Hannah Griffin, who grew up listening to Pink Floyd, trained as a jazz vocalist in Christchurch and Wellington. In Wellington, she met pianist Norman Meehan—also a Pink Floyd admirer—and the two began a collaboration that has endured more than twenty years. Their work together, primarily focussed on song settings of poetry, has found its most fruitful expression in a long-standing creative partnership with New Zealand’s inaugural poet laureate, Bill Manhire.

In 2016, Hannah and Norman’s collaborative work extended to include sound artist and recording engineer Thomas Voyce. The emergence of an equal, three-way partnership finds its first full expression with Wāhine, which collects song settings of poems by three brilliant women from Aotearoa: Janet Frame, Cilla McQueen and Hinemoana Baker. Thomas, a founding member of Rhombus, and a celebrated sonic artist, has brought an entirely new flavour to the collaboration.

Released by Rattle Records in 2023, you can audition (and even purchase) the album here.