Sons of Zion is a six-member New Zealand reggae band who formed in 2007 in

Pakuranga Pakuranga is an eastern suburb of Auckland, in northern New Zealand. Pakuranga covers a series of low ridges and previously swampy flats, now drained, that lie between the Pakuranga Creek and Tamaki River, two estuary, estuarial arms of the ...

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

. They became widely famous in New Zealand in early 2018, due to the popularity of their single "

Drift Away "Drift Away" is a song written by Mentor Williams in 1970 and first recorded by British singer Mike Berry on his 1972 album ''Drift Away''. A version by John Henry Kurtz was released two months later in November 1972. Mentor Williams was a c ...

Biography

Band members Sam Eriwata and Joel Latimer grew up together in Auckland. They formed a youth band together when they attended Edgewater College in

. The trio met Rio Panapa, originally from

Rotorua Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. It is sited on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authorities of New Zea ...

, through joint church services where bands from different chapters of their church performed. Eventually Panapa moved to Auckland and joined Samuel Eriwata's youth band. The original line-up featured Rio Panapa as lead vocalist and guitarist, Samuel Eriwata on drums, Joel Latimer on keyboards and Dylan Stewart, a bassist who moved from

Whangārei Whangārei () is the northernmost city in New Zealand and the largest settlement of the Northland Region. It is part of the Whangarei District, created in 1989 from the former Whangarei City, Whangarei County and Hikurangi Town councils to admi ...

to Auckland to join the band. The band won a competition to be the opening act at the Soundsplash Festival 2007 in Raglan, and hurriedly recorded an

extended play An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

so that they could release it at the festival. Panapa had difficulties with the range of some of the songs during these sessions, so Eriwata also became a vocalist for the band. The band later added Tawhiri Littlejohn as a permanent drummer as Eriwata took over more of the vocal duties, and Harlem McKenzie as a lead guitarist. In October 2009, the band released their self-titled debut album, and spent the next few years extensively touring New Zealand and Australia. The band's singles "Good Love" (2012) and "Tell Her" (2013) received major radio airplay in New Zealand, becoming their first songs to chart in New Zealand. Their second album ''Universal Love'' was a major hit, reaching number three in New Zealand. At the 2014 Waiata Māori Music Awards, the video for the band's collaboration with Tomorrow People won the best video award. Later that year, the band covered " Sensitive to a Smile" alongside other local reggae musicians such as

Katchafire Katchafire are an all Māori New Zealand roots reggae band from Hamilton, New Zealand. History Katchafire formed in Hamilton in 1997, originally as a Bob Marley tribute band.Campbell-Livingston, Cecelia (2013)Katchafire keeping NZ reggae scene ...

and Tomorrow People as a charity single to combat child abuse. The band's 2015 single "Stuck on Stupid" became popular internationally online, especially in locations such as

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

where it was a local radio hit. By 2015, the band's line-up had solidified as Eriwata, Panapa, Latimer, bassist Matt Sadgrove, Caleb Haapu of the band L40, and Ross Nansen of the Levites. In the next few years, the band's popularity online was cemented by the includion of their songs such as "I'm Ready", "Fill Me Up" and "Now" featuring on major Australasian reggae

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...

playlists. In 2017, the band produced the Te Reo song "Wairua" by

Maimoa Maimoa is a New Zealand musical group. Formed from current and former presenters from the Māori Television show ''Pūkana'', the group debuted in 2016 with the single "Maimoatia", which was released to celebrate Te Wiki o te Reo Māori. Since ...

, which became a viral hit. By 2017, the band began to experiment with genres outside of reggae, such as their collaboration "Is That Enough" with

Aaradhna Aaradhna Jayantilal Patel (born 20 December 1983), better known by the mononym Aaradhna, is a New Zealand singer, songwriter, and musical recording artist. She made her musical debut in 2004 featuring on the single "Getting Stronger" with the ...

. For the band's third album '' Vantage Point'' (2018), all members decided to quit their day-jobs to focus entirely on the band. The first single from the album, "

", became a break-away hit for the group. The album was a success, becoming Platinum certified in New Zealand. The band toured internationally to promote the album. In 2020, Panapa became the host of the

Māori Television Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

show ''Lifted''.

Artistry

Sons of Zion write, produce and mix all of their music. In 2017, the band created their own recording studio, No Filter Studios in Auckland.

Personal lives

Samuel Eriwata's father is Richard Eriwata, a musician who became famous in the 1980s as a member of the musical theatre television show ''12 Bar Rhythm 'n Shoes''. Caleb Haapu's brother is singer-songwriter Seth Haapu. Eriwata, Latimer, Stewart and Littlejohn are of

Ngāpuhi Ngāpuhi (also known as Ngāpuhi-Nui-Tonu or Ngā Puhi) is a Māori iwi associated with the Northland regions of New Zealand centred in the Hokianga, the Bay of Islands, and Whangārei. According to the 2023 New Zealand census, the estimate ...

descent, while Panapa's background includes

Te Arawa Te Arawa is a confederation of Māori people, Māori iwi and hapū (tribes and sub-tribes) of New Zealand who trace their ancestry to the ''Arawa (canoe), Arawa'' migration canoe (''waka''). The tribes are based in the Rotorua and Bay of Plent ...

Ngāti Tūwharetoa Ngāti Tūwharetoa is an iwi descended from Ngātoro-i-rangi, the priest who navigated the Arawa canoe to New Zealand. The Tūwharetoa region extends from Te Awa o te Atua ( Tarawera River) at Matatā across the central plateau of the North ...

and

Waikato Tainui Waikato Tainui, Waikato or Tainui is a group of Māori ''iwi'' based in the Waikato Region, in the western central region of New Zealand's North Island. It is part of the larger Tainui confederation of Polynesian settlers who arrived to New Zeal ...

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

Extended plays

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Other charted songs

Notes

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2007 establishments in New Zealand New Zealand reggae musical groups Musical groups established in 2007 Musical groups from Auckland Sony Music New Zealand artists Ngāpuhi New Zealand Māori musical groups Pacific reggae Māori-language singers