use as many local musicians as I could," Taane said.

"I've been sitting on this little riff and vocal line I've had and I thought now is the time to pull it together and try to get it out for summer."

Taane posted a video on his public Facebook page on Thursday night looking for youth choirs in the Bay of Plenty keen to feature in his single.

The video has already generated comments and has been viewed 4200 times.

"There's a section in the song where a youth choir would be perfect so that's why I put a video out on social media," Mr Taane told the Bay of Plenty Times.

Not only is he after a local youth choir, he has joined forces with a drummer and guitarist from the Bay.

He has also reached out to a Whakatane kaumatua in the hopes of including a kapahaka group and plans to get in touch with the Tauranga Orchestra.

Mr Taane has helped organise Tauranga's Christmas in the Park for the past five years and this year's looks to be even more special as he hopes to shoot the single's music video there.

"I'm going to try to get everyone who is singing and performing in the song up on stage and capture the crowd as well."

He said youth choirs had about two weeks to share their talent before he chose the lucky group.

"I don't have much time, so I'm trying to pull it together as quick as I can.

"I'm just going to give it my best shot to write a song that I feel represents the Bay of Plenty."

Youth choirs in Tauranga interested in joining Tiki Taane in his new single can get in touch with him via Facebook at Tiki Taane Tikidub Productions.