The New Zealand Trading Company was a US-based multi-national soul-psych band that released a 1970 self-titled album on Memphis Records.
Members: Thomas Kini (guitar), Jorge Casas (guitar), Maurice Moore (keyboards), Alberto Carrion (piano, vocals), Gonchi Sifre (drums), Kawana Waitere (vocals, piano), Eddie Nuku (bass), Lynn Alvarez (vocals), Neville Turner (drums)
Background
The New Zealand Trading Company sprung from the Maori Hi-Quins, a six-piece Oceanic showband with Gisborne guitarist Thomas Kini. They were a resident act at the Surfers Paradise resort in Queensland on Australia’s Gold Coast. By the late sixties, the lineup included Australian drummer Neville Turner and two additional Maoris: bassist Eddie Nuku and pianist Kawana Waitere. They toured North America with singer Lynn Rogers and played clubs like the Hacienda (Fresno), the Latin Quarter (NYC), and the Stardust Hotel (Las Vegas). Upon their dissolution, Kini and Waitere remained in the US.
In 1969, the pair frequented a Chicago bar, where they met English keyboardist Maurice Moore and three Latin American musicians: guitarist Jorge Casas, pianist Alberto Carrion, and drummer Gonchi Sifre. The new band found a deal with Memphis Records, a short-lived soul label started by onetime Impressions frontman Jerry Butler and his brother Billy Butler. Due to the odd circumstance of Maori settlers recording for a US label, they named their act the New Zealand Trading Company.
Discography:
- New Zealand Trading Company (1970)
Sources:
Artist/Album Pages:
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