‘No, no, no, no, no!’: Teeks answers the question I couldn’t resist asking

Each week, Benjamin Law asks a public figure to discuss three subjects we’re typically told to keep private, by getting them to roll a die. The numbers they land on are the topics they’re given. This week, he talks to Teeks. The Kiwi singer-songwriter, 33 (non-stage name: Te Karehana Gardiner-Toi) hit #1 in New Zealand with his multi-platinum- and multi-award-winning 2021 debut album Something To Feel. His new album is Lovers Comet.

RELIGION

You grew up in a Maori family in New Zealand’s Northland. What beliefs were you raised with? We weren’t necessarily raised religious. My grandfather was an archdeacon in the Anglican church, but we didn’t actively go to church as a family. For the most part, I was raised with a Māori worldview. In our culture, we have many gods, but it’s not organised religion. The ocean, the land and the sky: these are entities with names. We have this understanding that we belong to the land, not the other way around.

Is there a relationship between being Maori and your songwriting and singing? Singing, music and dance: they’ve just always been around. There’s a ceremonial aspect to them: the way I approach music and songwriting is that I feel they’re sacred acts. And singing live in front of people, on stage, is incomparable to anything. For me, it’s the closest thing to prayer and meditation.

When you’re having that extreme moment of spiritual connection with the audience on stage, does it make you feel like a cult leader? [Laughs] Sometimes! But I love being on stage – the reciprocity of energy. I feel as if it’s one of the few times in my life where I’m completely in control. I’m conscious of the fact that all these people are gathered in front of me, in this room, to witness and to experience music. To be in the driver’s seat is a privilege and responsibility that I take very seriously.

To which of the seven deadly sins are you the most susceptible? Oh, definitely lust.

Is that such a sin, though? No, I don’t think it’s a sin. But I do think that it can lead you astray. It can be dysfunctional and self-destructive, if you let it take over.

I’m already seeing the headline “Teeks is dangerously horny”. [Laughs] Sometimes you make dumb choices when you’re in lust. That’s all I’m saying!

DEATH

When was the last time that you grieved over something or someone? My [maternal] grandmother passed away only a few months ago.

Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that. Thank you. That one was definitely difficult: she has always been around. I couldn’t imagine her not being there for our family gatherings. She was definitely the matriarch of our family. The biggest thing is going home to where my family live and feeling the absence: there’s definitely a void. But one thing I’m so, so grateful for is being Maori because our grieving process is so beautiful. I think it’s probably the best way to grieve somebody.

What’s the approach? What can the rest of us learn from it? We call it tangihanga: basically, we spend time with the body. So we go back to the marae – our tribal meeting house – and we lay the body there for a few days, and we’ll just sit and sing. Waves and waves of people from different tribes and different parts of the country come onto the marae to pay their respects. It’s important for us to cry and encourage the release of emotion. If you’re not from the culture, it might sound strange, but proximity to – and spending time with – the body is important.

How would you like to die, ideally? Peacefully, with not too much suffering. Isn’t drowning supposed to be peaceful? I love the ocean. If I was going to go, I think that’s how I’d want to be taken out. I feel like the ocean’s home for me.

What’s your least ideal way? Any way that’s embarrassing.

Any song requests for your funeral? Some of the classics, like Landslide by Fleetwood Mac. Sade, because I love her so much. And I’m always going to refer back to my culture: on the last night of the tangi [tangihanga is commonly shortened to tangi], which is usually where all the singing happens, we have kapa haka groups that come onto the marae. It’s like choral singing and it’s such a beautiful experience. So that’s a given.

BODIES

You’re photogenic and not afraid to pose shirtless. Have you always been confident in your body? No, no, no, no!

Really? No, because I was a very skinny and lanky kid. The hardest thing for me is to put on weight. So I didn’t always feel that I loved my body. Eventually, though, I started going to the gym and I found a love and appreciation. It’s a form of therapy for me, but I’m also able to see progress and feel good. When you look good, you feel good.

What’s your workout regimen? The past couple years, I’ve definitely spent more time at the gym. Honestly, I probably do that more than making music. Also, eating is half the job.

‘Isn’t drowning supposed to be peaceful? I love the ocean. If I was going to go, I think that’s how I’d want to be taken out.’

Teeks

You have the word “Surrender” tattooed on your neck. Tell me about that. I read The Power of Now, by Eckhart Tolle, years ago, at that age when you’re trying to find meaning and purpose. It left a big impression on me. “Surrender” is full acceptance and understanding that resistance is the root of all suffering. I wanted a little reminder of that.

What’s the superpower that you wish you had? To be able to control time. It would be nice just to hit pause and have the world stop.

What superpower do you actually have? [Very long pause] Hmm …

Next year you’ll sing at the Sydney Opera House. Isn’t that a superpower? I guess so! But it sounds weird to me to say that my singing is a superpower.

Well, I think it’s a superpower! I guess standing on stage and having everybody in the palm of your hand is a superpower. And when I go on stage, I do feel powerful.

Teeks’ new album, Lovers Comet, is out now. He will perform at the Sydney Opera House on April 15, 2027.

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