"It certainly wasn't planned to put a 10-piece band together, though."
Waho, who plays saxophone and sings in the group, said the pair immediately got to work, with additional lyrics being provided by his wife, Rebecca Taiaroa.
"At the same time I was working at Anzco Rangitīkei on day shift slaughter floor, and me and my cousin Thomas Tataurangi, who's also from Rātana Pā, came up with our band name - TAHI.
"During work I started humming tunes and then I'd go home and my wife would write down some lyrics.
"I'd tell my her that I was off to Jordan's and she'd just say 'Yep, see you tomorrow'.
"Musos never sleep when they're writing new stuff. I'd get to his house at 6pm and wouldn't come home till three in the morning.
"There are 16 original songs already. We're talking roots reggae, ska-reggae, soul/RnB, and Te Reo Māori."
The group's first release - Between the Lines - was recorded at Baz Muir's (NLC) Whanganui studio, and came out in April.
As for the other eight members of the group, Waho said it was important to get the right people on board.
"You can't just choose any musician to be a part of it, it's not just 'Sweet, we'll get the bro in and there's our band'," Waho said.
"It doesn't work like that.
"When you've got a vision on how you want the music played then you've got to have the right combination."
That combination currently includes six musicians originally from Rātana Pā, one from Rotorua and two from Whanganui.
They are still on the lookout for a permanent drummer.
Growing up in Ratana was all it took for his love of music to take hold, Waho said.
"As a child you're surrounded by music. You could go next door or around the corner and there would be amazing musicians who were your uncles.
"They'd teach you everything you wanted to know, and as you grew older you'd go down to the pub and look through the windows to watch them play.
"That's what I did anyway - go down to the Whangaehu Pub or the Ben Nevis in Turakina and watch the uncles."
The band was scheduled to perform live for the first time on August 19, but the show has been postponed due to Covid-19 alert level 4.
"We'll be rescheduling our launch as soon as we can," Waho said.
"There are already some other gigs and festivals being lined up, and we've only got one song out at the moment so we'd better get a move on and release some more music.
"We want to go to the top. We'll definitely make that happen, but it'll take some hard work.
"I think we're all prepared to put that in."
Between The Lines is now available on all streaming platforms.
For more information on TAHI, head to www.facebook.com/1tahi.nz.
