“It’s a brotherhood,” they say of their collaboration. They are heavily influenced and supported by their respective families. The Koi Boys are Danny Faifai, Kevin Keepa and Ngahere “Nuz” Ngatai and they are inspired by their real love of entertaining people. “It doesn’t get any better,” they say of their album release. “Now we just need to make sure the world hears it.”
The album is made up of 10 covers and three original songs. When asked to describe their ‘sound,’ the description was “happy-go-lucky.”
“We cover so many genres, and just add something,” they say. “We span a lot of generations.”
The album also sees the trio’s first foray into songwriting, with three originals appearing on the record. The boys decided to each take on a song individually, and come together to collaborate at the end. The end wasn’t far away, as their creative juices ran quickly, and the originals were written in a couple of days – time was of the essence but they came easily.
Yes is a a love song about the beauty of marriage written by Kevin; Angels Have to Fly, is a reggae track written by Nuz after his cousin died from epilepsy and title track Meant To Be (Waiata’s Song), is a ballad written by Danny for his wife.
“We wanted the songs to be relatable, to connect with our audience – because that really is what we’re here to do,” says Kevin.
The Koi Boys started as a casual covers/jam session. Their “Sunday Session” show at Koi Dining and Lounge Bar on the Gold Coast sells out weeks in advance. Danny met Kevin busking on the street in New Zealand over 25 years ago. They eventually both relocated to Queensland, and met Nuz when he auditioned for the group in 2008. “When we all came together the magic really worked,” they say.
They perform just about every genre, aiming to please, everyone in our audience. Danny says the show has been about connection and entertainment and the album has very much been made with the same idea. “We want to please the old people, the young people, the middle-aged people, the depressed people, the happy people, the people in love, the lonely people–everyone. To do this, we’ve gotten very comfortable singing all genres of music.”
Here’s a sneak peak of one of the tracks from the album, Meant to Be. This is Cry To Me.
we’ve got 5 signed albums o give away. If you’d like to hear more of The Koi Boys comment below and tell us the boys names.
