Follow the band on Instagram @manatapu_music
ManaTapu are newcomers to the world music scene. Their mission: Transfer their unique energy to the Audience creating a beautiful musical vibe. The cultural influence seen in their music is shared locally and overseas.The journey for the musicians of the band started with casual jam sessions; where local bars or beaches served as their stage. They started off from nothing but
moved towards the band image we now know as ManaTapu.
The word Mana is a Māori expression that speaks of a supernatural force or energy within anything existing, while Tapu is a controlling factor that creates a restriction. There is no Mana without Tapu, so the band’s philosophy came to life.
Deeply rooted in Reggae and Ska, the band’s voice is a fusion with other sounds such as Funk, Blues, Rock, Punk, Hip-Hop, Latino style and even polka. This mesh of sounds comes together with the dynamic of their band’s, you can hear the International variance in the music of ManaTapu which combine 4 langages, lyrics goes from English to Maltese to Spanish to French.
The band’s variety is cemented in local cultures where their multicultural influences mould together to create a highly energetic performance to “generate massive audience reaction when they play”.
As ambassadors for the local music scene, ManaTapu are «one of the most sought-after live acts on the island» of Malta and are best known for their crowd pumping sound and contagiously energetic shows generating MushPit. They delivered first their massive energy to the crowd at the 2013 Earth Garden Festival where the Roots Stage brought to life the eclectic sounds of ManaTapu. In 2019, they just did their First Tour. Audience and promoters can look forward to dance the night away with the unique ManaTapu.
The eight-piece outfit is made up of James Saliba (Bass Guitar), Ryan Abela (Drums), Dario Vella C (Vocals & EGuitar), Nick Morales (Vocals & AGuitar), Luca Gurrieri (Saxophone), Pupachile (Vocals), Liksu (Keys & Trumpet) and finaly Tete (Vocals) adding the super international flavour to the band.
Band lokali li rat il-bidu f’erbgħa bajjiet Maltin, fejn grupp ta’ ħbieb kienu jiltaqgħu għal xi xarba birra bl-isfond tal-mużika reggae li kienu jintefgħu jdoqqu spirtu pront. Minn dan il-grupp ta’ ħbieb twieled grupp mużikali li ngħata l-isem ta’ Manatapu, u laqa’ membri ġodda ta’ bosta nazzjonalitajiet differenti. Din it-taħlita ta’ kulturi ssarrfet f’diski mżejnin b’kawlata ta’ ġeneri mużikali u influwenzi mid-dinja kollha. Fost dawn, ir-Reggae, l-Iska, il-Funk, l-Għana Maltija, il-Folk eċċ. Dan l-ispirtu multikurturali joħroġ ċar fil-lirika li hija miktuba f’ħames lingwi differenti: il-Malti, l-Ingliż, il-Franċiż, l-Ispanjol u l-Grieg.
Manatapu daqqew għall-ewwel darba ġo festival fl-2013, f’Earth Garden, u minn dak inhar baqgħu jdoqqu f’kunċerti kbar hawn Malta kif ukoll barra minn xtutna. Manatapu daqqew ukoll ma leġġendi kbar tad-dinja tar-reggae, bħalma huma Julian Marley, Inner Circle u Andrew Murphey. F’2018 ħarġu l-ewwel album tagħhom ‘Tuatara’ u f’2022 hargu it-tieni EP bl-isem ta’ ‘Rastaccun’.
