Easter Island or Rapa Nui—which lies 3700km from Chile to the east and 4000 from Tahiti to the west—is famous for its ancestral sculptors who created the ancient colossal Moai stone statues.
Their progeny, Jorge Villanueva Tuki, is equally gifted and creative.
A musician, artist, carver, storyteller, producer, researcher and proud cultural ambassador of Rapa Nui, Tuki is better known as Yoyo Tuki.
He is now one of a handful of Rapa Nui people based in Australia. From here he works tirelessly to promote, teach and share his culture and music.
“I began my music journey when I was 15 years old,” says Tuki. “One of my cousins showed me how to play a Tahitian ukulele and I fell in love with the instrument and the sound of it and I decided I wanted to learn how to play the instrument and write songs.
“When I first started doing music, I was also a painter and illustrator,” says Tuki. “I was in a school very focussed on that, going to competitions. The storytelling part comes from my family. My family are family of cultural holders.
“My grandfather was the last of the old generation of great historians of the island. He was the keeper of all the ancient stories, names and everything—he was a living book. My grandfather was also one of the last great master carvers of the island. All of my uncles, my mum, as a family, are well known in Rapa Nui as a lineage of carvers. My grandfather was named by the islanders, Mana Roa, which means great mana, the great wisdom. I didn’t carve much when I was little, I was more of a painter, illustrator, fed by all of the stories of my family and my grandfather.
“At 15 I discovered the power of music, and I started music. And late in my thirties, I discovered that I loved carving, and I had a bit of carving fever, so I now carve as well.”
If as if that’s not enough, aged 14, Tuki also landed a major role in an international feature film, L’ile Au Bout Du Monde. Then at 19, he was signed by Sony Music Chile, as the lead singer, songwriter and guitarist for Rapa Nui band ‘Manaroa’.
Since then, he has released four solo albums, with more on the way. His releases include the 2011 album Hoko Manu, which took contemporary Rapa Nui music to a new level and established Tuki’s place and influence on the islands’ musical history with its innovative arrangements and unique, finely crafted songs and chants. It is still played widely.
“I think my music is very much within my island self but also very unique,” says Tuki. “I hold onto traditional elements and language, but I also embrace a wide array of contemporary influences. I play traditional, but I can also play in a full reggae band, or folk pop. I enjoy moving between both. It is important for me to maintain my heritage and also the music from home. I enjoy exploring contemporary music, as well live in the contemporary times today.”
More recently, he has collaborated with Small Island Big Song on Ka Va’ Ai Mai Koe.
“The project(s) with Small Island Big Song is one that unites indigenous, Austronesian artists and culture historians from the Pacific and the Indian Ocean,” says Tuki. “It’s a powerful project that brings together this family of Austronesian people, sharing through music and ancient knowledge. I’ve been lucky enough to be one of the main artists of the project. I’ve been involved with them for several years. I’ve done some of my songs with them and toured the world three times with them.”
Now Tuki is working on a new album.
“I’m actually going back to my roots,” he says.
“I’m moving between reggae and folk, but I’m also bringing back more of the traditional music as well. I’m using ukuleles. I haven’t got a name for it yet. I’m using traditional instruments and traditional language. I’m bringing in natures from the lifestyle, people talking, the landscapes, the ocean as well.”
He reflects on the challenges of being a cultural ambassador. “I am not a mainstream pop musician selling mainstream songs. I’m a musician but I’m also a cultural person. The hardest part has been remaining true to myself and keep moving forward with my true music, my essence from where I am from, and the message of my people and staying true to that. That is something I have discussed with all the cultural artists that I have met on the road. They are all on the same journey, they all struggle because we are a minority, and we are rare. We are custodians, we are the last custodians of the remote and endangered cultures. We all face that. We are not going to make millions of dollars. We are not going to become rock stars because we are choosing to be who we are and maintain our precious heritage.”
